Wayne Belardi Positions: Bats: L Throws: L Height: 73 Weight: 185 Born: Friday, September 05, 1930 in St. Helena, CA USA Died: 10 21 1993 in Santa Cruz, CA USA Debut: 4/18/1950 Last Game: 9/30/1956 Full Name: Carroll Wayne Belardi
1957 – The Kansas City Athletics ship pitchers Art Ditmar, Bobby Shantz, and Jack McMahan, and infielders Clete Boyer, Curt Roberts and Wayne Belardi to the Yankees. In return they receive pitchers Mickey McDermott, Tom Morgan, Rip Coleman and Jack Urban, OF Irv Noren, plus infielders Billy Hunter and Milt Graff. Roberts will not go to New York City till May 4th, while Boyer goes a month later, conveniently just when his mandatory service time in the majors as a result of the bonus rule expires. Hunter and Urban don’t switch until April 5th. The veteran Shantz and Boyer will be valuable pick-ups for New York, with Shantz leading the American League in ERA this year, and Boyer a tough defensive 3B for eight years in pinstripes. The A’s will eventually admit that when they signed Boyer for a $40,000 bonus in 1955, it was on behalf of the Yankees, with the understanding that they’d ship him to NY as soon as he became eligible to be sent down to the minors.
8/13/1954 – In a 16-inning game in which the home-standing White Sox beat the Tigers, 1-0, substitute first-sacker Wayne Belardi batted out of turn. Reno Bertoia pinch ran for fifth-place hitting first baseman Walt Dropo in the thirteenth inning and stayed in the game playing second base. Belardi entered the game in the eighth spot at that time. In the fifteenth inning after fourth-place hitter Ray Boone had walked with one out, Belardi came to the plate in Bertoia’s spot and fouled out to the catcher. Detroit realized their mistake and sent Belardi up again the next inning and he successfully sacrificed catcher Red Wilson to second base. Both pitchers, Al Aber for Detroit and Jack Harshman for Chicago, pitched complete games.
Dodger backup 1B Wayne Belardi scores two runs in the 8th inning, one on a pinch-hit grand slam. His slam is the third Dodger grand slam in three games (Gil Hodges connected on the 16th, and Billy Cox, on the 17th). The Dodgers’ 8 – 6 win over the Cardinals puts Brooklyn three games ahead of Milwaukee.