Joe Pepitone

**Joseph Anthony Pepitone** (9 ga Oktoba, 1940 - 13 ga Maris, 2023) ɗan wasan ƙwallon baseball ne na farko ɗan Amurka kuma ɗan wasan tsakiya wanda ya buga wasa a Major League Baseball (MLB) ga New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, da Atlanta Braves daga 1962 zuwa 1973 da kuma ga Yakult Atoms na Nippon Professional Baseball a 1973. Pepitone ya buga wasanni uku na MLB All-Star kuma ya lashe kyaututtukan Zinare guda uku.

## Rayuwa ta farko
An haifi Pepitone a Brooklyn, New York, kuma ya girma a Park Slope . Yana da ƙannensa biyu. Pepitone ya halarci Makarantar Sakandare ta Horarwa ta Manual . 

Wani abokin karatunsa ya harbi Pepitone yana da shekaru 17 a lokacin da yake makaranta. Bai shigar da ƙara a kan mai harbin ba. A cikin makon nan, mahaifinsa ya mutu sakamakon bugun jini yana da shekaru 39.

## Aikin ƙwallon baseball

### Yankee na New York

A watan Agusta na shekarar 1958, Pepitone ya sanya hannu da New York Yankees a matsayin mai son 'yanci . Ya buga wasanni 16 a Auburn Yankees na Class D New York-Pennsylvania League bayan ya sanya hannu. 

Bayan ya buga wasanni huɗu a ƙananan lig, Pepitone ya shiga ƙungiyar New York Yankees a shekarar 1962, inda ya buga wasa a bayan Moose Skowron a farkon lig . Ya buga .239 a wasanni 63 a shekarar 1962.  Manajan Yankees sun yi imanin cewa zai iya ɗaukar aikin farko na lig kuma suka sayar da Skowron ga Los Angeles Dodgers kafin kakar wasa ta 1963. Pepitone ya buga .271 da bugun gida 27 da bugun 89 a (RBIs) a shekarar 1963. A cikin jerin wasannin duniya na 1963, ya yi kuskure mai tsada. Da maki ya yi kunnen doki 1-1 a zagaye na bakwai na wasa na huɗu, ya rasa bugun Clete Boyer na yau da kullun a cikin fararen riguna na taron jama'ar Los Angeles, kuma mai bugun, Jim Gilliam, ya kai matakin na uku kuma ya zira kwallayen da suka lashe gasar Series a kan sadaukarwa ta Willie Davis . A shekarar 1964, Pepitone ya yi bugun .251 da bugun gida 28 da kuma bugun RBI 100.  A gasar cin kofin duniya ta 1964 da St. Louis Cardinals, ya buga babban slam a wasa na 6,  amma Yankees sun sha kashi a jerin. 

Pepitone ya yi bugun .247 a shekarar 1965 da kuma .255 a shekarar 1966, yayin da Yankees suka kammala da maki 70–89, wanda hakan ya nuna cewa ya cancanci matsayi na ƙarshe. Ya yi bugun .251 a wasanni 139 a shekarar 1967 da kuma .245 a wasanni 108 a shekarar 1968.  Pepitone ya fara jayayya da Yankees a shekarar 1969, inda ya bar ƙungiyar ba tare da izini ba na tsawon kwanaki biyu a watan Agusta.  Ya yi bugun .242 da bugun gida 27 a kakar wasa ta 1969. 

### Daga baya aiki
Bayan kakar wasa ta 1969, duk da cewa ya lashe kyautar zinare ta uku, Yankees sun sayar da Pepitone ga Houston Astros don Curt Blefary .  Ba tare da jin daɗin yadda Astros suka yi masa ba, ya yi barazanar yin ritaya a watan Yulin 1970.  Astros sun sayar da Pepitone ga Chicago Cubs bisa ga rangwamen mako guda bayan haka.  A Chicago, Pepitone ya maye gurbin Ernie Banks a sansanin farko. Pepitone ya yi ritaya a watan Mayun 1972,  amma ya koma Cubs bayan 'yan makonni da suka rage daga ƙungiyar.  Cubs sun sayar da Pepitone ga Atlanta Braves don Andre Thornton, da kuma la'akari da kuɗi a ranar 19 ga Mayu, 1973.  A Atlanta, ya buga wasanni uku kacal, bayan haka ya sanar da niyyarsa ta yin ritaya. 

Daga nan Pepitone ya sanar da niyyarsa ta ci gaba da aikinsa a Japan.  A watan Yunin 1973, Pepitone ya karɓi tayin dala $70,000 ($ 496,000 a yau) a kowace shekara don bugawa Yakult Atoms a Nippon Professional Baseball 's Central League .  A watan Yuli, ya koma Amurka.  Yayin da yake Japan, ya buga .163 da bugun gida ɗaya da kuma RBI biyu a wasanni 14. Pepitone ya yi ɗan gajeren aikinsa a Japan yana tsallake wasanni saboda raunin da ya samu, sai kawai aka gan shi da daddare a cikin disco, wanda hakan ya sa 'yan Japan suka ɗauki sunansa a cikin yarensu a matsayin kalma ma'ana "guff off". 

## Rayuwa bayan wasan baseball

### Abubuwan Tunawa
Jim Bouton ya rubuta game da Pepitone a cikin littafinsa na 1970 *mai suna Ball Four* . Bouton ya ce Pepitone bai taɓa yin komai ba tare da jaka da ke ɗauke da kayan gashi don gashin kansa mai saurin gashi ba, kuma ya fara saka takalman toupees . 

A watan Janairun 1975, Pepitone ya buga littafin tarihin wasan baseball nasa mai suna *Joe, You Coulda Made Us Proud.* Littafin ya sami kulawa sosai saboda bayyanan da ke cikinsa, musamman game da mahaifinsa mai cin zarafin kansa da kuma gaskiyar da ya yi game da hanyoyinsa na lalata kansa. Daga baya a wannan shekarar, ya yi fim tsirara a mujallar *Foxy Lady*, wacce ke nuna tsiraici gaba ɗaya. 

## Manazarta