Sonny Senerchia | |||
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Third baseman | |||
Born: Newark, New Jersey |
April 6, 1931|||
Died: November 1, 2003 Freehold Township, New Jersey |
(aged 72)|||
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MLB debut | |||
April 22, 1952, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
September 28, 1952, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .220 | ||
Home runs | 3 | ||
Runs batted in | 11 | ||
Teams | |||
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Emanuel Robert "Sonny" Senerchia (April 6, 1931 – November 1, 2003) was an American professional baseball player who played 29 games of Major League Baseball with the 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates and later became a professional musician as well as a teacher and college baseball coach.
He was born and grew up in Newark, New Jersey, and attended Montclair State University, where he earned bachelor's degrees in physical education and English; he then received a master's degree in music from Trenton State College. According to his obituary, Senerchia was an accomplished violinist as a boy, appearing at Carnegie Hall at the age of ten, and as an adult he was a concert violinist with the New Jersey Symphony, the Garden State Arts Center Orchestra, and the Toms River Symphony. He also performed as a violinist with Pearl Bailey, Jack Benny and others. As a jazz musician, he played clarinet, saxophone, flute and piano in ensembles and big bands.
Senerchia's professional baseball career lasted for eight seasons (1949; 1952–58). He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 195 pounds (88 kg). Mostly a third baseman early in his career, he later converted to pitcher as a minor leaguer.