Arnie Portocarrero

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Arnie Portocarrero (Arnold Mario Portocarrero) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played parts of seven seasons from 1954 to 1960 for the Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics and the Baltimore Orioles. Born July 5, 1931, in New York City, he was 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 196 pounds.

Portocarrero signed with the Athletics after high school and made his major-league debut in 1954. The A’s were struggling financially and on the field, finishing that year with 103 losses. Portocarrero went 9–18 with a 4.06 ERA and led the league in wild pitches. The team moved to Kansas City in 1955. After arm problems and time in the minors, he returned in 1957 but did not regain a regular spot.

Before the 1958 season he was traded to Baltimore for Bud Daley, and he enjoyed his best year, going 15–11 with a 3.25 ERA. He also posted three shutouts and had five straight complete-game victories in late June to July. That remained his only winning season. The 1959 season was tough, and in 1960 he split time between the minors and the Orioles; his last major-league appearance came on June 15, 1960. He retired after the 1961 season.

In his MLB career Portocarrero went 38–57 with a 4.32 ERA and 338 strikeouts in 8,171 1/3 innings, along with 33 complete games, 5 shutouts, and 2 saves. He died on June 21, 1986, in Kansas City, Kansas.