His first home run came in the Astrodome on June 28 off Houston’s Wayne Granger. He singled three times and scored twice, and from then on, he started seeing regular playing time. He then sat for most of May before starting in Pittsburgh on May 31. He started some games early in the season but picked up just 2 hits in 6 games. Pocoroba made his MLB debut on April 25 against the Padres, with an inning behind the plate. That opened the door for the 21-year-old catcher with a single at-bat in AAA to step in as the Braves catcher. Correll caught the most games for the Braves in 1975 but batted just. Oates was traded shortly after the season began. Casanova was released in spring training. Source: Star-Gazette, May 2, 1981.Ĭoming into 1975, Pocoroba was considered the fourth catcher in the Braves’ depth chart, behind veterans Vic Correll, Johnny Oates and Paul Casanova. Pocoroba gets hip checked by Bill Buckner but still makes the play at the plate. He started the year as a backup to Freddie Velazquez, but when Velazquez was promoted to AAA, Pocoroba stepped in and ended up an All-Star. As a catcher, he had just 2 errors in 70 games for a. In 1974, he kept up his production (9 home runs, 45 RBIs) and hit. Hie first year there, 1973, saw him hit a career-best 12 home runs, but his batting average slipped into the. Pocoroba then spent two seasons with the Savannah Braves of the AA Southern League. He also had one hitless at-bat with the AAA Richmond Braves, which was the only AAA experience he had. Pocoroba spent most of 1972 with the Greenville Braves, where he was named to the All-Star Team and hit. Minor-league manager Clint Courtney couldn’t figure out his last name, so he called him “Coca-Cola” instead.
By 1972, he was participating at the Braves’ spring training camp. He moved through the minor leagues fairly quickly. He also showed a good eye, walking 11 times against 13 strikeouts.
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Pocoroba started his professional career with the Wytheville (Va.) Braves in the Appalachian League in 1971. “There was no point in putting off my life’s ambition when it was already there waiting on me.” “I decided I could go to college later,” the switch-hitting catcher told Atlanta columnist Furman Bisher in 1975. He opted to sign with the team instead of looking at college scholarships. That same year, he was drafted by the Braves in the 17th Round of the Amateur Draft. He kept up the offensive prowess at Canoga Park High School he was named the West Valley League Player of the Year in 1971 when he hit. While a part of the Canoga Park 1967 Pony League team, he hit. #rippoco /hgJzmTu7Zj- Dale Murphy May 27, 2020Īs early as 1967, Pocoroba was getting attention for his play. With shoulder problems he became our go-to LH bat off the bench. Poco once threw out 11 straight base-stealers in spring training. Very sad to hear that the family lost another key member of our early 80s team. That helped to launched his dreams of playing baseball professionally. His cousin, Tom Satriano, played with the California Angels and invited him into the team’s clubhouse when he was a kid. According to that same interview, Pocoroba’s grandfather helped clean up Chicago during the Al Capone era, so toughness ran in the family. Biff sounded rugged.” The “Benedict” part of his name came from his grandfather, who was a former FBI and Secret Service agent. “I didn’t want him to have to go through life answering to Herman or something. “I wanted him to be a big league ballplayer and wanted him to have a name that sounded like one,” his father said in a 1975 interview. Pocoroba played for the Atlanta Braves from 1975-1984.īiff Benedict Pocoroba was born on Jin Burbank, Calif. He died on May 24 at the age of 66, according to Facebook posts from his family. RIP to Biff Pocoroba, a former All-Star catcher with a decade-long career in the major leagues.
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