RIP to Ed Acosta, a Panamanian pitcher who spent parts of 3 seasons in the majors in the 1970s. He died in his native country on September 18 at the age of 81. Acosta played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1970) and San Diego Padres (1971-72).
Eduardo Elixbet Acosta was born in Boquete, Panama, on March 9, 1944. He did not grow up with baseball in his blood like so many future major-leaguers. He would reach a height of 6’5″, so basketball was more his sport. In fact, he told the Philadelphia Daily News in 1971 that he didn’t even take up baseball until he was 21 years old. “We didn’t have baseball in my town, I didn’t even know how to catch when some guys started tossing a ball to me in 1965,” he said. “My father told me not to play the game. He said I’d get hurt. So the first time I went to bat I got hit in the face with a pitch and came away with a black eye. When I got home I told my father I had been stung by a bee.”
Source: The Evening Tribune (Cocoa, FL), July 31, 1968.
Acosta ended up a pitcher and was quickly discovered by several pro ballclubs. He said that the Pirates first became interested in 1965, but Acosta didn’t speak English at that point, and the team backed off. The Houston Astros signed him, and after some visa issues were worked out, Acosta debuted in pro ball in 1967 with the Cocoa Astros of the Florida State League. Acosta at 23 years old was among the older ballplayers in the league, but he was several years behind the others in terms of baseball experience. He pitched in 31 games, with 4 starts, and had a 2-6 record and 3.67 ERA. In 81 games, he allowed just 69 hits and 48 walks, and he struck out 70 batters in 81 innings. The next year, he was a starting pitcher for Cocoa and turned in a hard-luck 8-12 record with a 2.56 ERA. He improved his strikeout totals to 155 in 158 innings, and he lowered his WHIP to 1.348. Acosta has no pitching line for 1969, and it wasn’t because he was injured. He was released by the Astros and just… quit. “Gave away my glove and everything,” he told the Daily News. Acosta returned to Panama, where he had been spending his offseasons working as a policeman. He returned to the game in 1970 when he was 26 years old, this time as a part of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He began the year in Double-A Waterbury, and while his 5.25 ERA in 5 starts wasn’t impressive, he was promoted to Triple-A Columbus anyway. It was there that he rediscovered his pitching rhythm, and he earned a 5-2 record working primarily out of the bullpen. He also saved 4 games, and while his control was a little off, he earned a promotion to Pittsburgh in September. After a year out of baseball and only 5 years removed from learning to pitch, Acosta was on his way to become a major-leaguer.
Pittsburgh was losing to the visiting Chicago Cubs on September 8, 1970, by a score of 5-2 when Acosta entered in the ninth inning for his major-league debut. Joe Pepitone led off the inning with a single to center, and after Randy Hundley lined out, Cubs starter Fergie Jenkins blasted a 2-run homer to left. One Don Kessinger single later, Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh took the rookie out of the game. Kessinger, who had reached third base because of center fielder Matty Alou’s error, later scored, and all 3 runs were charged to Acosta. It’s worth noting that there was no shame in allowing a home run to Ferguson Jenkins. It was his third round-tripper of the season and one of 13 he hit in his career. Acosta fared much better the next day against the same Cubs team. This time, he entered the top of the eighth inning with 2 outs and the bases loaded. He walked Kessinger to force in a run but retired Glenn Beckert on a grounder to second. Acosta allowed a leadoff single to Billy Williams in the ninth but retired the next three batters, getting his first major-league strikeout against Cleo James. He did not pitch again until October 1, when he faced St. Louis in the ninth inning with the Pirates leading 9-4. It wasn’t a very clean appearance — pitching on 22 days’ rest will do that to a pitcher — but Acosta survived a hit batter, a single, a Lou Brock stolen base, a walk and a sacrifice fly to close the door on a 9-5 win. He was even credited with a save. In those 3 games, he allowed 4 earned runs on 5 hits in 2-2/3 innings.
The Pirates sent Acosta to Triple-A Charleston in 1971, where he won 12 games and lost 11 as a starter. He threw 10 complete games and posted a 2.72 ERA with some of the best control he had shown in his professional career. The Pirates had a need for a pitcher, and they got one by trading Acosta and outfielder Johnny Jeter to the San Diego Padres for reliever Bob L. Miller. Padres manager Preston Gomez was one of the few Padres was was familiar with the new Padre, having seen Acosta in the minors years earlier. “He was wild then. But this year I saw him in the winter league and in spring training. He surprised me with his control. I talked to [Roberto] Clemente, and he seemed to like the kid.” San Diego activated Acosta and gave him a start against the Philadelphia Phillies on August 24, 1971. In his first major-league start, he scattered 8 hits and threw a 2-0 shutout. He struck out just 1 batter, but Philadelphia batters kept grounding into double plays or forceouts at just the right time. The one scoring threat came in the eighth inning when Oscar Gamble slipped in between third base and home while trying to score on a fly ball and was tagged out in a rundown. Acosta then allowed a run in 6 innings against Cincinnati on August 30, getting a no-decision. He had some rough appearances working as a starter and a reliever, getting 2 losses and a blown save in his next 3 outings. Then he pitched back-to-back complete games against Houston and Atlanta before taking a loss against the Giants in his final start of the season. Acosta didn’t strike out many batters, but when he was on his game, teams just couldn’t make good contact against him. He ended the year with a 3-3 record in 8 games, including 6 starts. While it’s a small sample size, his 2.74 ERA was one of the best among any Padres starter, and his 3 wins tied him with Tom Phoebus (3-11) and Fred Norman (3-12). Acosta struck out 16 batters in 46 innings and walked just 7.
Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin, July 24, 1973.
Acosta moved to the bullpen in 1972 and appeared in 46 games for the Padres, including 2 starts. He won his first game of the year by throwing 3 scoreless innings against Montreal on May 3. He held the Expos scoreless on 1 hit through the 14th inning, when the Padres won on a Leron Lee single to make the final score 3-2. He then dropped his next 5 decisions and was the team’s long reliever whenever a starting pitcher was knocked out of the game early. With a 95-loss team like the 1972 Padres, it happened often. Acosta pitched 89 innings and fanned 53 hitters while posting a 4.45 ERA and a 3-6 record. It was Acosta’s only full season in the majors. San Diego sent him to Hawaii of the Pacific Coast League, and he pitched there for 1973 and ’74. He was successful as a starter, with a 14-12 record in 1973 and 12 complete games, which was fourth-best in the PCL. Acosta also pitched in Mexico for two seasons (1975-76), but his late start in the game ultimately led to a rather early finish. Acosta retired from professional ball at the age of 32.
In parts of 3 seasons in the majors, Acosta had a 6-9 record in 57 games. He made 8 starts and had 3 complete games and 1 shutout, as well as 1 save. His ERA was 4.05, and his WHIP was 1.395. Acosta struck out 70 batters in 137-2/3 innings and walked 39. In 6 minor-league seasons, Acosta won 50 games with a 3.56 ERA.
Acosta led a private life in retirement. He lived in Mission Viejo, CA, for some time, and the North Mission Viejo Little League wrote a nice tribute to Acosta on its Facebook page. “For countless Little Leaguers at NMVLL, Ed was always there—ready to toss a baseball, share advice, or crack a joke. His sense of humor and kindness touched generations of players and families…Though his MLB career was brief, his impact—in the majors, in Panama, and right here in our neighborhood—was lasting.”
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Published by Sam Gazdziak