LaCorte attended Gavilan College and was signed by the Braves as an undrafted free agent in 1972. He broke into the Majors late in his third professional season, and would play all or part of ten years in the Majors. Initially a starting pitcher, LaCorte hurled for the perennially struggling late-1970s Braves for the first 44 games pitched of his MLB career. He won only four of 28 decisions (.143) and compiled a poor 6.23 earned run average in 179 innings pitched during his tenure with the Braves.\n', '

On May 25, 1979, he was traded to Houston (for pitcher Bo McLaughlin) and eventually established himself with the Astros as a relief pitcher. LaCorte was a member of the 1980 National League West Division champion Astros. Along with Joe Sambito and Dave Smith, he was an integral part of the club\'s successful bullpen. His statistics from the 1980 season were his career best in wins (8), ERA (2.82), games pitched (55), games finished (44), and saves (11).\n', '

He appeared in two games in relief in the 1980 National League Championship Series, and was the winner in Game 2\'s 7–4 Houston win. However, in the deciding fifth game, LaCorte gave up doubles to Del Unser and Garry Maddox in the tenth inning, as the Philadelphia Phillies broke a 7–7 deadlock to win their first National League title in 30 years.\n', '

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