Johnny Antonelli

Antonelli is a native and lifelong resident of Rochester, New York. A brilliant schoolboy career at Jefferson High School led to fierce competition among nine of the 16 Major League Baseball teams in existence in 1948, with the Braves the highest bidder. Baseball rules of the time mandated that "bonus babies" be kept on major league rosters for at least two full seasons before they could be sent to the minors. So Antonelli went from high school to the MLB Braves, a veteran team fighting for Boston\'s first National League pennant since 1914. He never would pitch in the minor leagues.\n', '

While the Braves went on to win the 1948 NL championship, Antonelli was used largely as a batting practice pitcher. He appeared in only four games and four innings pitched, all relief assignments in low-leverage situations. His large bonus dwarfed the salaries of veteran Braves like ace starting pitch…