Joe Sambito


Joseph Charles Sambito is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Houston Astros, New York Mets and Boston Red Sox. He batted and threw left-handed. He graduated from Bethpage High School in Bethpage, New York
A fastball and slider specialist, Sambito was a starter in the minors, as he led the Southern League in strikeouts at Triple-A Columbus in 1975. A year later he was promoted to the Astros, where he immediately moved into a relief role.
From 1978 through 1981, Sambito led Houston in saves, with a career-high 22 saves and a 1.78 ERA in 1979 – a season in which he posted a string of 40 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run and was named to the National League All-Star team. He started 1982 with four saves and a 0.71 ERA in nine appearances, before it was discovered that bone chips had damaged the ligaments of his pitching elbow. He missed the rest of the season and all of 1983 recuperating from Tommy John surgery. The next two years, he failed in comeback attempts with Houston and the New York Mets.
Sambito made the Red Sox roster out of spring training in. He would go on to post a 2–0 record with 12 saves that season, and helped the Red Sox reach the World Series. Arguably his most memorable save as a Red Sox came on June 17, 1986. Holding onto a 1 run lead, Sambito retired Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield with the bases loaded to close out the game. He retired in 1987 after posting a 2–6 record with 6.93 ERA. In an eleven-season career, Sambito posted a 37–38 record with a 3.03 ERA and 84 saves in 461 games.
Following his retirement, Sambito became a players counselor and representative. Some of his clients have included Andy Pettitte, Ryan Klesko, Jeff D'Amico and Morgan Ensberg.
Sambito currently resides in Irvine, California.
On July 28, 2013, Sambito was inducted into the inaugural class of the Bethpage High School Athletic Wall of Fame.