John Lewis Pacella is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He became known for his unusual delivery that sometimes caused him to lose his cap after a pitch.
He made his major league debut out of the bullpen on his 21st birthday against the Philadelphia Phillies. After retiring the side in the seventh inning, Pacella walked the first batter he faced, Ted Sizemore, in the eighth. A botched pick off attempt allowed Sizemore to move to second. After he steals third, an error by Mets shortstopDoug Flynn put runners on the corners. Larry Bowa then drove Sizemore in with a single, while Ron Reed advanced to third. Pacella then uncorks a wild pitch allowing Reed to score. Though this could hardly be called a successful debut, he escaped without allowing an earned run. He made two more appearances by the end of the season; each time pitching one perfect inning. After spending all of in the minors, he returned to the Mets in as a September call-up. After pitching well in his first two appearances, he failed to make it out of the first inning in his third. For the season, he went 0-2 with a 4.41 ERA in four games. His only full season in the majors was. After starting the season in the bullpen, he was moved into the starting rotation in June. He earned his first major league win against Hall of FamerSteve Carlton and the Phillies on June 27, and improved to 3-0 with a 3.43 ERA on July 17 when he and Jeff Reardon combined to shut the Atlanta Braves out. Unfortunately, things went south from there as Pacella lost his next four decisions and finished the season at 3-4 with a 5.14 ERA. After the season, he and infielderJosé Moreno were traded to the San Diego Padres for Cy Young Award winner Randy Jones. The following Spring, the Padres dealt Pacella and Jerry Mumphrey to the New York Yankees for Ruppert Jones, Joe Lefebvre, Tim Lollar and Chris Welsh. After spending the season in triple A, Pacella won a job in the Yankees' bullpen out of Spring training. He made three appearances, getting hit hard in each, before being reassigned to triple A Columbus. Shortly after his arrival in Columbus, he was dealt to the Minnesota Twins with Pete Filson and Larry Milbourne for Roger Erickson and Butch Wynegar. He reported directly to the Twins, and remained with the club for the rest of the season despite a high 7.32 ERA. On November 1, he was traded to the Texas Rangers for Len Whitehouse. He failed to make the club out of Spring training, and was released just as the season was set to begin. During the season, he signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles. He earned a September call-up to the big league club in September, but was released at the end of the season. Shortly afterwards, he signed with the Detroit Tigers. He appeared briefly with the Tigers in the middle of the season. During the season, his contract was sold to the Yokohama Bay Stars of the Japanese Central League.
