Joe Pepitone Remembered

On March 13, 2023, the New York Yankees announced the passing of Joe Pepitone. He was 82. Pepitone was a player, who had tremendous potential, so much so that the Yankees traded Bill "Moose" Skowron after the 1962 season to make room for "Pepi."
Pepitone had a solid career but never became the superstar the Yankees had hoped. He was part of the new breed of player in the 1960s, who grew his hair long and wore his uniform tight. Although mild by today's standards, he was considered a renegade back then, but he was a fan favorite.
In 2001, I had the chance to interview Pepitone, while broadcasting New Britain Rock Cats games with Jeff Dooley. On this August night (8/1/01), the Rock Cats, who at the time were the AA affiliate of the Minnesota Twins in the Eastern League, were hosting the Yankees affiliate, Norwich. The Rock Cats were co-owned by William Dowling, who once had a high profile job in the Yankees front office under George Steinbrenner. It was how Dowling came to know Pepitone and how Joe made a promotional appearance at New Britain Stadium.
During the game, Pepitone visited the broadcast booth and spent an inning on air with Jeff and me. We talked about those Yankee years; the good and the bad. The game itself became interesting as the Yankees farm club started hitting home runs, including by some players whose names you may remember.

[@nyronut]

RIP Joe Pepitone

[@eddiehaskell5578]

For a kid from Brooklyn, he did ok.⚾️R.I.P. Joe😢

[@daveh0165]

Enjoyed this interview. Thanks for posting, Dan.

[@SSNESS]

New Britain Red Sox

[@johnmarshall4399]

Got his bat at batday