As a rookie third baseman with Cincinnati, Cuccinello batted .312, and then spent nearly a decade as a regular at second base. He hit .300 four more times, and led NL second basemen in assists and double plays three times each. He pinch-hit for Carl Hubbell in the inaugural 1933 All-Star Game. “I’m the most surprised guy in baseball,” said Cuccinello upon his release from the White Sox in January 1946, but with WWII over and younger players returning, Chicago cut the 38-year-old. He had finished the 1945 season at .308, one point behind NL leader Snuffy Stirnweiss’s .309. Cuccinello did return to the Sox in 1957 as a coach under former teammate Al Lopez. Tony’s younger brother, Al, spent one season with the Giants.
