1985 Profile: John Montefusco

"The 1984 season will not be fondly remembered by John 'The Count' Montefusco. 'I look back on 1984 and it was as if I was not even part of the team,' The Count recalls. 'I walked around the clubhouse feeling strange all year. It's not something I want to go through again.'
Montefusco is sour on last year because of a May auto accident which left him in a neck brace for a good part of the season. He returned for the final six weeks of the schedule and went 5-1 with a 2.76 ERA.
Luckily, he is fully recovered from his mishap and the Yankees are counting on him as one of their right-handed starting pitchers. Knowing The Count, he'll perform like he never missed a beat last year.
'I'm as good as new,' Montefusco assures. 'My arm feels great and my confidence is high. I'm as excited about a season as I have ever been.'"

-The New York Yankees Official 1985 Yearbook

"Coming off an outstanding 5-0 record in late '83 with his new club, Montefusco pitched only 9.2 innings in '84 before being placed on the DL with a sprained costa sternum on April 29. His physical condition was further complicated by an auto accident on May 4, causing hospitalization for whiplash.
John was sent for rehabilitation on August 1 to Columbus, where he compiled a 1-0 record and 0.69 ERA in three starts, and was reactivated on August 16. Over the season's final six weeks he went 5-1, allowing 14 earned runs in 45 innings for a 2.76 ERA. John is 10-3 with a 3.47 ERA in two years with the Yankees.
He began the 1983 season with the Padres, being used in both starting and relief roles. Eligible to become a free agent at the end of the season, John was traded to the Yankees on August 26. He won his first start as a Yankee on August 28 at California and, used exclusively as a starter, won five of six starts.
On September 29, 1976, John pitched a 9-0 no-hitter against the Braves, missing a perfect game by the margin of a fourth inning walk to Jerry Royster. In 1975 he was National League Rookie of the Year (BBWAA) and NL Rookie Pitcher of the Year (Sporting News) when he recorded 215 strikeouts. In 1974 for Phoenix, John tied a Pacific Coast League record set in 1910 by fanning eight straight batters. He hit a home run in his first at-bat in the majors on September 3 of that year at Dodger Stadium.
John played shortstop for Middletown (NJ) Township High until his senior year when he switched to pitching."

-1985 New York Yankees Information Guide