Kurt Bevacqua - Early Years

Early Years

Bevacqua was originally drafted by the New York Mets in the 32nd round of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft and the Atlanta Braves in the sixth round of the January Secondary phase of the 1967 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign with either team. After leading Miami Dade College to the FJCC baseball tournament, he finally signed with the Cincinnati Reds, who selected him in the twelfth round of the secondary phase of the June 1967 draft.

He was immediately a utility player, playing each infield position and the outfield while in the Reds' farm system. He was traded to the Cleveland Indians for outfielder Buddy Bradford on May 8, 1971, and made his big league debut shortly afterwards. Though he batted just .204 his rookie season, his versatility on the field proved valuable to the Indians. He appeared in 55 games, playing second, third, shortstop and both corner outfield positions, and earned the nickname "Dirty Kurt" for routinely having the dirtiest uniform on the team.

Bevacqua spent most of the 1972 season with the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League, where he batted .313 with nine home runs and 72 runs batted in. He returned to the Indians that September, but batted just .114 in nineteen games. After the season, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals for pitcher Mike Hedlund.