Al LaMacchia​

Al LaMacchia was a professional baseball player with the San Antonio Missions, a major league pitcher and a professional baseball scout for more than 56 years.​

LaMacchia spent three seasons pitching for the San Antonio Missions, setting a Texas league record in 1942, which still stands, when he pitched a nine-inning game in 1:07.  He pitched in 16 games in the major leagues for the St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators from 1943-46.  ​

Following his playing career, LaMacchia became one of the most recognized scouts in baseball.  He shunned the use of computers, radar guns and stopwatches as scouting tools, preferring to trust his eyes. His six decades as a scout were spent working for Philadelphia, Atlanta, Toronto, Tampa Bay and Los Angeles.  He joined the Toronto Blue Jays in 1977 and was named vice president in 1985.  During his 20 years with the Blue Jays, he helped build the World Series championship teams of 1992 and 1993.  Among the notable players LaMacchia signed during his career were Dale Murphy and Cito Gaston. He was responsible for drafting David Wells, George Bell, Dave Stieb, and Jeff Kent and convinced the Dodgers to trade for Andre Ethier. He was named Midwest Region Scout of the Year in 2001. LaMacchia passed way in 2010 at his San Antonio home at the age of 89.​