In 1949, he set a Georgia–Florida League season record with 294 strikeouts, an average of 12.6 per each nine innings. His baseball career was briefly interrupted while serving in the Korean War from 1950 through 1952. After discharging, he pitched three seasons of minor league ball before joining the majors in 1955 with the Athletics.[2][3]
In five big league seasons, Ceccarelli posted a 9–18 record and a 5.05 earned run average in 79 pitching appearances (42 starts). His most productive became in 1959, when he went 5–5 with four complete games and a pair of shutouts for the Cubs. That included a string of four straight wins, a streak capped by a complete-game victory over a San Francisco Giants' lineup that included Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda.[4] One of the most notable games of his career came in a 3–0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ceccarelli pitched 10 innings and became the only left-handed pitcher to defeat Sandy Koufax in the Coliseum. His baseball idol was Ted Williams stating in an interview he had walked a batter just to have the chance to pitch against him.
