“I always wanted to play pro ball. I realized my dream. Unfortunately, it didn’t last as long as I would have liked. But nevertheless, I was there. In the majors everything was first class all the way. In the minors you had to put up with those long bus rides through the South — maybe 10 or 14 hours on a bus. And they only gave us a few dollars for meals. So you had to eat at a greasy spoon. It was the best you could do. But it still seems worth it.” - Pete Cimino

Peter William Cimino (born October 17, 1942 in Philadelphia, PA) is a retired professional baseball player who played four seasons for the Minnesota Twins and California Angels of Major League Baseball.

Cimino might be best known for scoring 114 points in a high school basketball game on January 22, 1960. The single-game shooting outburst occurred during a 134–86 win over Palisades High School, in a Lower Bucks County League match. In the game, Cimino made 44 of 79 field goal attempts and 26 of 29 free throw attempts. He scored all 69 of his team's second half points. The 114-point total is still a Pennsylvania state record and is also the fourth highest in any United States boys high school game. The 44 field goals made and 79 attempts were both national single-game records at the time. Pete also threw a perfect game for the High School baseball team.

In 1960, Pete signed with the Washington Senators organization. In 1962 Cimino was invited to participate in spring training with the team which had since moved to Minnesota. Although he was not expected to make the club, it was a sign of the high regard in which the Minnesota Twins held him. While his record for the season was just 12-13, he managed 190 strikeouts in as many innings, and frequently overpowered the opposition.

On April 30 he tied a 17-year old Carolina League record by striking out 20 batters in a 7-3 win over the Burlington Indians. He struck out the side in the second, third, sixth, and eighth innings, as well as the final two batters in the ninth to tie the record. On July 1 he tossed a no-hitter against the Winston-Salem Red Sox, striking out eight and walking one while retiring the first 22 batters he faced. Nine days later, he recorded 14 strikeouts in a 5-1 win over the Kinston Eagles.

Over a four year career, Pete pitched to a respectable 3.07 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP and posted high strikeout-to-batters faced totals. After leaving baseball, Cimino held a job driving a truck for a beverage company for 19 years, and then worked for a chemical company for two years before retiring.

(excerpted from SABR, Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)