Randall Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011) was a center fielder and catcher who played in Minor League Baseball from 1971-1974. He was a two-time All-State catcher at Downers Grove North High School near Chicago, IL. He was the only player signed out of a 200-player open tryout by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1971. He batted .286/~.430/.492 in 35 games for the GCL Cardinals. In 16 games at catcher, he was error-free.
He returned to the GCL Cardinals for the 1972 season and hit .274/~.371/.393 in 52 games, mostly in the outfield. He made the Gulf Coast League All-Star team in the outfield, one of six outfielders chosen; teammate Jerry Mumphrey was also selected and would go on to a fine career. In 1973, Randy hit .344/~.459/.508 in 25 games as a DH for the GCL Red Birds. He also played that year for manager Jimmy Piersall with the Orangeburg Cardinals in the Class-A Western Carolinas League, hitting .250/~.374/.405 in 46 games, again mostly at DH. Poffo credits Piersall and his feisty personality for teaching him how to be aggressive and how to fight. He suffered a severe muscle tear and ligament separation in his throwing arm and was released by the Cardinals. Faced with potential retirement because of the injury, he taught himself to throw left-handed, although it's not clear that he actually used this new skill on the field.
Poffo returned in 1974 with the Cincinnati Reds. He played for the Reds' Florida State League affiliate, the Tampa Tarpons and had a career year in power though his OBP and average fell significantly. He batted .232/~.309/.358 in 131 games, mostly at DH and occasionally in the outfield or first base. He finished third in the league in RBI (66) and tied for fifth in home runs (9), only three less than Eddie Murray hit as a full-time player in the FSL that year. Only Gary Roenicke and Billy Baldwin drove in more runners; Murray trailed Poffo by 3. He was released by the Reds.
Poffo signed with the Chicago White Sox for 1975, but was released at the end of spring training. After this, he decided to call it quits for baseball.
Overall, Randy batted .254/~.351/.392 in 289 games. He stole 21 bases and drove in 130 runs in 869 AB.
Trivia[]
- After his baseball career ended, he joined the WWF as Randy 'Macho Man' Savage.
- Him and Rinku Singh are the only minor league ballplayers who successfully started careers in the WWF/WWE.
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