Gordon Graceffo Villanova Wildcats Practice Worn & Signed “Go Cats!” Nike Zoom Trout Shoes

Description

Gordon Graceffo is a pitcher in the St Louis Cardinals Organization. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 5th Round of the 2021 MLB Draft with the 151st Pick. He played college baseball for Villanova University. He attended Cranford Hight School in Cranford, NJ and earned three varsity letters as a pitcher on the baseball team while playing for former Villanova standout and Varsity Club Hall of Fame inductee Dennis McCaffery. He had a career ERA of 2.25 with 30 walks and 128 strikeouts during his scholastic career. He was also a three-time first team all-conference and three-time first team all-county selection. Graceffo also earned first team all-group honors as a junior and achieved High Honor Roll status academically all four years.

Graceffo pitched for Villanova from 2019-21 and established himself as one of the top pitchers in school history despite having both his sophomore and junior seasons truncated by the COVID-19 pandemic. His ability to generate soft contact and prevent extra-base hits were among the calling cards that made him stand out as a professional prospect. The talented right-handed pitcher is strong and durable and was emerging as the ace of the Villanova staff when his 2020 season was halted after just four starts. He looked even stronger with a dominant 2021 campaign which resulted in him being the Wildcats highest draft pick in 10 years.

In 2020, Graceffo won each of his four starts on the year and was 4-0 with a 1.42 ERA when the season was halted from the pandemic. His four wins led the BIG EAST and were tied for second nationally. He also led the conference in ERA among qualified pitchers and held opponents to a .216 batting average against him and gave up just five extra-base hits (one home run) to 106 batters faced. He logged 25 1/3 innings and gave up 21 hits and five runs (four earned) while walking seven and striking out 12. The right-hander pitched 5 1/3 innings in his season debut as the Wildcats tallied a 2-1 upset over No. 3 Arizona State, the highest-ranked win in program history

Graceffo is a classic power pitcher with a fastball-slider-changeup repertoire. In his Villanova collegiate career, he pitched in 32 games with 28 starts, three complete games and one shutout. He went 14-10 with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.193 WHIP for Villanova. He pitched 179 1/3 innings and gave up 169 hits while holding opponents to a .248 batting average. He also only gave up just six home runs to 754 batters faced as a collegian, including just one home run allowed in 431 plate appearances against him spanning his sophomore and junior seasons. At the conclusion of the 2021 season, the Wildcats ace ranked third in school history in career WHIP (1.193), fourth in ERA (2.86) and 10th in opponent batting average (.248). He also had the sixth-lowest walk rate (2.26 BB/9) of any Villanova pitcher with at least 100 career innings pitched.

His memorable 2021 Season also ranked fifth in Villanova history for a single season in ERA, with his 1.54 mark the lowest every by a pitcher who threw as many innings (82.0) as he did. His accomplishments also included being named to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team as a freshman in 2018-19 and becoming a three-time member of the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.

In 2021 with the Palm Beach Cardinals, (Low-A Affiliate of the St Louis Cardinals) the right-hander was lights out pitching in 11 games and registering a 1.73 ERA. Graceffo pitched 26.0 innings and struck out 37 batters and had a 1.42 WHIP.

The featured size 13 black and white Nike Zoom Trout Shoes were worn by Gordon Graceffo in practice as a member of the Villanova Wildcats. The talented pitcher also wore these Shoes in the dugout when he wasn’t pitching. Graceffo has signed the Shoes and added “Go Cats!” to the right one and “Worn In Dugout” to the left one in silver. The Shoes show good wear!