Career
He batted and threw right-handed. He is the only pitcher ever to do so in a nine-inning, professional-league game. Necciai pitched two seasons of Class-Doctorate baseball before being drafted in the Pirates" farm system in 1952 at age 19.
He was assigned to pitch for the Bristol Twins, the Pirates" Appalachian League team
On May 13, pitching despite painful stomach ulcers, Necciai struck out 27 batters while throwing a 7-0 no-hitter against the Welch Miners. Four of the Welch hitters did reach base, one runner each via a walk, an error, a hit batsman and a passed ball charged to Twins" catcher Harry Dunlop on a swinging third strike.
This resulted in a four-strikeout ninth inning. Only two batters put the ball in play: Bob Ganung grounded out to first base in the second inning and Whitehead got on base on an error in the ninth.
In his next start, Necciai threw a 24-strikeout two-hitter.
In that season he struck out 109 hitters in 43 innings with Bristol, and a Carolina League-high 172 in 126 innings at Burlington before quickly climbing the ranks of the organization and eventually getting called up to the Major Leagues amid heavy publicity in August 1952. At 20 years old, Necciai posted a 1-6 record with 31 strikeouts and a 7.08 European Research Area in 54.2 innings pitched from August 10 to September 28, 1952, the single season composing his
Necciai served a brief stint in the United States Armed Forces in 1953 before being released on a medical discharge. He returned to baseball thereafter, but was plagued by injuries resulting from his long-standing battle with stomach ulcers and further debilitation from a torn rotator cuff.
He spent the years between 1953 and 1955 in various lower levels of professional baseball, but was ultimately unable to overcome injuries.
He later began a successful career in the sporting goods industry.