It was before the days of social media, cell phones or even Saturday Night Fever so it’s understandable if you never read about him.
If you were unlucky enough to face him, however, you will not forget the lightning that came from his left arm on the mound. His name is Arnie Costell and at the time he was drafted in the 1st round of the 1971 draft out of Nassau Community College, he was regularly hitting 100 MPH with his fastball and registering a 102 at times. To make him more imposing, he was a lefty, had a curveball that could buckle your ankles and, most importantly, he didn’t know where it was going.
In his first professional season at the age of 19 while playing for the Bristol Tigers of the Appalachian League, Costell threw 19 innings. He walked an astounding 28 batters and hit two others.
The Tigers were not willing to chalk the performance up to youthful nerves and he was traded to the New York Yankees.
He was assigned to the Oneonta Yankees of the New York Penn League. He threw 10 innings and put up strong strikeout numbers–17 punch outs, but again he struggled to find the plate, walking 27 batters and compiling a WHIP of 3.00.
He told Baseball in the Blood that one of his friends in the minor leagues, Jim Leyland, said he had “Nolan Ryan’s velocity, Bert Blyleven’s curveball and Koufax’s control”. Costell added that “They forgot to tell me it was Mrs. Koufax. I couldn’t throw it in the ocean,” he said.
By 1975, at the age of 23, Costell was out of professional baseball.
Prior to his days in the minor leagues, however, Costell was the star of the sandlot fields on Long Island. He vividly remembers the day he got into an altercation with Ed Ford–the son of Yankees legend Whitey Ford, while Whitey watched from the stands.
He stated that his fondest memory was pitching at Shea Stadium in an All Star Game–a mound in which his idol, Sandy Koufax, dominated the Mets on several times.
Costell featured a one-in-a-million arm and an infectious personality that allows him to leave an indelible mark on those he meets.
He continues to play ball in an over-25 league men’s league. He claims his fastball still clocks in at 82 MPH even at age-63. Fortunately, his control has improve vastly with age so it is now safe to step into the batters box against him.
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Rod Frogfarkler
Arnie was my neighbor in Marina del Rey. We talked all the time about the old days. Great guy.