Incaviglia was noted for his power hitting ability as well as his tendency to strike out. During his MLB career, he struck out 1,277 times, while leading the league twice, 1986 and 1988. Incaviglia owns several single-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) records, including home runs (HR) (48) and runs batted in (RBI) (143).
Incaviglia's rookie season came in 1986. Drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1985, he refused to play a day in the minor leagues and was later traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Bob Sebra and Jim Anderson.[4] The Rangers would grant the request and make him the 15th player in Major League history to debut in the majors without ever playing any minor league ball since the amateur draft began in 1965.[2] He had the tenth most home runs in the league (30) and set a Rangers club record, but also struck out the most times in 1986 (185), currently holding 44th place (through 2019 season) on the all-time single-season strikeout record. His rookie season set a standard he would be unable to match again through the rest of his career. In 1987, his home run output decreased by three, but his batting average climbed 21 points, had a better slugging percentage, and cut down his strikeouts by 17.
Incaviglia hit at least 20 home runs yearly in his first five seasons, all with Texas. His playing time and production dropped thereafter in single seasons with Detroit and Houston, however his career received a boost when he was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies before the 1993 season. He and fellow outfielder Jim Eisenreich were key acquisitions for the team that would go on to win the division and reach the World Series (one year after finishing in last place). In just 368 at-bats, Incaviglia hit 24 home runs and drove in a career-best 89 runs. He also posted career highs in OPS (.848) and WAR (2.9).
Incaviglia batted .234 with 16 home runs and 42 RBI in 99 games with the Phillies in 1996 until he was acquired along with Todd Zeile by the Orioles on August 29 of that year in a transaction that was completed when Calvin Maduro and Garrett Stephenson were sent to Philadelphia on September 3 and 4 respectively.[5][6][7] He was designated for assignment by the Orioles on July 14, 1997, after hitting .246 with five homers and 12 RBI in 48 games.[8]
Pete Incaviglia Rule
As a result of the Expos trading Incaviglia immediately after signing him, Major League Baseball instituted a rule whereby a team cannot trade a drafted player until he has been under contract to the club for at least one calendar year. This was known as the Pete Incaviglia Rule.[9] The rule was changed during the 2015 season, allowing teams to trade drafted players the day after the World Series concluded.[10]
Incaviglia was announced as the first manager of the Grand Prairie AirHogs on October 24, 2007. The AirHogs began play in May 2008 in the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball and reached the Southern Division playoffs in his first season as their manager.[12] After five seasons as manager of the Laredo Lemurs—even winning the 2015 American Association championship—he returned to the AirHogs as hitting coach after the Lemurs shut down operations prior to the 2017 season.