Al Gettel, who died April 8 in Norfolk, Va., at age 87, was a journeyman right-handed pitcher who played for both the Yankees and the Giants.

A member of the 1951 Giants team that won the National League pennant with Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard Round the World” home run, Gettel made headlines when he contended that the Giants were stealing signs all that year. “Every hitter knew what was coming,” Gettel told the Wall Street Journal in 2001. “Made a big difference.”

Two other players, catcher Sal Yvars and first baseman Whitey Lockman, backed up the claim.

Gettel himself didn’t play in the 1951 postseason, having been sold in July to the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League. He appeared in 30 games for the 1951 Giants as a reliever, but his 4.87 ERA made it relatively painless for manager Leo Durocher to lose his services.

The Giants went on to lose the World Series that year to the Yankees, and the team voted Gettel a 1/3-share of the postseason bonus. “I was back at our home at the time in Urbanna, Va., after the season was over and I got a nice surprise in the mail,” Gettel told a friend, Frank Albero of Kempsville, Va., recently.

Gettel grew up on a farm in Virginia and was drafted out of Kempsville by the Yankees in 1936. He spent most of the next decade at Yankee farm teams before finally being promoted to the Major Leagues in 1945. During two seasons with the Yankees, he compiled a 15-15 record with a respectable 3.84 ERA. He was then sold to Cleveland after the Yankees switched managers.

After shorter stints with the White Sox and Senators, Gettel played for the Oaks. California seemed to agree with him, and he became a star of the Pacific Coast League, winning 24 games one season as a starter. He also began appearing in bit parts in Westerns, taking advantage of his horsemanship. On Al Gettel Day at the Oakland stadium one year, he galloped onto the field on horseback sporting Western gear, a stunt for which he was branded “Two Gun” for the rest of his career.

After his brief tenure with the Giants, he had an even briefer job with the Cardinals in 1955. He then played for three more seasons for the San Diego Padres, then a Pacific League team, before retiring in 1958. He said that the slugger Ralph Kiner, a part-owner of the Padres, called him to ask him to reconsider his decision to retire. His major league record was 39-45 with a 4.28 ERA.

“I told him I just didn’t feel like I could play the way I was used to and Ralph said, ‘I understand. That’s why I stopped, too,'” Gettel told Mr. Albero.

After baseball, Gettel appeared in a few more Westerns, including “The Tin Star,” starring Henry Fonda. He eventually made his way back to Virginia, where he worked the family farm, operated a machine shop, and did some construction work.

He was scheduled to throw out the first ball at the Kempsville Pony Baseball and Softball league this spring, but ill health prevented him.