Rico Petrocelli was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1997. He started in the 1967 and '69 All-Star Games, and was known as one of the league's best fielders for over a decade. He played in 1,553 regular season games and 17 post-season games over 12 years.

In 1969, Petrocelli set the American League record for home runs by a shortstop (40, broken by Seattle's Alex Rodriguez with 42 in 1998) and tied the record for fewest errors by a shortstop (14). In 1976, which turned out to be his final year playing professionally, he was plagued by a hamstring injury. On September 15 of that year he was hit in the head by a pitch thrown by Milwaukee pitcher Jim Slaton.

Petrocelli retired after the 1976 season, and worked as a minor league coach for more than 10 years, mostly in the Red Sox organization. He currently lives in southern New Hampshire with his wife of more than forty years, Elsie. They have four grown children together. Petrocelli has an office in Nashua, where he runs his own business, Petrocelli Marketing Group. He also continues to work at baseball clinics and in radio.