Cookie Rojas
Cookie Rojas was born in Havana, Havana Province, Cuba on March 6th, 1939 and is the Baseball Player. At the age of 85, Cookie Rojas biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 85 years old, Cookie Rojas has this physical status:
Octavio V.C. Rivas (born March 6, 1939), a Cuban former professional baseball second baseman, trainer, and boss who competed in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, and Kansas City Royals.
Rojas, a five-time All-Star player, is currently the Miami Marlins' Spanish-language television color commentator.
He was 5 foot 10 inches (1.78 m) tall during his playing days, weighing 160 pounds (73 kg).
Rojas batted and threw right-handed.
Early life and minor leagues
Rojas' father, who wanted him to be a doctor, was banned from playing baseball. He signed his first professional baseball deal with the Cincinnati Reds as a 17-year-old amateur free agent before the 1956 season began. In the Florida State League, Rojas was then assigned to the West Palm Beach Sun Chiefs, Cincinnati's D-level team. Rojas made steady progress through the Reds' minor league system from 1957 to 1959, competing for the Wausau Lumberjacks in the C-level Northern League, before retiring and playing for the Havana Sugar Kings in the AAA International League. Despite his batting average dropping every year between 1956 and 1960, finally ending at.225. Despite the fact that he had an above-average glove, the Reds were still not positive he'd ever reached enough to play in the majors. He'll continue to struggle with his bat in the majors, while being blocked by superior Reds' second basemen in All Stars Johnny Temple, Billy Martin, and Don Blasingame. At the start of the 1962 season, Rojas would meet with the Reds for the first time and will make his major league debut on April 10. However, he will continue to bat with.221 with only 2 extra base hits in 78 at bats, and will be sent to the AAA Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs for the remainder of the season.
Personal life
Victor, Rojas' second youngest son, was previously the lead play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Angels and now serves as the general manager of the Frisco RoughRiders. Mike, Mike's second-oldest son and former MLB bullpen coach for the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners, is a minor league manager and former MLB bullpen coach.
He was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame in 2011.
Major league career
After the 1962 season, Rojas was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for relief pitcher Jim Owens. Although the Phillies already had an All-Star second baseman in fellow Cuban Tony Taylor, Rojas had seen the last of the minor leagues and would man second in 27 games in 1963. Although he became the regular Phillies second baseman in 1965, Rojas would go on to play at every fielding position, including catcher and pitcher, but would see the bulk of his playing time in the outfield and shortstop in addition to second base. Getting more playing time helped improve his batting, as Rojas hit .291 in 1964 and a career-high .303 in 1965, when he was named to his first All-Star team. As a Phillie, Rojas teamed with shortstop Bobby Wine in a stellar double-play combination that media and fans began to refer as “The Plays of Wine and Rojas,” a takeoff of the song, The Days of Wine and Roses.
Following the 1969 season in which Rojas hit only .228 and hot prospect Denny Doyle tore through AAA with a .310 average, the Phillies decided to include him in the blockbuster trade that sent slugging first baseman Dick Allen and right-handed pitcher Jerry Johnson to the St. Louis Cardinals for centerfielder Curt Flood, catcher Tim McCarver, outfielder Byron Browne, and left-handed pitcher Joe Hoerner, the trade that led ultimately to Major League baseball free agency. By the time the Phillies traded Rojas to the Cardinals in 1970, it appeared his career might be over, as he was hitting only .106 going into the June trading deadline. St. Louis in turn traded him to the Kansas City Royals for outfielder/third baseman Fred Rico on June 13. Kansas City, a team in only its second year of existence, wanted a veteran presence to steady its infield, and in return for the career–minor leaguer Rico, the Royals gained a player who would man second base for most of the next eight seasons and appear in four consecutive All-Star games from 1971 to 1974.
In April 1970, at least one news report mistakenly said Rojas was critically injured in an auto accident. In fact it was former major leaguer Minnie Rojas. In the 1972 All-Star Game in Atlanta, he hit a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the eighth inning, which was the first time that a non-American-born player had ever homered for the American League in the mid-summer classic.
Though a fan favorite, Rojas lost his job as the Royals' starting second baseman to Frank White in 1976, who was much younger than the 37-year-old Rojas and both hit and fielded better than Rojas. Remaining with the team for two more years, Rojas filled a utility role with the team, playing at first, second and third base, and designated hitter. After being released by the team after the 1977 season, Rojas spent 1978 on the sidelines. Despite signing with the Chicago Cubs on September 1, he did not get into a game with the team and retired from baseball.
Rojas is currently in second place on the Royals all-time list of games played at second base with 789, second only to White.
Career statistics
His main position was second base, recording a .984 fielding percentage in 1445 games at that position, he has played all other infield (including catcher) and outfield positions as well.
Coaching career
After his playing career, Rojas coached and scouted for various teams. From 1978 to 1981 he was a coach for the Chicago Cubs. In 1988, he became only the third Cuban-born manager in major-league history when he took the helm of the California Angels, whom he had guided to fourth place with a 75–79 record before being replaced with Moose Stubing with eight games left in the season (with the Angels losing all eight games). In 1996, Rojas managed one game for the Florida Marlins after manager Rene Lachemann was fired before John Boles finished the season for the Marlins.
During the 1999 playoffs, while coaching third base for the New York Mets, Rojas was suspended for five games for getting into a shoving match with umpire Charlie Williams while arguing a foul ball call. Rojas also served as the team's third base coach during the 2000 season, in which they appeared in the World Series. From 2001 to 2002 he was bench coach with the Toronto Blue Jays and was unofficial manager for 3 games in 2001.
For the 2002 season, Rojas was third base coach for the Toronto Blue Jays.