Luis Aparicio

Baseball Player

Luis Aparicio was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela on April 29th, 1934 and is the Baseball Player. At the age of 89, Luis Aparicio biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.

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Date of Birth
April 29, 1934
Nationality
Venezuela
Place of Birth
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Age
89 years old
Zodiac Sign
Taurus
Networth
$3 Million
Profession
Baseball Player
Luis Aparicio Height, Weight, Eye Color and Hair Color

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Luis Aparicio Religion, Education, and Hobbies
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Luis Aparicio Life

Luis Ernesto Montiel (born April 29, 1934), dubbed "Little Louie," is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player who is recognized for being the first Venezuelan inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

He appeared in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1956 to 1973, most notably for the Chicago White Sox, where he was known for his outstanding defensive and base stealing skills.

He helped the White Sox win the AL championship in 1959 and was the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) runner-up that season (he led the AL in stolen bases, putouts, assists, and fielding as shortstop).

Ted Williams, an AL All-Star for ten seasons, an AL stolen base captain for nine seasons, and an AL Gold Glove champion for nine seasons, according to MLB legend Ted Williams, Aparicio was "the best shortstop he's ever seen."

In 1999, he was nominated for the Major League All-Centure Team (one-hundred greatest players).

Early life

Aparicio was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, in the state of Zulia. Luis Aparicio Sr., his father, was a notable shortstop in Venezuela and he was a member of Aparicio's uncle Ernesto Aparicio. Aparicio was selected as a member of Venezuela's 1953 Amateur World Series held in Caracas at the age of 19. In 1953, he and his father joined the local amateur team in Maracaibo, together with his father. In a symbolic gesture during the team's 1953 home opener, his father led off as the first hitter of the game, took the first pitch, and had Aparicio Jr. take his place at bat.

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Luis Aparicio Career

Major league career

The Cleveland Indians had been discussing Aparicio, but Indians General Manager Hank Greenberg expressed the belief that he was too small to play in the major leagues. Frank Lane, the Chicago White Sox's general manager, on the recommendation of fellow Venezuelan shortstop Chico Carrasquel, he then signed Aparicio for $5,000 down and $5,000 in first-year pay. He made his minor league debut in the age of 22, replacing Carrasquel as the White Sox's shortstop in 1956. He spent only two years in the minor leagues. Aparicio will lead the American League in stolen bases, assists, and putouts, as well as winning both the AL Rookie of the Year and The Sporting News Rookie of the Year awards. He was the first Latin American player to win the Rookie of the Year award.

Aparicio made a quick jump into the Go-Go White Sox teams of the mid-1950s, who were known for their speed and solid defense. Aparicio established the mark for the spray-hitting, slick-fielding, and quick shortstop over the next decade. He and second baseman Nellie Fox made for one of the best double play pairings in the major leagues. In 1957, Aparicio led the AL in stolen bases and assists as the White Sox remained first place until late June before finishing the season in second place behind the New York Yankees. For the first time in his career, he hit two home runs against the Kansas City Athletics in September 7, leading off the game with an inside-the-park home run and a three-run shot in the 4th inning as the White Sox defeated 8-2.

When Aparicio was selected to be the AL's starting shortstop in the All-Star Game in 1958, he earned his nickname as one of the top shortstops in the major leagues. After being in last place on June 14, the White Sox spent the season in second place behind the Yankees in second place for the second time this season. Aparicio led the league in stolen bases, assists, and putouts, and he received his first Gold Glove Award.

When the "Go-Go" White Sox captured the AL pennant in 1959, they were the team's leader during the regular season five games ahead of the Cleveland Indians. In the Most Valuable Player Award balloting, he was runner-up to Wally Moses' 1943 team record. For the second time, Aparicio was named as a starting All-Star and was also a winner of the second Gold Glove Award. In the 1959 World Series, he had a.308 batting average. In a six-game series, the White Sox were defeated by the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 1983, the White Sox took 77 bases before Rudy Law took them. The term "aparicio double" was coined to denote a walk and a stolen base when Aparicio stole 50 bases in his first 61 attempts in 1959. Aparicio is the last surviving player to play for the White Sox in the 1959 World Series since teammate Johnny Romano's death in 2019.

Aparicio was one of the top shortstops in the league in 1960 and 1961, finishing at or near the top in fielding percentages and assists. His 601 assists were the most since 1943 in the major leagues, and 556 in 1935, the most AL total since White Sox's Luke Appling was 556; the highest AL total since 1945 was above 550 in 1911. Aparicio's 1962-born Aparicio was overweight and had an offyear, and the White Sox gave him a pay cut for the 1963 season. An enraged Aparicio said he'd rather quit rather than accept a salary decrease and then request to be exchanged. Hoyt Wilhelm, Ron Hansen, Dave Nicholson, and Pete Ward were traded by the White Sox to the Baltimore Orioles with Al Smith in January 1963.

Aparicio regained his form in Baltimore and led the league in stolen bases and fielding percentages, earning a career-best.983 fielding percentage in 1963. He was a member of one of baseball's best defensive infields, along with Brooks Robinson and Jerry Adair. For his ninth year in a row, he led the league in stolen bases for the ninth year in a row, defeating George Sisler's franchise record of 51 set with the 1922 St. Louis Browns. He also received his sixth Gold Glove Award in 1964. In 1966, Aparicio posted a.276 batting average, tied with teammate Frank Robinson for the second-most hits in the league behind Tony Oliva, and claimed their first American League pennant. He came in ninth place in the MVP voting, in which teammates also ranked in the top three spots, and the Orioles defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1966 World Series.

Aparicio was traded back to the White Sox with Russ Snyder and John Matias for Don Buford, Bruce Howard, and Roger Nelson on November 29, 1967, with Mark Belanger at shortstop. He continued to play well defensively, leading the league in range factor in 1968 and 1969. In a 10-inning, 2-1 loss in Detroit on May 15, 1969, he collected his 2,000th hit in a 10-inning, 2-1 loss. Aparicio had his best offensive season in 1970, scoring 86 runs and finishing fourth in the AL batting championship for his career with a record-breaking.313 average. In addition,, he earned his eighth All-Star berth and his ninth Gold Glove. Aparicio scored 25 points at shortstop on September 25, the White Sox's first game of a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers, beating Luke Appling's record of 2,218 games at shortstop. Despite the White Sox's appearance in last place, Aparicio came in 12th in the MVP rankings, placing him 12th.

Aparicio was traded to the Boston Red Sox for Luis Alvarado and Mike Andrews after three seasons with the White Sox. On April 10, Aparicio had a career-high six runs batted in (RBI), beating the Indians in Cleveland, who then scored a 2nd-inning grand slam followed by a 2-run double in the seventh inning. He was just one hit less than tying the longest major league hitless streak for non-pitchers, led by Bill Bergen with 45 in 1909 with the Brooklyn Superbas, going without a hit in 44 at bats in late May. On June 1, he snapped a 2nd-inning single against the Kansas City Royals, snapping the streak. He tied Appling's record of 1,424 career double plays during the season. For the year, he had averaged only.232, the second lowest average in his career.

Aparicio's 1972 career of 3,328 total bases as a shortstop and Bill Dahlen's record of 7,505 assists; he also won 3-0 over the Texas Rangers on August 15. Nonetheless, he made a late-season baserunning error that resulted in the Red Sox losing the 1972 American League Eastern Division crown by a half-game to the Detroit Tigers. Aparicio's base was eliminated after rounding third base on an apparent triple by Carl Yastrzemski, resulting in Aparicio's dismissal of second base as he attempted to return to second base. Aparicio hit a.271 average and stole his 500th base against the New York Yankees on July 5 in his last year as an active player in 1973. As a shortstop, he also hit Appling's major league record of 2,594 runs. At the age of 39, Aparicio retired at the end of the season.

Career statistics

Aparicio played in 2,599 games, totaling 2,677 runs in 10,230 at bats for a.262 career batting average, with 394 doubles, 83 home runs, and 561 stolen bases. He retired with a.972 fielding percentage at the end of his career. Aparicio led AL shortstops eight times in fielding percentage, seven times in assists, and four times in range factor and putouts. In nine seasons (1956-1964), he led the league in stolen bases (1956–1964) and has received the Gold Glove Award nine times (1958–1962, 1970, 1970). Aparicio was also a ten-time All-Star Games winner (1958–1972), was the starting shortstop in six All-Star Games and appeared in ten games (he didn't play in the second All-Star Games from 1959 to 1962; he didn't play in the first All-Star Games from 1959 to 1962; and didn't play in the 1964 and 1972 games and didn't participate).

Aparicio, a shortstop, and the all-time champion for putouts and total chances by an American League shortstop at the time of his retirement. His nine Gold Glove Awards tied for shortstops in the United States that was previously held by Omar Vizquel in 2001. With 8, he tied the most seasons leading the league in fielding average by shortstops, a record that has been broken by Everett Scott and Lou Boudreau.

His 2,583 games played at shortstop ranked as the highest league mark from 1973 to May 2008, when it was defeated by Omar Vizquel. His 2,677 hits were also the highest league total for Venezuelan players until Vizquel beat it in 2009. Before Derek Jeter broke it on August 17, 2009, his 2,673 hits as a shortstop were a record. He had 13 seasons with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title and an on-base percentage less than.325, a major league record (his career OBP was marginally higher than the shortstop average during his career;.311 vs..309)). His 16 seasons in a row were streaks of more than 500 plate appearances, tied for fifth best in major league history. Aparicio has never played any defensive position other than shortstop.

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