Athletes - Luis Aparicio

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	Athletes - Luis Aparicio

Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (born April 29, 1934 in Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela) is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. From 1956 through 1973, Aparicio played for the Chicago White Sox (1956-62, 1968-70), Baltimore Orioles (1963-67) and Boston Red Sox (1971-73). He batted and threw right handed.

Playing career

Aparicio came from a baseball family. His father, Luis Sr. was a notable shortstop in Venezuela and owned a Winter League team with Aparicio's uncle, Ernesto.

Aparicio was heavily scouted by the Cleveland Indians, but Chicago White Sox GM Frank Lane, on the recommendation of fellow Venezuelan shortstop Chico Carrasquel, signed Aparicio for $5,000 down and $5,000 in first year salary. He played well in the minors and then led the American League in stolen bases in his debut year of 1956, winning both the MLB Rookie of the Year and The Sporting News Rookie of the Year awards.

Over the next decade, Aparicio set the standard for the spray-hitting, slick-fielding, speedy shortstop. He led the AL in stolen bases in nine consecutive seasons (1956-64) and won the Gold Glove Award nine times (1958-62, 1964, 1966, 1970). He was also a ten-time All-Star (1958-64, 1970-72) and a key player on the 1959 "Go-Go" White Sox that won the American League pennant that year. The White Sox were generally successful during his tenure, but when he showed up overweight and had an off year in 1962, the White Sox dealt him to the Baltimore Orioles the following season.

Aparicio regained his form in Baltimore and was ninth in the MVP balloting in 1966 when he helped the Orioles reach the World Series, which they won. He returned to the White Sox for the 1968 season and had his best overall offensive season in 1970, hitting .312 and scoring 86 runs. He put in three more seasons with the Boston Red Sox before retiring for good.

At his retirement, Aparicio was the all-time leader for most games played, assists and double plays by a MLB shortstop and the all-time leader for putouts and total chances by an AL baseball shortstop. Through the 2005 season, Aparicio holds the major league record of 2581 games played in the position. Amazingly, he never played in another position than shortstop.

Luis Aparicio was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. He was given the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Game One of the 2005 World Series, the first World Series game to be played in Chicago by the Chicago White Sox since the 1959 World Series, when Aparicio had been the starting shortstop for the Sox.

Landmarks bearing his family name

There is a stadium in Maracaibo, Venezuela bearing his father's name. The full name of the stadium is "Estadio Luis Aparicio El Grande" (Stadium Luis Aparicio the Great) in honor to Luis Aparicio Montiel.

There are also several streets and avenues bearing his name throughout Venezuela.

YEAR TEAM AGE G AB R H 2B 3B HR HR% RBI BB SO SB CS AVG SLG OBA OPS 1956 White Sox 22 152 533 69 142 19 6 3 0.56 56 34 63 21 4 .266 .341 .311 .653 1957 White Sox 23 143 575 82 148 22 6 3 0.52 41 52 55 28 8 .257 .332 .317 .649 1958 White Sox 24 145 557 76 148 20 9 2 0.36 40 35 38 29 6 .266 .345 .309 .653 1959 White Sox 25 152 612 98 157 18 5 6 0.98 51 53 40 56 13 .257 .332 .316 .647 1960 White Sox 26 153 600 86 166 20 7 2 0.33 61 43 39 51 8 .277 .343 .323 .666 1961 White Sox 27 156 625 90 170 24 4 6 0.96 45 38 33 53 13 .272 .352 .313 .665 1962 White Sox 28 153 581 72 140 23 5 7 1.20 40 32 36 31 12 .241 .334 .280 .614 1963 Orioles 29 146 601 73 150 18 8 5 0.83 45 36 35 40 6 .250 .331 .291 .623 1964 Orioles 30 146 578 93 154 20 3 10 1.73 37 49 51 57 17 .266 .363 .324 .688 1965 Orioles 31 144 564 67 127 20 10 8 1.42 40 46 56 26 7 .225 .339 .286 .625 1966 Orioles 32 151 659 97 182 25 8 6 0.91 41 33 42 25 11 .276 .366 .311 .676 1967 Orioles 33 134 546 55 127 22 5 4 0.73 31 29 44 18 5 .233 .313 .270 .583 1968 White Sox 34 155 622 55 164 24 4 4 0.64 36 33 43 17 11 .264 .334 .302 .636 1969 White Sox 35 156 599 77 168 24 5 5 0.83 51 66 29 24 4 .280 .362 .352 .714 1970 White Sox 36 146 552 86 173 29 3 5 0.91 43 53 34 8 3 .313 .404 .372 .776 1971 Red Sox 37 125 491 56 114 23 0 4 0.81 45 35 43 6 4 .232 .303 .284 .587 1972 Red Sox 38 110 436 47 112 26 3 3 0.69 39 26 28 3 3 .257 .351 .299 .649 1973 Red Sox 39 132 499 56 135 17 1 0 0.00 49 43 33 13 1 .271 .309 .324 .633 TOTALS 2599 10230 1335 2677 394 92 83 0.81 791 736 742 506 136 .262 .343 .311 .653 LG AVERAGE 10250 1287 2624 410 71 271 2.64 1205 1059 1492 128 77 .256 .389 .327 .717 POS AVERAGE 10057 1189 2465 377 75 152 1.51 893 915 1404 186 87 .245 .343 .309 .652

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Athletes - Luis Aparicio

Playing career

Landmarks bearing his family name

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