Bobby Ávila

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Bobby Ávila

Ávila in about 1953.
Second baseman
Born: April 2, 1924(1924-04-02)
Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico
Died: October 26, 2004(2004-10-26) (aged 80)
Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico
Batted: Right Threw: Right
Professional debut
April 30, 1949 for the Cleveland Indians
Last professional appearance
September 29, 1959 for the Milwaukee Braves
statistics
Batting average     .281
Home runs     80
Runs batted in     467
Teams
Career highlights and awards
This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Ávila and the second or maternal family name is González.

Roberto Francisco Ávila González (April 2, 1924 – October 26, 2004) to Maria Gonzalez and Jorge Avila, was a Major League Baseball second baseman and right-handed batter who played for the Cleveland Indians (1949–58), Baltimore Orioles (1959), Boston Red Sox (1959), Milwaukee Braves (1959) and Tigres del México (1960). Born in Veracruz, Veracruz, México, he had a medium frame at 5' 10" (1.77 m) and 175 lb. (80 kg). He was better known in his homeland and other Latin American countries as "Beto" and in the majors as "Bobby".

Contents

[edit] Major league career

In 1954 Ávila won the American League Batting Championship, edging out Ted Williams and Minnie Miñoso with a .341 batting average, while playing almost the entire season with a broken thumb.[1] He also registered career highs in home runs (15), runs (112) and runs batted in (67).[2]

In that same season, the Indians faced the New York Giants in the 1954 World Series, which matched the two leagues' champion bats, Ávila and Willie Mays; it was the third time that top batters in the majors played each other in the Series. Other matchups were Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb in 1909; Al Simmons and Chick Hafey in 1931.

Ávila was selected an All-Star in 1952, 1954 and 1955; he led the league in triples in 1952, and led American League second basemen in fielding percentage in 1953. He also appeared in the MVP Award ballot in 1951 and 1954.

[edit] Career statistics

In an 11-season career, Ávila hit .281 with 80 homers, 467 RBI, 1296 hits, 725 runs, 185 doubles, 35 triples, and 78 stolen bases in 1300 games. Dealt three times in the last season of his career, he returned to Mexico in 1960 for one more season, batting .333 for the Tigres del México over 127 games before retiring as a player.

After retiring he had a brief stint as a politician and served as mayor of his home city of Veracruz. When his tenure as mayor ended, he was elected president of the Mexican Baseball League. In an article in a 1976 issue of Esquire magazine,[3] sportswriter Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter," consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Ávila, a Mexican, was the second baseman on Stein's Latin team.

Beto Ávila is still widely recognized as the player who catalyzed the development of Mexican baseball.[citation needed] He died in his homeland of complications from diabetes at the age of 79.

Quotation

  • An adept bunter and daring baserunner, his soccer training paid off several times when he intentionally kicked the ball out of defenders' mitts while sliding. Cleveland manager Al Lopez said Ávila had "a fine swing, a sharp eye, a good spirit of competition ... and a world of confidence in himself." - Jane Charnin-Aker, at Baseball Library

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0DE3D9123DF93BA15753C1A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=
  2. ^ http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=110398
  3. ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0DE3D9123DF93BA15753C1A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Mickey Vernon		 American League Batting Champion
1954		 Succeeded by
Al Kaline


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