Benny Valenzuela
| Benny Valenzuela | |
|---|---|
| Died: October 24, 2018 (aged 85) Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 27, 1958, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 24, 1958, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .214 |
| Hits | 3 |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the Mexican Professional | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1986 |
Benjamín Valenzuela Beltrán (2 June 1933 – 24 October 2018) was a
right-handed
, stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg).
Career
His abbreviated MLB service notwithstanding, Valenzuela played 20 years in professional baseball (1952–71), with the last decade spent exclusively in the
at bats with a base on balls during his lone big-league campaign. At the close of the 1958 season, Valenzuela was traded to the San Francisco Giants in a five-player transaction that netted the Cardinals right-handed pitcher Ernie Broglio
.
Valenzuela owed his nickname, "Papelero", because he worked as a paperboy; he also worked as batboy for the Cañeros de Los Mochis before turning into a professional baseball player.[3]
After his playing retirement, he became manager of the Alijadores de Tampico in the Mexican League, winning one title in 1975.
He was inducted into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986.[4]
Valenzuela died on 24 October 2018 in his hometown Los Mochis, Sinaloa.[5]
References
- ^ "Un 2 de junio, pero de 1933, nace Benjamín Papelero Valenzuela". Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Mexicano (in Spanish). 2 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- ^ Retrosheet box score: 1958-04-27
- ^ "Benjamín Papelero Valenzuela un antesalista de colorido". Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Mexicano (in Spanish). 23 September 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- ^ "Inmortales 86–87". Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Mexicano. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- ^ "Fallece Benjamín "Papelero" Valenzuela". MiLB.com. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)