César Tovar
César Tovar | |
---|---|
Caracas, Venezuela | |
Died: July 14, 1994 Caracas, Venezuela | (aged 54)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 12, 1965, for the Minnesota Twins | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 29, 1976, for the New York Yankees | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .278 |
Home runs | 46 |
Runs batted in | 435 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Member of the Venezuelan | |
Baseball Hall of Fame | |
Induction | 2003 |
César Leonardo Tovar (July 3, 1940 – July 14, 1994), nicknamed "Pepito" and "Mr. Versatility", was a Venezuelan professional baseball player and coach.[1] He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1965 to 1976, most notably as the leadoff hitter for the Minnesota Twins teams that won two consecutive American League Western Division titles in 1969 and 1970. He later played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, and New York Yankees.[1]
Although Tovar began his career as a second baseman, he was an extremely versatile utility player who could play any defensive position. In 1968, he became only the second player in MLB history to play all nine field positions during a single game, a feat first accomplished by Bert Campaneris, in 1965.[2] Although he was a small player, listed at 5-feet-9 and 150 pounds, he was muscular and tough-bodied. Tovar played baseball with such speed and aggressiveness that manager Billy Martin considered him one of his favorite players.[3] He was also a very good contact hitter, striking out only 7% of the time he appeared at the plate as a major league player.[3] He led the American League (AL) in doubles (36) and in triples (13) in 1970, and in hits (204) in 1971.[1]
Tovar also had a prolific career in the
Baseball playing career
Minor leagues
Tovar was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, where as a child, he shined shoes to earn extra income for his family.[3] At the age of 15, he befriended Gus Gil, another Venezuelan who went on to play in Major League Baseball.[3] In January 1959, Cincinnati Reds General Manager, Gabe Paul, attempted to sign Gil to a contract however, Gil insisted that Paul should also have Tovar sign a contract. Paul relented in order to make Gil agree to sign.[3]
Tovar began his professional baseball career when he was assigned to the Geneva Redlegs in the New York–Penn League. He hit .252 in 87 games as an infielder for Geneva in 1959.[5] That winter, he returned to Venezuela to play for the Leones del Caracas, and won the league's rookie of the year award.[3]
In 1960, he played with the
The Reds had a promising
In 1964, Tovar returned to the Reds organization, where he played for the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League.[5] He helped the Padres win the league championship by hitting for a .275 average with 7 home runs and 52 runs batted in, while playing as a third baseman, shortstop, second baseman, and as an outfielder.[5]
Minnesota Twins
Before the start of the
The peak of Tovar's playing career came between 1966 and 1972.[3] Starting in 1966, the Twins began to make ample use of Tovar's ability to play a variety of defensive positions. Although he was known as a utility player, he averaged 153 games per year during his tenure with the Twins.[3] As a leadoff hitter, he averaged 92 runs scored a year while batting ahead of power hitters Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew in the Twins' batting order.[3]
When rookie second baseman Rod Carew arrived in 1967, the Twins began to use Tovar predominately as an outfielder and a third baseman.[3] The 1967 season was memorable for the tight, four-way pennant race between the Twins, the Boston Red Sox, the Detroit Tigers, and the Chicago White Sox, with all four teams still in contention entering the final week of the season.[7] The Twins were in first place with two games left in the season, but lost their final two games to the Red Sox and finished the season in second place.[8]
Tovar played an integral role as a utility player during the Twins' 1967 pennant run, dividing his playing time between third base (70 games),
On September 22,
“The little guy can beat you so many ways – his bat, his feet, his brains, his hustle.”
Billy Martin became the Twins
In 1970, Tovar ended the season with a .300 batting average and posted career highs in doubles (36), triples (13), runs (120), on-base percentage (.356), slugging percentage (.442), and on-base plus slugging (.798).[1] His 36 doubles and 13 triples led the American League and his 120 runs scored ranked second behind Carl Yastrzemski (125).[15] His 195 hits ranked third in the league behind teammate Tony Oliva (204) and Alex Johnson (202) of the California Angels.[15]
The Twins won the
As he improved at the plate, Tovar also moved less around the diamond – playing primarily center field in 1970, left field in 1971, and right field in 1972. He improved his hitting through 1971, when he hit for a .311 batting average and led the league with a career-high 204 hits, the highest one-year total by a Venezuelan player in MLB until Magglio Ordóñez had 216 hits in 2007.[3][17]
In 1971,
Later career
After a subpar season in 1972, the Twins traded Tovar to the Philadelphia Phillies for Ken Sanders, Ken Reynolds and Joe Lis on December 1.[24] Tovar would then spend the 1973 season platooning with a young Mike Schmidt at third base.[3]
When Billy Martin became the manager of the Texas Rangers in 1973, he requested that the team purchase Tovar's contract from the Phillies, which they did on December 7, 1973.[1][3] Tovar's career experienced a brief resurgence as Martin's leadoff hitter for the Rangers in 1974, hitting .292 with a .354 on-base percentage.[1][3] After the Rangers released Martin in July 1975, they sold Tovar's contract to the Oakland Athletics in August 1975.[1][3]
The Athletics were in first place in the American League Western Division and went on to win the division title. Tovar appeared in two games of the 1975 American League Championship Series, getting one hit in two at-bats and scoring two runs.[16] He was a pinch hitter and defensive replacement for the Athletics in 1976, before breaking his wrist while making a diving catch on May 31.[3] He was activated in mid-August, only after a complaint from the Major League Baseball Players Association.[3] The Athletics' temperamental owner, Charlie Finley, then released Tovar on August 25.[3]
Less than one week after being released by the Athletics, Tovar was signed as a free agent by the New York Yankees on September 1, once again with the assistance of Billy Martin who was then the Yankees manager.[1][3] His signing made him the first Venezuelan to play for the Yankees.[3] He appeared in 13 games for them before playing in his final major league game on September 29, 1976, at the age of 35.[1] He joined the club too late to be eligible for the postseason.[3] The Yankees released him in December 1976.[1]
Career statistics
In his 12-year major league career, Tovar played in 1,448
Along with former Reds center fielder
Later life
After retiring from the major leagues, Tovar played in the Mexican League where he hit .345 in 121 games for the Pericos de Puebla.[3] In 1978, he appeared in only 31 games for the Olmecas de Tabasco with a .336 batting average.[3] In 1979, Tovar played in the short-lived Inter-American League for the Caracas Metropolitanos and hit .285 for manager Jim Busby.[34]
Tovar also continued to play in the Venezuelan Winter League. He was a player-coach for the Águilas del Zulia team that won the 1984 league championship before going on to win the 1984 Caribbean Series. He retired as a player at the age of 45 after two final games in the winter of 1985–86. Over a 26-season career in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, Tovar appeared in 1,116 games posting a .286 batting average, along with 23 home runs and 399 runs batted in.[3] His 1,224 career hits and 1,116 games played ranks fourth in league history.[3] As of 2014, he ranked second in runs scored (635) stolen bases (146), and third in doubles (191).[3]
After his playing career, Tovar continued to serve with the Águilas del Zulia as a coach where his protégé was future MLB player, Carlos Quintana who called him his, "Second father".[3] He helped support children's charities in Venezuela by collecting baseball uniforms and equipment.[3] He also worked as a softball coach for the Venezuelan Horse Racing Authority, which sponsored recreation for its workers and their families.[3] In August 1990, he managed the Venezuelan team to a 1–7 last place finish in the Baseball World Cup, which was held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.[3]
Tovar died on July 14, 1994, of
Related links
- List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
- List of Major League Baseball players from Venezuela
References
- ^ baseball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ a b Rothe, Emil (February 1973). "The Day César Tovar Played All 9 Positions". Baseball Digest. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au Costello, Rory. "César Tovar Baseball BioProject". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ a b "Gladden, Tovar inducted into Twins Hall of Fame". mlb.com. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "César Tovar minor league statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "1962 Carolina League Batting Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "The 1967 AL Pennant Race: The 30315229-to-1 Possibility". sabr.org. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
- ^ "1967 American League season". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
- ^ a b "1967 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "1967 American League Most Valuable Player Award voting results". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "September 22, 1968 Athletics-Twins box score". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ Markusen, Bruce (December 1998). "When César Tovar Played All Nine Positions in One Game". Baseball Digest. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ a b c "César Tovar at The Baseball Page". thebaseballpage.com. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "May 18, 1969 Tigers-Twins box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ a b "1970 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ a b "César Tovar post-season statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
- ^ "1971 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "September 19, 1972 Twins-Rangers box score". retrosheet.org. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "September 14, 1961 Cardinals-Cubs box score". retrosheet.org. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "May 28, 1979 Orioles-Royals box score". retrosheet.org. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "June 28, 1984 Mariners-Red Sox box score". retrosheet.org. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "July 31, 2010 Cubs-Rockies box score". espn.go.com. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "Rockies' Nolan Arenado Hits for Cycle". mlb.com. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ Durso, Joseph. "A's Send Epstein to Rangers; Scheinblum, Nelson to Reds," The New York Times, Saturday, December 2, 1972. Retrieved April 13, 2020
- ^ "César Tovar career statistics". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "César Tovar statistics". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ Vass, George (October 1989). "Near No-Hitters Are Part Of Big League Baseball Lore". Baseball Digest. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "The Fans Speak Out". Baseball Digest. August 2007. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "April 30, 1967 Twins-Senators box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "May 15, 1969 Orioles-Twins box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "August 10, 1969 Twins-Orioles box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "August 13, 1970 Twins-Senators box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- ^ "May 31, 1975 Yankees-Rangers box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
- baseball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
- ^ "César Tovar New York Times obituary". The New York Times. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
Further reading
- "Baseball History: Cesar Tovar". Shoestring Catches. September 22, 2015.
- "Cesar Tovar". Cool of the Evening: The 1965 Minnesota Twins. Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
- Costello, Rory. "César Tovar". SABR.
- Markusen, Bruce (June 6, 2014). "Card Corner Plus: 1974 Topps: The Offbeat Life of Cesar Tovar". The Hardball Times.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- César Tovar at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
- César Tovar at Baseball Almanac
- César Tovar at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League)
- César Tovar at ESPN Deportes: Latino Baseball Hall of Fame (inducted 2014)
- César Tovar at Deadball Era