Putsy Caballero
Putsy Caballero | |
---|---|
New Orleans, Louisiana | |
Died: December 8, 2016 Lakeview, New Orleans, Louisiana | (aged 89)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
September 14, 1944, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 27, 1952, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .228 |
Home runs | 1 |
Runs batted in | 40 |
Games played | 322 |
Teams | |
Ralph Joseph "Putsy" Caballero (November 5, 1927 – December 8, 2016) was an American
Early career and minor leagues
Caballero attended Jesuit High School in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he played baseball during the 1943 and 1944 seasons.[3] During his first season, the Jesuit High team won both the city championship and the American Legion championship.[4] The Philadelphia Phillies signed Caballero as an amateur free agent on September 9, 1944,[1] the same year that fellow Whiz Kid shortstop Granny Hamner joined the organization.[5]
Caballero planned on attending
At 16 years and 314 days old, Caballero appeared in four games for the
For the 1945 season, the Phillies sent Caballero to the Class-A
In 1946, Caballero lost playing time as he and Hamner were both summoned to military service;
Major league career
1948–1949
1948 was Caballero's first full season in the major leagues, playing 79 games during the year at third base, where he was the regular starter over
In the middle of the season, the Phillies promoted Caballero's former Utica manager Sawyer from their Triple-A farm team, the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League, to replace Ben Chapman at the helm. Teammate Robin Roberts described Caballero, as well as Hamner, Ashburn, and catcher Stan Lopata, as having "the highest respect for [Sawyer]"[20]—all having played under his tutelage at Utica;[20] Caballero himself gave Sawyer the credit for his development, along with that of several other Whiz Kids.[21]
Caballero regressed in 1949, playing in only 22 games with the Phillies, spending the majority of his season playing second base for the Maple Leafs in Triple-A. He played in 48 games, amassing a .318 batting average (the second-highest total on the team) and eight extra-base hits.[22]
1950: The "Whiz Kids"
Entering the
In the second game of a July 25 doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs at Shibe Park, starting pitcher Roberts batted in the bottom of the ninth in a scoreless shutout. With Bob Rush on the mound for Chicago, Roberts managed a walk and was replaced on base by Caballero, who promptly took second base on a hit and run groundout by first baseman Eddie Waitkus.[28] A single to center field by Richie Ashburn allowed the speedy Caballero to score from second and completed the doubleheader sweep for Philadelphia—Bubba Church having pitched a three-hit shutout in the first game earlier in the day.[28]
As a
In the final game of the season, in which the Phillies defeated the Dodgers, Caballero appeared as a pinch-runner, replacing catcher Andy Seminick in the ninth inning.[35] Philadelphia advanced to the 1950 World Series to play the New York Yankees, where they were defeated, four games to none.[36] In the series, Caballero made three appearances:[8] two as a pinch-runner—for Seminick in Game 2,[37] and for Goliat in Game 3[38]—and one as a pinch-hitter for Konstanty in Game 4, where he struck out.[39] For the season, Caballero appeared in 46 games and posted a .167 batting average.[16]
1951–1952
Caballero continued as a utility player after the Whiz Kids' defeat in the World Series, but those talented young players would never return to the Fall Classic with the Phillies.[40] He played mostly second base during the 1951 season, fielding the position in 54 games. He posted only a .186 batting average at the plate and hit his only major league home run, along with 3 doubles and 2 triples in 84 games played.[41] With 10 hits in 42 at-bats in what would be his final season in the major leagues, Caballero achieved a .238 average in the 1952 season, hitting three doubles.[42] On June 15, Caballero had a three-hit game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second game of a doubleheader,[43] one of the top performances of his career.[44] He also batted in three runs in one game against the Giants on September 27.[45]
Return to the minors
In 1953, Caballero played for the minor league Baltimore Orioles, where he batted .268 in 133 games, the most played in his professional career. He added 25 doubles, 2 triples, and 5 home runs to his total, but did not earn a promotion back to the major leagues.[13]
He returned to the Phillies system, playing for the
After baseball
After retiring from baseball, Caballero returned to Louisiana, where he worked as a salesman for an exterminating company, partnering with E.J. D’Arensbourg in 1963.[46] Eventually, he opened his own company in Metairie, Louisiana.[25] Caballero lived in Lakeview, New Orleans, where his home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. He lost memorabilia signed by Babe Ruth, Eddie Mathews, and Pete Rose in the flood, calling the hurricane damage "a catastrophe".[47]
Caballero lived with his wife, Clare, and they had seven children and nine grandchildren.[47] He rejoined some of his old teammates in 2008 to commemorate the Whiz Kids on an Alumni Weekend.[48] He was inducted into both the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame and the New Orleans Professional Baseball Hall of Fame.[49] He died on December 8, 2016, at the age of 89.[50]
References
CItations
- ^ a b Roberts, p. 36.
- ^ "1948 Philadelphia Phillies Batting, Pitching, and Fielding Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
- ^ "Jesuit All-Time Roster" (PDF). Jesuit High School of New Orleans Alumni Association. p. 1. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
- ^ "Jesuit Baseball Championships (through 2009)" (PDF). Jesuit High School of New Orleans Alumni Association. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ "The Transactions for the 1944 Philadelphia Phillies". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ a b Roberts, p. 37.
- ^ "1944 Philadelphia Phillies Batting, Pitching, and Fielding Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ a b Hagen, Paul (October 28, 2009). "1950 World Series: Still thrill of a lifetime". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ "1945 Utica Blue Sox". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ Roberts, p. 108.
- ^ "1945 Philadelphia Phillies Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ Roberts, p. 42.
- ^ a b c "Putsy Caballero Minor League Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ "1947 Utica Blue Sox Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ Roberts, p. 56.
- ^ a b "Putsy Caballero Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ a b c "1948 Philadelphia Phillies Batting, Pitching, and Fielding Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ Roberts, p. 93.
- ^ Roberts, p. 94
- ^ a b Roberts, p. 122.
- ISSN 0005-609X. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
- ^ "1949 Toronto Maple Leafs Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ a b Roberts, p. 195.
- ^ Roberts, p. 206.
- ^ a b c Roberts, p. 350.
- ^ Roberts, p. 217.
- ^ Roberts, p. 234.
- ^ a b c Roberts, pp. 236–237.
- ^ Roberts, p. 278.
- ^ a b "1950 Philadelphia Phillies Schedule, Box Scores and Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ Roberts, p. 279.
- ^ Roberts, p. 289.
- ^ Roberts, p. 292.
- ^ Roberts, p. 300.
- ^ Roberts, p. 359.
- ^ "1950 World Series (4–0): New York Yankees (98–56) over Philadelphia Phillies (91–63)". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ "1950 World Series Game 2". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ "1950 World Series Game 3". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ "1950 World Series Game 4". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ Roberts, p. 345.
- ^ "1951 Philadelphia Phillies Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ "1952 Philadelphia Phillies Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ "Philadelphia Phillies 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 3 (2)". Retrosheet, Inc. June 15, 1952. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
- ^ "Top Performances for Putsy Caballero". Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
- ^ "Philadelphia Phillies 7, New York Giants 3". Retrosheet, Inc. September 27, 1952. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
- ^ "About DA Exterminating". DA Exterminating. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
- ^ a b Santoloquito, Joseph (November 16, 2005). "Katrina can't keep Caballero down". Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ Horan, Kevin (August 9, 2008). "Phillies officially retire No. 36". Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ Shenk, Larry. "Former Phillie Ralph Caballero passes away". Philadelphia Phillies. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
- ^ Vanglider, Lenny (December 8, 2016). "NOLA native, former major leaguer 'Putsy' Caballero dies at 89". Sport NOLA. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
Bibliography
- Roberts, Robin; Paul Rogers (1996). The Whiz Kids and the 1950 Pennant. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 1-56639-466-X.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Putsy Caballero at SABR (Baseball BioProject)