July 23, 1960: The all-Cuban triple play in baseball

A little baseball history to distract us from the horrific stories coming out of Cuba.

On July 23, 1960, 3 Cubans playing for the Washington Senators made baseball history.   They were involved in the only Cuban to Cuban to Cuban triple play.   I’m sure that it is the only “all latino” triple play too.   I couldn’t find any other example of 3 latinos turning a triple play.

The 3 players were pitcher Pedro Ramos, shortstop Jose Valdivielso and first baseman Julio Becquer.   Whitey Herzog, future manager with the Kansas City Royals and St Louis Cardinals, hit the ball back to Ramos, who went to first and then second.

A little more about the game.   The Senators became the Minnesota Twins in 1961.  The Kansas City A’s moved to Oakland in 1968.

Ramos won 117 games but pitched for very bad teams.   I wrote a post about him earlier when he turned 80.  Becquer had a fine glove but hit only .244 with the Senators and later the Twins.     Valdivielso hit .219 and was primarily a part-time player.

Another Cuban, Camilo Pascual, watched the proceedings from the dugout.

My thanks to Fernando Hernandez, author of “The Cubans” for bringing this to my attention.  By the way, his book is full of stories of Cubans in the US, from Celia Cruz to Desi Arnaz to lots of other less known Cubans who left their footprints.

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July 23, 1964: Campy's super debut in the big leagues

On this day in 1964, A's rookie Bert Campaneris hit 2 home runs in his Major League debut.

This is how SABR remembered the day:

After an overnight plane trip, he arrived in Minneapolis the next day two hours before the start of the A’s game against the Twins, and had an unforgettable major-league debut. Playing shortstop and batting second, he sent a pitch by the Twins’ Jim Kaat over the left-field fence in his first at-bat. In the seventh inning he hit another home run. He turned in a brilliant defensive play, singled, and stole a base in the A’s 11 inning victory. Campaneris became the second major leaguer to hit two home runs in a debut game, after the St. Louis Browns’ Bob Nieman, who did it in 1951.

Campy became one of the best players in the AL and a key component of the A's who won the World Series in 1972, 1973 & 1974.

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We remember Pee Wee Reese (1918-1999)

Harold Henry Reese was born in Kentucky on this day in 1918.   We know him as Pee Wee Reese, the great shortstop of the Brooklyn Dodgers who won 7 NL pennants.   

Pee Wee Reese hit .269 with 2,170 career hits & 1,338 runs scored.   He missed 3 full seasons to military service.

Reese's greatest contribution was his leadership in bringing Jackie Robinson along as the first black player in major league baseball.    In 1947, Pee Wee embraced Jackie in front of Cincinnati fans who were yelling obscenities at him.    It showed everyone that Pee Wee was also a great player and a man of character.

Reese was inducted to The Hall of Fame in 1984 and died in 1999.

By the way, one of the greatest books about those legendary Brooklyn Dodgers is "Wait till next year" by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.