Vic Davalillo, Venezuelan All-Star and Gold Glove Winner, Is Dead
Vic Davalillo, a two-time World Series champion who spent 16 seasons within the main leagues and gained a Gold Glove as an outfielder, died on Wednesday in Caracas, Venezuela. He was 84 or 87; sources differ on his age.
His daughter Helga Davalillo mentioned he died after emergency surgical procedure for an intestinal obstruction and renal insufficiency.
Baseball Reference lists Davalillo’s date of delivery as July 30, 1939, however Davalillo thought of July 31 his birthday, and his biographer, Asdrúbal Fuenmayor, wrote that Davalillo was born in 1936. The 1969 Sporting News Baseball Register additionally mentioned he was born in 1936.
Davalillo signed with the Cincinnati Reds group in 1958 at age 18, beginning as a left-handed pitcher in minor league ball. But he was ultimately prized extra for his bat and more and more used within the outfield. His contract was offered to the Cleveland Indians group in 1961, and the subsequent yr he gained the batting title of the Triple-A International League with a .346 common.
He made his main league debut on opening day in 1963 in opposition to the Minnesota Twins, in Minnesota, because the Indians’ leadoff hitter in opposition to Camilo Pascual.
Davalillo acquired his first hit the subsequent day without work the longer term Hall of Famer Jim Kaat and went on to hit .292 with seven homers and 36 runs batted in. His rookie season was interrupted on June 12, when a pitch by Hank Aguirre of the Detroit Tigers struck his forearm, breaking it. The damage sidelined him till Aug. 10.
Davalillo gained a Gold Glove award as an outfielder in 1964.
He was an All-Star in 1965, when he hit .301 with 5 homers, 40 RBIs and 26 stolen bases, ending third within the American League batting race behind Tony Oliva of the Twins and Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox.
He was traded to the California Angels in June 1968, a part of an enormous league profession that took him to the St. Louis Cardinals (1969-70), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1971-73), the Oakland Athletics (1973-74) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (1977-80).
Davalillo hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat for the Cardinals on June 1, 1969. That season he made his solely two main league pitching appearances, on June 30 and July 3, failing to retire any of the 4 batters he confronted.
Davalillo completed with a .279 common, 36 homers, 329 RBIs and 125 stolen bases, profitable World Series titles with the 1971 Pirates, after they defeated the Baltimore Orioles in seven video games; and the 1973 Athletics, after they beat the New York Mets in seven. He had a .323 common in 22 postseason video games, together with going 4 for 20 within the World Series.
In Venezuelan Winter League ball, Davalillo gained seven titles over 30 seasons, from 1957-58 via 1986-87. He grew to become the league’s first .400 hitter over a full season, in 1961-62, the Society for American Baseball Research mentioned, and gained 4 Venezuela batting championships.
He had a .325 profession common within the Venezuelan league with a document 1,505 hits.
Víctor José Davalillo Romero’s native land is normally listed as Cabimas, a western metropolis on the shore of Maracaibo Lake. But Fuenmayor wrote in his biography, revealed in 2006, that Davalillo had advised him that he was born additional east, in Churuguara, shortly earlier than the household moved to Cabimas. An older brother, Pompeyo, performed briefly for the Washington Senators in 1953.
The ballpark in Cabimas was named after Davalillo in 1987, and the Venezuelan Winter League’s Most Valuable Player Award was named after him.
Davalillo’s marriage in 1961 to Luisa Ramona Barrera resulted in divorce in 1969, based on S.A.B.R. He married Zoraida Caraballo later that yr. Information on survivors apart from his daughter was not instantly out there.
Davalillos’s former Venezuelan group, Leones de Caracas, mentioned it might put on a patch along with his identify and No. 2 on its jersey sleeves for the remainder of the winter season.
