43 Facts About Luis Aparicio

Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel was born on April 29,1934, and nicknamed "Little Louie", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player.

Luis Aparicio played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1956 to 1973 for three American League teams, most prominently the Chicago White Sox.

Luis Aparicio's 56 stolen bases that season were more than twice as many as any other major league player, and the most by any player in 16 years; he tied the White Sox club record, with the mark not being surpassed until 1983.

Luis Aparicio led the AL in stolen bases a record nine consecutive seasons to begin his career, becoming the first player since the 1920s to steal 50 bases four times.

Luis Aparicio won nine Gold Glove Awards, setting a league record since matched only by Omar Vizquel; he led the AL in fielding percentage eight consecutive years, and in assists seven times, putouts four times and double plays twice, and in 1960 became the first AL shortstop in 25 years to post 550 assists.

Related searches

When he retired, Luis Aparicio ranked second to Ty Cobb in AL history in career at bats, fifth in games played and seventh in singles ; his 506 stolen bases trailed only Cobb and Eddie Collins among AL players.

Luis Aparicio set major league records for career hits and total bases as a shortstop that were later broken by Derek Jeter and Cal Ripken Jr.

Luis Aparicio held the major league records for career assists and double plays until Ozzie Smith passed him in 1994 and 1995; he stills holds the AL records for assists, putouts, and total chances, though Ripken broke his AL double play mark in 1996.

Luis Aparicio was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984, the first Venezuelan player to be so honored.

At the age of 19, Luis Aparicio was selected as a member of the Venezuelan team in the 1953 Amateur World Series held in Caracas.

Luis Aparicio signed to play for the local professional team in Maracaibo alongside his father in 1953.

Luis Aparicio was the first Latin American player to win the Rookie of the Year Award.

Luis Aparicio quickly became an integral member of the Go-Go White Sox teams of the mid-1950s, who were known for their speed and strong defense.

Luis Aparicio combined with second baseman Nellie Fox to become one of the best double play combinations in the major leagues.

Luis Aparicio led the AL in stolen bases and assists in 1957 as the White Sox held first place until late June before finishing the season in second place behind the New York Yankees.

In 1958, Luis Aparicio earned recognition as one of the top shortstops in the major leagues when he was selected to be the AL's starting shortstop in the All-Star Game.

Luis Aparicio again led the league in stolen bases, assists and putouts, and won his first Gold Glove Award.

Luis Aparicio was the team leader when the "Go-Go" White Sox won the AL pennant in 1959, finishing the regular season five games ahead of the Cleveland Indians.

Luis Aparicio was selected as a starting All-Star for the second time and won a second Gold Glove Award.

When Luis Aparicio stole 50 bases in his first 61 attempts in 1959, the term "Luis Aparicio double" was coined to represent a walk and a stolen base.

Since the 2019 death of teammate Johnny Romano, Luis Aparicio has been the last surviving player to play with the White Sox in the 1959 World Series.

In 1960 and 1961, Luis Aparicio continued to be one of the top shortstops in the league, finishing at or near the top in fielding percentage and assists.

In 1962, Luis Aparicio showed up overweight and had an off year, and the White Sox offered him a reduction in salary for the 1963 season.

An enraged Luis Aparicio said that he would quit rather than accept a decrease in pay and demanded to be traded.

Luis Aparicio regained his form in Baltimore and continued to lead the league in stolen bases and in fielding percentage, producing a career-high.

Related searches

Luis Aparicio finished ninth in the MVP balloting, in which teammates took the top three spots, and helped the Orioles sweep the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1966 World Series.

Luis Aparicio continued to play well defensively, leading the league in range factor in 1968 and 1969.

Luis Aparicio had his best overall offensive season in 1970, scoring 86 runs and finishing fourth in the AL batting race with a career-high.

In 1971, Luis Aparicio had a career-high six runs batted in on April 10 against the Indians in Cleveland, hitting a 2nd-inning grand slam followed by a 2-run double in the seventh inning.

Luis Aparicio broke Appling's major league record of 2,594 hits as a shortstop.

Luis Aparicio led AL shortstops eight times in fielding percentage, seven times in assists, and four times in range factor and putouts.

Luis Aparicio led the league in stolen bases in nine consecutive seasons and won the Gold Glove Award nine times.

Luis Aparicio was a ten-time All-Star ; he was named to 13 out of 14 All-Star Games, was the starting shortstop in six All-Star games and played in 10 games.

At the time of his retirement, Luis Aparicio was the all-time leader for games played, assists and double plays by a shortstop and the all-time leader for putouts and total chances by an American League shortstop.

Luis Aparicio tied the record of most seasons leading the league in fielding average by shortstops with 8, previously set by Everett Scott and Lou Boudreau.

Luis Aparicio had 13 consecutive seasons with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title and an on-base percentage less than.

Luis Aparicio was inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984, the first native of Venezuela to be honored.

In 2003, Luis Aparicio was inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

In 2004, the first annual Luis Aparicio Award was presented to the Venezuelan player who recorded the best individual performance in Major League Baseball, as voted on by sports journalists in Venezuela.

Luis Aparicio threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Game 1 of the 2005 World Series, the first World Series game to be played in Chicago by the White Sox since the 1959 World Series, when Aparicio had been their starting shortstop.

In honor of Luis Aparicio's stealing abilities, a walk and a stolen base was known as an "Luis Aparicio double".

In 2007, Luis Aparicio was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame.

In 2015, Empresas Polar and Fenix Media released a documentary, Thirty Years of Immortality, which features testimonials from many major leaguers, friends, and family, on the day that Luis Aparicio was announced as being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.