Meet Luis Aparicio

LUIS APARICIO

"Little Louie"

Positions: Shortstop

Full Name: Luis Ernesto Aparicio

Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Born: April 29, 1934 in Maracaibo, Venezuela

Organizations: Chicago White Sox (10), Baltimore Orioles (5), Boston Red Sox (3)

LUIS APARICIO'S WALL OF GLORY

HONORS AND AWARDS

• Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1984, by BBWAA with 84.6%
• All Star: 13 (1958, 1959-1, 1959-2, 1960-1, 1960-2, 1961-2, 1962-1, 1962-2, 1963, 1964, 1970, 1971, 1972)
• Rookie of the Year: 1 (1956)
• Gold Gloves: 9 (1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1970)
• World Series Rings: 1 (1966)

BATTING

• SB Leader: 9 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964)
• AB Leader: 1 (1966)

FIELDING

• Outs Made: 3 (1959, 1960, 1966)
• Assists: 6 (1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1968)
• Def. Games as SS: 5 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960)
• PO as SS: 4 (1956, 1958, 1959, 1966)
• Assists as SS: 7 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1968) 
• Double Plays Turned as SS: 2 (1960, 1968)
• Fielding % as SS: 8 (1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966)

WHO?

"Little Louie" is a former MLB shortstop from 1956 to 1973, who became known for his exceptional fielding and base stealing skills. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1956, the first non-American to win the honor.  Along with Maury Wills, he is credited for bringing the stolen base back into vogue in the 1950s and 1960s.

His rookie season (in which Aparicio replacing fellow Venezuelan SS, Chico Carrasquel) marked the first of nine straight seasons where Aparicio led the American League in stolen bases. No other player has ever led his league in steals more than six years in a row. Also, Aparicio was an integral member on the 1959 American League champion "Go-Go White Sox." He placed second in the AL MVP award voting to double play partner Nellie Fox. Aparicio and Fox formed one of the best double play combos in history. After being traded to Orioles in 1963, "Little Louie" formed with Jerry Adair (2B) and Brooks Robinson (3B), one of the best defensive infields of the decade.

A fine defensive player Aparicio won the Gold Glove Award at shortstop nine times, and  he was also a ten-time All-Star. At the time of his retirement, Aparicio was the all-time leader in games played (2583), assists (2581), and double plays (1553) by shortstops. Both his assists and double plays records were broken by Ozzie Smith. Omar Vizquel broke his games played record. When he retired, he was seventh all-time in stolen bases with 506.

In 18 MLB seasons, Aparicio played in 2,599 games, with 2,677 hits, 83 HR, 791 RBI, 506 stolen bases and a career AVG of .262. In 1984 he became the first Venezuelan player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

MY COMMENT:

As a Venezuelan, i am proud to introduce you to one of the best all-around shortstops in MLB history: Luis Aparicio.

Some of the best Venezuelan shortstops have taken from Aparicio the type of great fielders and base-stealers, like Dave Concepcion, Ozzie Guillen and Omar Vizquel.

If his offensive stats are not bad for a SS (.262 career AVG and 2,677 hits), are his speed and defensive skills the ones that sent him to the Temple of Immortals. "Little Louie" set a remarkable number of defensive records that give him a place in baseball history. The fact that some of them were later broken by Ozzie Smith and Vizquel had not diminished his glory.

By the way, during his 18 season in MLB he ONLY played shortstop. Not even a game in other position. Nor a single inning out of SS.

On the other hand, his importance in the rebirth of the art of stealing bases (along with Maury Wills), is similar to that of Babe Ruth in the end of the Dead Ball Era.   

BEST FIVE SEASONS

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1959	25	CHW	AL	152	612	98	157	18	5	6	51	56	53	40	.257	.316	.332	.647	*6
1960	26	CHW	AL	153	600	86	166	20	7	2	61	51	43	39	.277	.323	.343	.666	*6
1961	27	CHW	AL	156	625	90	170	24	4	6	45	53	38	33	.272	.313	.352	.665	*6
1964	30	BAL	AL	146	578	93	154	20	3	10	37	57	49	51	.266	.324	.363	.688	*6
1969	35	CHW	AL	156	599	77	168	24	5	5	51	24	66	29	.280	.352	.362	.714	*6

Note: If you are using a cell phone to look at this table, put it horizontally for a better experience
What do you think? is he the best shortstop of  history? If not, who is? Share your thoughts!