Aparicio, Luis (1934–)

Luis Aparicio, born Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel, was a baseball player who became the model for durability and stellar play as a major league shortstop. A native of Maracaibo, Venezuela, Aparicio came from a baseball family: His father was a legendary shortstop and owned a professional club.

Rising through the ranks of Venezuelan baseball, Aparicio was signed by the Chicago White Sox, and he made his major league debut with that team in 1956. That year he led the American League in stolen bases and was named the major league Rookie of the Year. He was the American League stolen base leader for his first nine consecutive seasons (1956–1964). In his career he won nine Gold Glove trophies and played in ten All-Star games. He concluded his career in 1973, having played 2,581 games at shortstop, which at that time then ranked him first on the all-time list at that position. He also ended his career as the all-time shortstop leader in assists, double plays, putouts, and chances. In 1984 Aparicio was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

See alsoSports .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bjarkman, Peter C. Baseball with a Latin Beat: A History of the Latin American Game. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1994.

Regalado, Samuel O. Viva Baseball! Latin Major Leaguers and Their Special Hunger. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1998.

Wendel, Tim. The New Face of Baseball: The One-Hundred-Year Rise and Triumph of Latinos in America's Favorite Sport. New York: Rayo, 2003.

                                 Samuel O. Regalado