[Sport]On the ball | 60 years ago Luis Aparicio debuted in the World Series

[KEPY™]

No Venezuelan had appeared in the World Series, and 55 were already played, when on September 22, 1959, exactly 60 years ago today, the White Sox champions of the American League were titled, with Luis Aparicio, 25, in the shortstop and speed leader who forced the team to baptize, "The Go Go Sox."

They accumulated 113 stolen bases in the campaign. Aparicio's 56 steals were better than the sum of 10 of the other 15 teams in the two Leagues

That September afternoon the Indians played at Comiskey Park, and in the first inning of the ninth inning, with an out and first man, the Puerto Rican, Víctor Pellot Power, hit the ground ball for second base, which became double play, of Nelly Fox to Aparicio to Ted Kluszewski. White Sox champions!

The White Sox had seven games on the calendar, but they were already titled. This club in South Chicago did not win a World Series since 1917, and 40 years ago of the 1919 debacle, when eight of them were sold to punters, so the Reds won the Series.

And in that October 1959, the Dodgers also beat them in six games, with pitchers and catcher John Roseboro, in remarkable work, because they allowed only two steals, while the Dodgers stole five bases. The Go-Go Dodgers.

After the last game, Aparicio was in the clubhouse, surrounded by reporters, who asked him to explain the little activity at the bases. “If we did not base ourselves, we could not steal. The Dodgers rode tremendous pitching, with Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, starter and reliever Larry Sherry, and Johnny Podres. But anyway, I think it has been a good Mudial Series, and even without winning it, I think we played well. At least, the best we could. I hope this experience will serve us in the near future. We need it".

Aparicio doubled Sandy Koufax in the fifth game. The White Sox remained 88 years without winning a World Series, until 2005, when directed by Oswaldo Guillen, the Astros were then imposed, then of the National, on four dates.
Aparicio's influence as a leader in the clubhouse and on the ground, was noticed throughout the season. The same happened later in Balltimore and in Boston. Wherever Luis el del Zulia was going to play, there was a winning team.

Latin players had little chance to play

In this 1959 World Series, only two natives from Latin America participated, both with the White Sox. In addition to Aparicio, there was the rooster, Rodolfo (Rudy) Arias, left-handed reliever, Cuban, who was only in the majors that year.

At this time few Latin Americans played in the majors. There was a good professional ball in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia and Venezuela, but, by custom, there were few opportunities in the United States for our prospects.

There was only one scout who dealt with some Latin Americans, Joe Cambria, of the Washington Senators. He went only to Cuba, so he signed numerous Cubans and some not from Cuba, but they played there. One of those was the first Venezuelan in the majors, Alejandro (El Patón) Carrasquel, who launched at that point between 1939 and 1949. The first Spanish speaker in a World Series was the Cuban Adolfo Luque in 1919.

Poetry to the rhythm of waltz for double play

The White Sox beat the neighboring Cubs, in six games, the 1906 World Series, the third in the current sequence. The first Series was in 1903, in 1904 there was not, but in 1905. In 1906, mischief in history the Chicago teams took home all October baseball.

In the north of the city, the poem dedicated to Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Frank Chance was fashionable: shortstop, second baseman and first baseman of the Cubs. The journalist Franklin Adams, was inspired by the rhythm of soft waltz that the three figures drew making the outs. That is why he titled his work, "Tinker to Evers to Chance." The White Sox paid more attention to their own work than to poetic work, so they dispatched the neighbors with fine pitching.