Rubén Amaro Sr.
| Rubén Amaro Sr. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born: January 6, 1936 Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico | |
| Died: March 31, 2017 (aged 81) Weston, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 29, 1958, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 27, 1969, for the California Angels | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .234 |
| Home runs | 8 |
| Runs batted in | 156 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the Mexican Professional | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1986 |
Rubén (Mora) Amaro Sr. (January 6, 1936 – March 31, 2017) was a Mexican professional baseball player. He played as a shortstop and first baseman in Major League Baseball from 1958 through 1969.
Career
[edit]Amaro played on the Mexico national baseball team at the 1953 Amateur World Series.[1]
He finished 21st in voting for the 1964 National League Most Valuable Player for playing in 129 games and having 299 at-bats, 31 runs, 79 hits, 11 doubles, 4 home runs, 34 runs batted in, 16 walks, a .264 batting average, a .307 on-base percentage, and a .341 slugging percentage.
Shortly after joining the New York Yankees, Amaro suffered a knee ligament injury in a collision with left fielder Tom Tresh.[2][3] The injury limited Amaro to just 14 games in 1966.
Personal life
[edit]Amaro's father, Santos, was Cuban and played as an outfielder in the Mexican League. His mother Josefina Mora was from Mexico.
His son, Rubén Jr., was an outfielder in Major League Baseball in the 1990s and served as the General Manager of the Philadelphia Phillies from 2009 to 2015. Amaro's son, Luis, also played briefly for the Philadelphia Phillies in minor league baseball, and is currently the General Manager of the Aguilas del Zulia baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. He also has a son David Amaro and a daughter Alayna Amaro.
Amaro served as a member of the board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League, and Negro league players through financial and medical hardships.
Death
[edit]Amaro died on March 31, 2017, of natural causes.[4]
In popular culture
[edit]His son, Rubén Amaro Jr., portrayed him on two episodes (S5E11 and S6E6) of The Goldbergs, an ABC series which is set in the 1980s. His son attended William Penn Charter School, the same school as TV and film producer Adam F. Goldberg, on whose adolescence the show is based.
See also
[edit]
- List of members of the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame
- List of second-generation Major League Baseball players
References
[edit]- ^ "English A Mystery to Rodriguez, But Pitchers Aren't". The Sporting News. April 5, 1969. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
- ^ "Amaro Injured, May Be Lost Until July". The Gazette. Montreal. Associated Press (AP). April 18, 1966. p. 38. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ "Yanks Future Bleak With Amaro Sidelined". The Gazette. Montreal. Associated Press (AP). April 19, 1966. p. 26. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Frank (March 31, 2017). "Ruben Amaro Sr. dies at 81". Philly.com. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Rubén Amaro Sr at Baseball Almanac
- 1936 births
- 2017 deaths
- Águilas de Mexicali players
- Baseball players from Veracruz
- Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
- California Angels players
- Caribbean Series managers
- Chicago Cubs coaches
- Deaths from cancer in Florida
- Detroit Tigers scouts
- Eugene Emeralds players
- Gold Glove Award winners
- Houston Astros scouts
- Houston Buffaloes players
- Indianapolis Indians players
- Major League Baseball players from Mexico
- Major League Baseball third base coaches
- Major League Baseball shortstops
- Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
- Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States
- Mexican people of Cuban descent
- Mexican League baseball managers
- Minor league baseball managers
- Naranjeros de Hermosillo players
- New York Yankees players
- Philadelphia Phillies coaches
- Philadelphia Phillies players
- Philadelphia Phillies scouts
- Reading Phillies players
- Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players
- Rochester Red Wings players
- St. Louis Cardinals players
- Tomateros de Culiacán players
- Yaquis de Obregón players
- Sportspeople from Veracruz (city)