V.V.(2) Luis Aparicio

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11   LUIS APARICIO   SHORTSTOP

Years with Sox:  1956–62; 1968–70
Years in MLB:  1956–73
Elected to HOF:  1984
Bats:    Right
Throws:  Right
Birthdate:   April 29, 1934
Birthplace:   Maracaibo, Venezuela

BIOGRAPHY
The arrival of Luis Aparicio continued a long-standing White Sox tradition
of excellence at the shortstop position dating back to 1930. The eldest of
six children, Aparicio was the son of Luis Aparicio, Sr., Venezuela’s
greatest shortstop, who spurned an offer from the Washington Senators in
1939 in order to remain in his homeland. His son Luis played amateur ball
around Maracaibo in the late 1940s while working as an accountant for a
local pharmacy. Ticketed for certain stardom, Aparicio replaced his father
as the starting shortstop for the Gavilanes club of the Venezuelan
Association on November 18, 1953. The ball club was co-owned by Aparicio,
Sr., and managed by Red Kress, who played briefly for the White Sox in the
early 1930s.
Kress, who was moonlighting from his job as a Cleveland Indian coach, tipped
off his employers about the young Venezuelan prospect. After the Tribe
failed to act on the tip, Frank Lane purchased Louie’s contract from the
Caracas club of the Venezuelan Winter League. Aparicio was barely 20 years
old when he stepped off the plane in Miami, where he was met by Glen Miller,
one of the executives in the Sox farm system. He completed a two-year
apprenticeship in the minors before replacing Chico Carrasquel as the White
Sox’ everyday shortstop in 1956. There was great irony in the situation
Aparicio found himself in. As a kid, Aparicio used to stand outside the
ballpark in Maracaibo hoping to catch a glimpse of his baseball hero—Chico
Carrasquel—hoping that he might pause to sign an autograph.

Yankee manager Casey Stengel joined Marty Marion in a chorus of praise for
the 22-year-old rookie who played more games than any other major league
shortstop that year. In 1956, Aparicio led the American League in stolen
bases—and for the next eight years after that. Speed and defense were his
special gifts. As a shortstop Aparicio had no equals. Playing side by side
with Nellie Fox for seven years, he formed the nucleus of one of the
slickest fielding double-play combos the game has ever seen. In 1959,
Aparicio finished second in Most Valuable Player voting to his pal Nellie
Fox, whom he would name a son after. Aparicio led the league in assists from
1956 through 1961. For eight years running (1959–1966), statistics proved
that Aparicio was the circuit’s top shortstop. It was Aparicio who converted
Vic Power’s ground ball into a pennant-clinching double play on September
22, 1959. Aparicio believed he was a White Sox player for life, but,
unfortunately, he was traded on January 14, 1963. General manager Ed Short
traded Aparicio and Al Smith to Baltimore for four players, including Hoyt
Wilhelm and Pete Ward.

Returning to Chicago in 1968, Aparicio enjoyed some of his finest and most
productive years. He topped the .300 mark for the only time in his career in
1970. Dispelling the myth that players do little on their testimonial “day,”
Aparicio collected four hits in nine at bats on “Aparicio Day”—July 18,
1970. “When I came to this country as a 19-year-old, I was mighty scared,”
he told the crowd. “But everyone has always been real good to me.” In that
season, Aparicio eclipsed Luke Appling’s record of longevity by playing in
his 2,219th game on September 25. Rumors circulated that Aparicio might
become the next Sox manager, but this notion was put to rest when Roland
Hemond traded him to Boston for Mike Andrews and Luis Alvarado on December
1, 1970. He retired after the 1973 season and returned to his home in
Venezuela to start anew as vice president and owner of a Triple-A team.
Considered by many to be the greatest shortstop of his time, Aparicio is
credited by baseball historians with resurrecting the stolen base as an
offensive weapon at a time when teams traditionally relied on the home run
and the big inning.

On August 14, 1984, Aparicio returned to Comiskey Park to take part in
homecoming festivities honoring him on the occasion of his Hall of Fame
induction. His familiar No. 11 was retired by Sox management in a pregame
ceremony. In poor health at the time, Aparicio reacquainted himself with
White Sox fans by participating in a spring training “fantasy camp” with
several of his 1950s teammates in 1986. Luis Ernesto Aparicio restored the
Go to “Go-Go” in the second half of the 1950s—an era that culminated in a
1959 AL pennant.

Biography appears courtesy of Richard Lindberg, author of the White Sox
Encyclopedia.