Bobby Ávila facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bobby Ávila
Ávila with the Cleveland Indians in 1953
Second baseman
Born: (1924-04-02)April 2, 1924 Veracruz City, Mexico
Died: October 26, 2004(2004-10-26) (aged 80) Veracruz City, Mexico
Batted: Right Threw: Right
debut
April 30, 1949, for the Cleveland Indians
Last appearance
September 29, 1959, for the Milwaukee Braves
MLB statistics
Batting average	.281
Home runs	80
Runs batted in	467
Teams
Cleveland Indians (1949–1958) Baltimore Orioles (1959) Boston Red Sox (1959) Milwaukee Braves (1959)
Career highlights and awards
3× All-Star (1952, 1954, 1955) AL batting champion (1954)
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	1971

Roberto Francisco Ávila González, known as Bobby Ávila, was a famous Mexican baseball player. He was born on April 2, 1924, and passed away on October 26, 2004. Bobby was from Veracruz, Mexico. He became a professional second baseman in baseball.

Bobby Ávila started his career playing for the Puebla Angeles in the Mexican League from 1943 to 1947. He then played for 10 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was with the Cleveland Indians from 1949 to 1958. In 1959, he played for the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and Milwaukee Braves.

In 1954, Ávila won the American League batting championship. He had an amazing .341 batting average. He also won The Sporting News American League Player of the Year award that same year. Bobby was chosen to be an All-Star three times: in 1952, 1954, and 1955.

After he stopped playing, Ávila owned a Mexican baseball team. He also became the president of the Mexican League. Later, he became the mayor of Veracruz in 1980. He even served two terms in the Mexican national legislature. Bobby Ávila was honored in the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971. He was also inducted into the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010.

Early Life and Baseball Beginnings

Bobby Ávila was born in 1924 in Veracruz, Mexico. His parents were Maria Gonzalez and Jorge Ávila.

As a young person, Bobby loved playing both baseball and soccer. He even played professional soccer when he was a teenager. Later, he decided to focus on baseball. He started playing for the semi-professional Cordoba club. At first, he was a pitcher, but he later became a second baseman.

Bobby Ávila's Professional Baseball Career

Playing in the Mexican League (1943-1947)

Bobby Ávila began his professional baseball journey when he was 19 years old. He joined the Puebla Angeles team in the Mexican League. He played for Puebla for five seasons, from 1943 to 1947. In 1947, he was the best hitter in the Mexican League. He had a .346 batting average that year.

Starting in Major League Baseball (1948–1950)

The Cleveland Indians signed Bobby Ávila in 1948. They paid him a $17,500 bonus. He was sent to play for the Baltimore Orioles. This team was a minor league team for the Indians. In 1948, he had surgery for a hernia and missed two months of playing time. He played 56 games for the Orioles and had a .220 batting average.

In September 1948, the Orioles sold Ávila to the Cleveland Indians. He played his first Major League game on April 30, 1949. However, Joe Gordon, a famous player, was the main second baseman for the Indians. So, Bobby only played in 31 games in 1949. He had only 14 chances to bat.

In 1950, Joe Gordon got injured. This gave Bobby Ávila a chance to play more. He played in 80 games that season. He started 52 games as the Indians' second baseman. He had a good .299 batting average and a .390 on-base percentage.

Peak Performance Years (1951–1955)

From 1951 to 1955, Bobby Ávila was a key player for the Indians. He started at least 135 games as their second baseman each season. These five years were the best of his career. During this time, he played in 716 games. He had a .301 batting average, a .374 on-base percentage, and made 839 hits.

In 1952, Ávila played in 150 games, which was his career high. He was one of the top players in the American League. He led the league with 11 triples. He also had 179 hits, which was second best. He was chosen to be the starting second baseman for the 1952 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. In that game, he had one hit and one RBI.

In 1953, Bobby Ávila was excellent at defense. He led American League second basemen in fielding percentage (.986). This means he made very few errors. He also led in assists (445) and range factor (5.86).

The year 1954 was Bobby Ávila's best season ever. On June 2, he broke his right thumb when another player slid into him. His batting average was very high at .392 before the injury. It dropped after the injury but then got better. He finished the season with his best numbers: a .341 batting average, a .402 on-base percentage, 15 home runs, 67 RBIs, and 112 runs. He won the American League batting championship. He also received The Sporting News Player of the Year award.

The 1954 Cleveland team was very strong. Players like Ávila, Bob Lemon, Larry Doby, and Al Rosen helped them win 111 games. They also won the American League pennant. In the 1954 World Series, Bobby Ávila played against Willie Mays, another great hitter. Bobby had two hits in 15 chances to bat during the World Series.

Ávila was selected as an All-Star again in 1954 and 1955. In the 1954 All-Star Game, he had three hits, scored a run, and had two RBIs. Bobby Ávila was the first player from Mexico to play in an All-Star Game. He was also the first Mexican-born player to win a batting championship.

Later Years as a Player (1956–1960)

After 1955, Bobby Ávila's hitting numbers started to go down. His batting average for his last three years in Cleveland was .224, .268, and .253. In 1957, a writer named Harry Grayson wrote about "The Sudden Fall of Bobby Avila." The Cleveland manager, Kerby Farrell, said that pitchers were throwing the ball close to Ávila's hands, and he wasn't hitting it as hard anymore.

In his last season in Major League Baseball, 1959, he played for three different teams. On December 2, 1958, the Indians traded him to the Baltimore Orioles. He played nine games in right field for the Orioles. He had a .170 batting average in 47 chances to bat.

On May 21, 1959, the Orioles sold Ávila to the Boston Red Sox. He went back to playing second base. He hit .244 in 45 chances to bat for Boston.

On July 21, 1959, the Red Sox sold Ávila to the Milwaukee Braves. In his very first game for the Braves, he hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning. This helped Milwaukee win the game. He started 45 games at second base for the Braves. He hit .238 in 172 chances to bat.

After playing for three teams in one year, Ávila returned to Mexico for the 1960 season. In his final year as a professional baseball player, he played for the Mexico City Tigers. He had a .333 batting average. He also set a Mexican League record with 124 walks.

Career Statistics Overview

Over 11 seasons in Major League Baseball, Bobby Ávila had a .281 batting average. His on-base percentage was .359. He made 1,296 hits, hit 80 home runs, and had 467 RBIs. He scored 725 runs, hit 185 doubles, 35 triples, and stole 78 stolen bases. He played in 1,300 games.

Life After Baseball and Legacy

Bobby Ávila was the first player born in Mexico to have great success in Major League Baseball. Because of this, he became a national hero in Mexico. Fernando Valenzuela, another famous Mexican baseball player, said that Ávila was an inspiration for all Mexican players who wanted to play in the major leagues. The Estadio Universitario Beto Ávila in Veracruz, a baseball stadium, was named in his honor.

After he stopped playing baseball, Ávila bought the Veracruz Eagles baseball team. Later, he became the president of the Mexican League.

In 1971, he was inducted into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame.

In 1980, Bobby Ávila was elected as the mayor of his hometown, Veracruz. He later served two terms, each lasting three years, in the Mexican national legislature. This is like being a member of the country's parliament.

In 1999, The Sporting News chose Ávila as the second baseman for their All-Star Latin American team.

Bobby Ávila passed away in 2004 at the age of 80 in Veracruz. He died from problems related to diabetes and a lung illness.

In 2010, after his death, Ávila was inducted into the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame.

In 2020, a group of baseball journalists and historians chose Ávila as the starting second baseman for the Mexican League Historic Ideal Team.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball batting champions
• List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders