Sandy Valdespino facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sandy Valdespino |
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| Left fielder | |||
| Born: January 14, 1939 San José de las Lajas, Cuba |
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| Died: February 26, 2023 (aged 84) Moultrie, Georgia, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| April 12, 1965, for the Minnesota Twins | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| September 28, 1971, for the Kansas City Royals | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .230 | ||
| Home runs | 7 | ||
| Runs batted in | 67 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Hilario "Sandy" Valdespino Borroto (born January 14, 1939 – died February 26, 2023) was a baseball player from Cuba. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Sandy played for five different teams during his seven years in the league. His career in MLB lasted from 1965 to 1971. He was 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 170 pounds. Sandy Valdespino batted and threw with his left hand.
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Sandy Valdespino's Baseball Journey
Starting in the Minor Leagues
Sandy Valdespino began his baseball journey in 1957. He was signed by a famous scout named Joe Cambria. This scout worked for the Washington Senators team. Sandy spent many years playing in the minor leagues. He played over 1,500 games across 16 seasons until 1974.
He spent eight full years in the minor league system. These teams were connected to the Senators and later the Minnesota Twins. Sandy finally made it to the major leagues after a great year in 1964. He won the batting title in the Triple-A International League. He had an impressive .337 batting average that year. He played for the Atlanta Crackers at the time.
Playing for the Minnesota Twins in 1965
In 1965, Sandy Valdespino was 26 years old and a rookie player. He joined the Minnesota Twins team. That year, the Twins had an amazing season. They won a team-record 102 games. They also won the American League championship. This was only the third time in the team's history.
Sandy often played in left field, helping out regular players like Bob Allison and Tony Oliva. He started 47 games that season. He had a .261 batting average. He also set personal bests in many areas. These included games played (108), plate appearances (274), at bats (245), runs scored (38), hits (64), and runs batted in (22).
World Series Appearance
After their great season, the Twins went to the 1965 World Series. Sandy played in five of the seven games. He started in left field in Games 1 and 4. He also came in as a pinch hitter in three other games. In total, he got three hits in 11 at bats during the series.
In Game 1, he hit a very important double. This happened in the third inning against Don Drysdale of the Los Angeles Dodgers. This hit was part of a big six-run scoring spree for the Twins. They won that first game 8–2. However, the Dodgers fought back and won the series in Game 7. Their star pitcher, Sandy Koufax, helped them win.
Later MLB Career
After 1965, Sandy only played one more full year in the major leagues. This was in 1967, when he played 99 games for the Twins. He was then chosen by the Atlanta Braves in the Rule 5 draft. This draft allows teams to pick players from other teams' minor league rosters.
Sandy spent the rest of his MLB career playing for a few other teams. These included the Braves, Houston Astros, Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers, and Kansas City Royals. In his entire MLB career, he played 382 games. He had 176 hits, including 23 doubles, three triples, and seven home runs. He also had 67 runs batted in. His lifetime batting average was .230.
Playing in Other Countries
Besides playing in the MLB, Sandy Valdespino also played baseball in other countries. He played in Cuban baseball leagues. He also played in the Mexican Pacific League for a team called Cañeros. This name means "Sugarcane Growers." He also played in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball league.
Managing in Italy
Later in his career, Sandy Valdespino became a manager. He managed a team in Italy called the Rimini Pirates. He led them to win a championship in 1983.
About Sandy Valdespino's Life
Sandy Valdespino passed away in Moultrie, Georgia, on February 26, 2023. He was 84 years old.
