Amado Ibáñez

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Amado Ibáñez (Chico)

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Amado Ibáñez played for the Cuban national team and spent four seasons in AAA but never made the majors.

He was 3 for 12 for Cuba in the 1944 Amateur World Series before they (as well as Mexico) dropped out due to complaints of biased umpiring in favor of host Venezuela. Cuba was still given the Bronze. [1] Noted for his infield defense, he was part of an increasing black presence on Cuba's teams. [2] He turned pro in Cuba, batting .191 for Camaguey in the 1946-1947 Cuban National Federation. [3]

Ibáñez moved to Mexico in 1947 with the Alijadores de Tampico, hitting .261/.310/.352; the shortstop legged out 13 triples, leading the Mexican League, one ahead of Barney Serrell. [4] That winter, he batted .256 and slugged .273 between two teams in the Cuban Players Federation. [5] He split 1948 between Tampico and the Pericos de Puebla, hitting .257/.297/.342 between the two stops. [6] He also had a split winter between two teams in the Cuban Winter League, hitting .267 with a .347 slugging. [7]

After not playing summer ball, he finally had a steady winter with one team, the Marianao Tigers. He hit .303 and slugged .374 as a fine backup infielder, outhitting starting infielders Ray Dandridge, Damon Phillips and Wes Hamner i8n average. [8] He became Marianao's starting second baseman in 1950-1951 to form an infield with Lorenzo Cabrera, Dandridge and Phillips; he hit .266/?/.338 with 40 runs. He tied Don Thompson, Willie Miranda and Silvio García for third in the league in runs, behind Minnie Miñoso and Pedro Formental. [9]

Making his US debut in 1951, he hit .292 and slugged .352 for the Sioux City Soos. That winter, he batted .234 with a .318 slugging, scoring 35 runs (6th in the CWL). [10] Returning to Sioux City in the summer, he put up a .309/.367/.444 batting line with 9 triples and a career-high 13 home runs, scoring 86 and driving in 87. [11] He was 4th in the Western League in average (between Ken Landenberger and Ernest Yelen), second in hits (178, 5 behind Landenberger), 3rd in total bases (256, behind Landenberger and Norman Postolese) and tied for 6th in triples (with Neal Hertweck, Buddy Reedy and Bill Stewart). He was named the All-Star third baseman. [12]

In the winter of 1952-1953, he moved to Almendares and slumped to .188/?/.313 as a backup. [13] The New York Giants moved him up to AAA in '53 with the Minneapolis Millers. Backing up Ron Samford at 2B and Rance Pless at 3B, he batted .289/.354/.399 but did not get the call to The Show. He split the winter between Almendares and Habana, rebounding from the prior winter to hit .271 and slug .378 with five triples. He tied Lloyd Merriman, Chuck Diering, Bob Boring and Julio Bécquer for the league lead in triples. [14] He had a historic day on January 10, 1954, when he had six hits and six runs for Habana against his old Marianao club. He tied the CWL record for hits (held by Alejandro Oms, Tony Castaño and Lloyd Davenport), never broken, and set the record for runs (also never topped). [15]

With the 1954 Millers, he backed up Foster Castleman at second base and hit .302/.344/.447, strong numbers for a AAA middle infielder. Of the 11 players in the 1954 American Association with a higher average (150+ PA), they all made the majors at some point. In Cuba that winter, he was 15 for 47 with a double and a homer for Marianao, backing up Bobby Young at second. [16] He next played for the Havana Sugar Kings, spending both the winter and summer seasons in his homeland. In 1955, he hit .293/.320/.317 in 58 games for Havana and also played for two teams in the AA, batting .221/.341/.273. [17]

During the winter, he started at third base for Habana, his last season as a starter in Cuba. He hit .288 and slugged .320. [18] Remaining in the same city for summer ball with the '56 Sugar Kings, he slumped to .195/.254/.247 as a backup at 2B and 3B. In the winter, he batted .262/?/.328 as a backup infielder for Habana. [19] He did not play summer ball, then hit .345 and slugged .362 for Habana in 1957-1958. [20] In his final winter in Cuban ball, he was 5 for 34 with a double for Habana in 1958-1959. [21]

He returned to summer ball in 1959 with the Mexico City Tigers, producing at a .277/.320/.353 rate with 60 runs and 60 RBI. He still was fast enough to leg out seven triples, one shy of Juan Delis for 10th place in the Mexican League. In 1960, he hit .265/.344/.301 between the Tigres and the Águila de Veracruz. [22] He had batted .287 in his minor league career.

Sources[edit]

  1. ↑ A History of Cuban Baseball by Peter Bjarkman, pg. 198
  2. ↑ ibid., pg. 165
  3. ↑ Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History by Jorge Figueredo, pg. 287
  4. ↑ The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros, pg. 168
  5. ↑ Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, pg. 300
  6. ↑ The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics, pg. 168
  7. ↑ Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, pg. 312
  8. ↑ ibid., pg. 327
  9. ↑ ibid., pg. 343
  10. ↑ ibid., pg. 356
  11. ↑ 1953 Baseball Guide, pg.237
  12. ↑ The Western League by W.C. Madden and Patrick Stewart, pg. 240
  13. ↑ Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, pg. 370
  14. ↑ Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, pg. 382-387
  15. ↑ Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, pg. 380
  16. ↑ ibid., pg. 398
  17. ↑ 1956 Baseball Guide, pg. 192
  18. ↑ Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, pg. 411
  19. ↑ ibid., pg. 425
  20. ↑ ibid., pg. 438
  21. ↑ ibid., pg. 452
  22. ↑ The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics, pg. 168
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