Antonio Ruiz

Antonio Ruiz Pérez
(Loco)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 174 lb.

• Debut 1944
• Final Game 1944
• Born June 17, 1911 in Havana Cuba

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Biographical Information

Antonio Ruiz played for the Cuban national team then in the US and Mexico.

Ruiz was 12-0 for the 1940 Hershey Sports Club to lead the Cuban amateur league; Hershey won the title. He was 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA when Cuba won the 1940 Amateur World Series but also hit .372/.500/.441. He was 7th in average, between Lou Athanas and Hernán Hernández, and higher in OBP presumably.

He turned pro in 1943-1944 with Habana, going 0-1. He then played for the Cincinnati-Indianapolis Clowns in 1944, going 1-1 with a 5.75 ERA (54 ERA+) in the 17 games for which his team's box scores have been found; it was only a portion of their season and he appears to have done much better in games whose boxes have not been found. John Holway's The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues puts him at 10-4 for the year, tying Gene Bremer and Al Gipson for 4th in the Negro American League in wins.

"El Loco" was 2-1 with a 2.72 ERA for the 1944-1945 Marianao Tigers. In his final Cuban Winter League season, he pitched three games in 1945-1946. He went 1-1 with a 4.09 ERA in four games for the 1946 Algodoneros de Torreon. He was 11-7 with a 5.92 ERA for two Arizona-Texas League teams in 1947.

He hit .318 for the 1948 Juarez Indios. In '50, he hit .242/.356/.242 for the same team. He was 10-9 with a 3.60 ERA for the 1951 Tucson Cowboys and hit .236/?/.360. He split his final season, 1952, between Juarez (0-2, 6.75 in 4 G) and Odessa Oilers (0-1, 11.37).