Antonio González Ferrer

Antonio González Ferrer

• Born May 8, 1938

Biographical Information

Shortstop (and sometimes outfielder) Antonio González was an early star in the Cuban Serie Nacional.

He was 3 for 12 as a backup for the Cuban national team that won Gold in the 1961 Amateur World Series. He went 0 for 1 in the 1962 Central American and Caribbean Games. In 1962-1963, he starred for the Occidentales, leading the Serie Nacional with 24 runs. He hit only .179 for Cuba when they won Gold in the 1963 Pan American Games, but led the event with 13 runs scored.

In 1965-1966, he led the league with 54 walks, now playing for the Industriales. He batted .214 in the 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games but again was an event-leader for the Gold Medalists, this time with five steals (tied for first with Juan Santos). In the 1967 Pan American Games, he hit .306 and got a Silver Medal. He was a bench player when Cuba when the 1969 Amateur World Series (3 for 11), 1970 Amateur World Series (2 for 12) and 1971 Amateur World Series (1 for 4).

He produced at a .231/.334/.297 clip in 583 Serie Nacional games, in a pitcher-friendly era. He scored 317 runs and drew 319 walks. He fielded .954.

At age 75, he was still active, playing soccer in Miami.

Sources

• A History of Cuban Baseball by Peter Bjarkman
• El Nuevo Herald
• Cuban-play.com