Antonio Villaescusa

Antonio Villaescusa Elias

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• Born December 4, 1952 in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora Mexico

Antonio Villaescusa was a Mexican League shortstop. He was the brother of Fernando Villaescusa, father of Ivan Villaescusa and uncle of Fernando Villaescusa Jr.

Antonio debuted in 1971, playing for the Ebano Rojos (.317/.366/.424, a Mexican Center League-high 16 steals) and Mexico City Red Devils (9 for 42, 8 BB). In '72, he again was with Mexico City (10 for 36, 3 BB, 3B) and Ebano (19 for 57, 6 BB, 5 2B, 3B, 10 SB, 0 CS). He would spend the rest of his career in the Mexican League, all but the last year with Mexico City.

Antonio hit .249/.342/.296 for the 1973 Red Devils, then became a starter in '74 and hit .259/.355/.293. he stole 26 bases but was caught 15 times. In 1975, he batted .306/.378/.360 and went 24-for-44 in steal attempts. His 89 double plays tied for the most by a shortstop in the league and he was named as the All-Star shortstop. At age 24, he put up a .280/.305/.355 line with 19 steals in 29 tries as his walk total fell from 55 down to 11. He was again picked as the All-Star shortstop.

In 1977, Villaescua batted .255/.312/.272 with 16 steals in 28 attempts. The next year, his batting line read .243/.300/.275 and he stole 29 bases while being thrown out 16 times. He was one shy of leading in times caught stealing and tied Leonardo Valenzuela for the steal lead. He ended his Mexico City run in 1979 with a .265/.319/.298 average and 31 steals (while only being caught 8 times). He hit the only home run of his Mexican League career. He fielded .973 at short, tied for second among the league's regulars there.

Antonio finished his career in 1980 with the Truchas de Toluca and hit a surprising .348/.406/.368 in 37 games to wrap things up. Overall, he had batted .272/.336/.314 with 162 steals in 253 tries in the Mexican League. In 2,887 at-bats, he had one home run, showing even less pop than his brother (12 homers in 1,336 games).

Sources

• 1972-1981 Baseball Guides
• The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros