Celerino Sánchez

Celerino Sánchez Perez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 160 lb.

• Debut June 13, 1972
• Final Game September 30, 1973
• Born February 3, 1944 in El Guayabal, Veracruz Mexico
• Died May 1, 1992 in Leon, Guanajuato Mexico

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Biographical Information

Like contemporary and countryman Aurelio Rodríguez Celerino Sánchez was known as a slick-fielding third baseman without a great bat. The two even had almost identical OPS+es in the majors (75 for Sanchez, 76 for Rodriguez), but Sánchez had a shorter career due to injuries and spent a longer share of his career in greater obscurity in the Mexican League.

Sánchez hit .354 with 16 homers in his pro debut with the Salamanca Tigres of the Mexican Center League in 1964 and went 3 for 8 in a cup of coffee with the Mexico City Tigers. In '65 Celerino was with the Tabasco Plataneros of the Mexican Southeast League and hit .330. He again did well with Mexico City, collecting 5 hits in 14 at-bats. Sent to the minors again in 1966 he dazzled with a .448 mark for the Campeche Pirates in the Mexican Southeast League, with 7 homers (tied for the league lead) and 82 RBI to complete a Triple Crown. It was the highest average in Organized Baseball that year and Sánchez got a longer look with the Tigers, batting .263/~.282/.474 in 10 games. In '67 he played even more, appearing in 34 games but hitting just .205/~.307/.273. He spent quite a bit of the year with the Asheville Tourists, hitting .233 with 8 homers.

Sánchez also split 1968 between the Mexican League and Carolina League. He hit .285/~.360/.358 in his first significant playing time for the Tigers, while he batted .321 for the Greensboro Patriots. He spent the next three seasons in Mexico and continued to improve. In '69 he hit .314/~.389/.509 with a career-high 20 homers, sixth in the Liga. 1970 saw Celerino bat .345/~.418/.501, posting the fifth-best average in the Mexican League that year. In '71 his line read .368/~.444/.572 and he moved up to third in batting average.

The New York Yankees traded Ossie Chavarria to the Tigers late in 1971 to acquire Sánchez. He split the '72 season between the Yankees and the Syracuse Chiefs, for whom he hit .327. He spent the entire 1973 season on the Yankees bench or disabled list and returned to Mexico in 1974.

In '74 Sánchez hit .289/~.388/.422, then almost duplicated that the next year with a .288/~.360/.405 season for the Cafeteros de Cordoba. In 1976 he played for the Mineros de Coahuila and hit .284/~.343/.429, then slipped to .273/~.327/.330 as his power vanished, dropping from 11 homers to 0. After not playing in 1978 he finished his career with the Leon Braves, hitting .264/~.333/.380. Overall the defensive specialist hit .301/~.374/.439 in the Mexican League.

Sánchez was elected posthumously into the Salon de la Fama in 1994.

Main sources: Viva Beisbol newsletter by Bruce Baskin, "The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics" by Pedro Treto Cisneros

Related Sites

• Salon de la Fama page for Celerino Sánchez