Celso Oviedo

From BR Bullpen

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.
  • Born ~1933

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Celso Oviedo won three home run titles in the minors after pitching for the Cuban national team. He is the great-uncle of Johan Oviedo. [1]

He was 1-1 for the Cuban national team that won Gold in the 1951 Pan American Games, the first Pan American Games; he took their lone loss, 4-3, to Venezuela. [2] He turned pro that summer, going 3-7 with a 4.92 ERA for the Wellsville Rockets and splitting time between two Border League teams, the Auburn Falcons and Geneva Robins; he was a combined 6-5 with a 4.61 ERA for the two Avian teams. [3]

In 1952, he hit .237/.294/.324 as a pitcher-outfielder for the Drummondville Cubs and had a 4-9, 3.48 record. After than three games for the 1954 Roswell Rockets (the team for which Joe Bauman hit 72 homers), his next sighting in pro ball was with the 1963 Broncos de Reynosa, batting .286/.346/.520 with 17 homers in 294 AB. [4] Despite his fine season, he wouldn't return to the Mexican League, spending the next few summers in the lower Mexican Southeast League.

Oviedo hit .291/.358/.496 with 15 HR in 1964 for the Puerto Mexico Portenos. He tied for third in the MSL in RBI, was 7th in average and led in homers (7 ahead of the runner-up). Among first basemen, he led in fielding percentage (.979), putouts (539) and double plays (45). [5] He remained at steady at .307/.425/.555 in 1965, with 7 triples, 14 homers, 54 RBI, 52 walks and 61 runs in 75 games. He was 7th in average, second in homers (two behind Hector Sanudo), 5th in RBI, tied Angel Macias for 4th in runs, second in triples (one shy of Macias) and tied Eduardo Escalante for second in walks. [6]

The veteran was again one of the league's elite batsmen in 1966, with a .293/.430/.537 line for Puerto Mexico. He led first basemen in fielding (.971), putouts (652) and double plays (53), won his second homer title (three more than Sanudo) and was second to Arthur Burnett in walks. [7] He just kept whacking the ball for the Portenos; in 1967, he was at .293/.400/.533 with 21 home runs, 76 RBI and even 17 steals in 19 tries. He led the MSL's first basemen in putouts (841), errors (24) and double plays (75) while winning his third home run crown (6 ahead of Heriberto Vargas and Humberto Guerrero). He was second in RBI, three behind Guerrero. [8] He moved to the Yucatan Venados in 1968, his final season. He slumped to .229/.339/.300. [9]

Sources[edit]

  1. ↑ MLB.com
  2. ↑ A History of Cuban Baseball by Peter Bjarkman, pg. 219
  3. ↑ Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database
  4. ↑ The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros, pg. 296
  5. ↑ 1965 Baseball Guide, pg. 376-378
  6. ↑ 1966 Baseball Guide, pg. 386-387
  7. ↑ 1967 Baseball Guide, pg. 389-392
  8. ↑ 1968 Baseball Guide, pg. 425-428
  9. ↑ 1969 Baseball Guide, pg. 430
This biographical article is missing the person's: birth date birth place
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