Enrique Fonseca

Enrique Fonseca (Conejo)

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• Born September 18, 1918 in Maracaibo, Zulia Venezuela
• Died December 10, 2020 in Guarenas, Miranda Venezuela

Biographical Information

Enrique Fonseca played for the Venezuelan national team and in the Venezuelan League.

He was on the Venezuelan squad that won the 1941 Amateur World Series, the country's first global title. The team became known as the Héroes del 41 and were later inducted en masse to the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame (2006). He split the catching role with Guillermo Vento. He was also with Venezuela when they won the 1944 Amateur World Series, a controversial Series in which there were charges of biased umpiring in favor of Venezuela. In the 1945 Amateur World Series, he won his third Gold. He had been with Venezuela for all three of their Amateur World Series titles; through 2020, they have not won another global championship in baseball.

When the Venezuelan League formed in 1946, many of the team's star amateurs turned pro. Fonseca played for Cerveceria Caracas, hitting .222 and slugging .302; he again split catching with Vento. He batted .261 with a .294 slugging in 1946-1947, then fell to .194 and .246 (though he was 5 for 16 with two RBI in the postseason) in 1947-1948, though he was still playing regularly. In 1948-1949, he hit .215/?/.246. He appeared in the first Caribbean Series, going 1 for 10 in the 1949 Caribbean Series (still splitting catching duties with Vento).

Fonseca hit .150 with no extra-base hits in 28 games in 1949-1950 and .200/?/.220 in 1950-1951. He returned briefly in 1952-1953 with the Leones del Caracas, going 2 for 13, backing up Vento. He hit .210/?/.250 with 48 runs and 63 RBI in 183 LVBP games. Given the level of offensive production, one presumes he was a strong defensive player.

When Luis Romero Petit died in 2017, that left Fonseca as the only living member of the Héroes del 41. He turned 102 in 2020. He died later that year.