Ismael Oquendo

Ismael Oquendo Maysonet

• Bats Both, Throws Left
• Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.

• Born ~1953

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Ismael Oquendo won home run titles in two different countries.

Oquendo debuted in 1972 in the Baltimore Orioles chain; he hit .335/.370/.448 in 58 games for the Bluefield Orioles and was 3 for 23 with 3 walks for the Miami Orioles. He was 5th in the Appalachian League in average, between Rafael Liranzo and Rick Albert. He spent all of 1973 with Miami, producing at a .260/.317/.384 clip and fielding .989 at 1B. With the Santurce Crabbers that winter, he was named Puerto Rican League Rookie of the Year. In '74, he hit .298/.367/.477 with 16 homers and 88 RBI for the Lodi Orioles. He tied for 6th in the California League in home runs and was 7th in RBI.

Ismael split first base with Eddie Murray for the 1975 Asheville Tourists and hit .260/.322/.411, only slightly worse than Murray. Murray was 19, though, and the O's made the right move in sticking with him as their first baseman of the future. Oquendo went to Mexico in 1976, hitting .291/.372/.422 between the Petroleros de Poza Rica and the Saraperos de Saltillo. In 1977, he hit .278/.383/.537 with 34 homers, 107 runs, 102 RBI and 89 walks for Saltillo. He led the Mexican League in home runs (6 ahead of Reggie Sanders) and runs (two more than Baudel Lopez) while tying for second in RBI, 17 shy of Sanders.

Oquendo fell off a bit in 1978, hitting .276/.396/.493 with 94 walks, 25 homers, 92 runs and 96 RBI for the Algodoneros de Torreon. He was second in homers, 3 behind Hal King, and was 4th in RBI. Rafael Batista was named the All-Star 1B instead. In his final Mexican season, 1979, he batted .257/.394/.445 with 81 walks and 18 homers between Torreon and the Plataneros de Tabasco.

He hit 9 home runs in Puerto Rico in the winter of 1979-1980, tying Dave Revering for the league lead. From 1969-1998 (between Degold Francis and Boi Rodrigues), he was the only Puerto Rican League home run king who never played in the majors. His winter earned him a look with the Milwaukee Brewers chain in 1980 but he hit only .191/.286/.338 in 20 games for the Vancouver Canadians. He resurfaced in the O's chain four years later, hitting .230/.266/.368 in 29 games for the Rochester Red Wings and going 5 for 29 with two doubles and two walks for the Charlotte O's.

Sources

• The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros
• 1973-1981 Baseball Guides