José Valdivielso

José Valdivielso Lopez
born José Martínez De Valdivielso Lopez
(Sandy)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut June 21, 1955
• Final Game September 30, 1961
• Born May 22, 1934 in Matanzas, Matanzas, Cuba

BR page

Biographical Information

Infielder José Valdivielso was signed by the famed Washington Senators scout Joe Cambria from the Lubbock Hubbers of the West Texas-New Mexico League before the 1954 season. Valdivielso had spent the 1953 season with Lubbock, hitting .289 in 119 games. Jose, whom many called "Sandy", came from a well-to-do Cuban family. His father played football at Boston University, then returned to Cuba to teach physical education.

A light-hitting shortstop with a good glove, he appeared in 401 games during his five seasons in the majors. José managed to hit major league pitching at just a .219 average while with the Senators in 1955, 1956, 1959 and 1960 and the Minnesota Twins in 1961, following the relocation of the Senators to Minnesota. He spent the 1957 and 1958 seasons in the minor leagues with the Indianapolis Indians, Minneapolis Millers and Phoenix Giants.

From 1953 to 1961, Valdivielso played in the Cuban Winter League as well. He never made the All-Star team in the CWL. He led the 1958-59 and 1959-60 Cuban Winter League in sacrifice hits.

Jose finished out the last three years of his ten-year minor league career (1962-1964) with the Vancouver Mounties and Indianapolis, winding up with a .264 career hitting average in 745 games with 2,536 at-bats. José had a few fond memories of his time in baseball and this is what he had to say:

"Coming to Yankee Stadium as a player was my biggest thing. To me it was the greatest accomplishment of my life. The first time I was in New York with the Washington Senators, we had a game at two o'clock on a Saturday afternoon. I was so excited I arrived at the Stadium between 8-9 in the morning. It was the greatest game of my life. Whitey Ford was pitching and I went three-for-three."

José was also a part of the only all-Cuban triple play in big league history. He recalled: "It was at Kansas City. Whitey Herzog was hitting with runners on first and second and Camilo Pascual was pitching. Herzog hit a line drive to Camilo (one out). Pascual threw to Julio Becquer at first base (two outs). Julio then threw to me at second base (three outs). A 1-3-6 triple play."

After baseball, José became a New York City youth recreation director before becoming a sports announcer for Spanish-speaking television and radio in Newark, NJ. He has broadcast New York Yankees games on Spanish-language radio stations. For many years, he has done four morning sports reports over WKDM in Newark and has also been employed as a retail counselor for White Rose, one of the largest food distributors in the Northeast.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• BR Minors page