Luis Romero Petit

Luis Romero Petit

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• Born April 11, 1917 in Maracaibo, Zulia Venezuela
• Died June 29, 2017 in Caracas Venezuela

Biographical Information

Luis Romero Petit played for the Venezuelan national team and in the first 12 years of the Venezuelan League.

Romero Petit played in the 1940 Amateur World Series. He was the third baseman on the Héroes del 41 who won the 1941 Amateur World Series and also helped Venezuela win the 1944 Amateur World Series. He led the 1945 Amateur World Series with nine steals as Venezuela won another Gold Medal. When the Venezuelan League was formed in 1946, Romero played for Cervecería Caracas, hitting .237 and slugging .252. In 1946-1947, he had his best season as a pro, batting .315, slugging .349 and stealing 12 bases in 34 games for Caracas. He also scored 27 runs. He led the Liga in steals, more than the entire Navegantes del Magallanes team. He broke Sam Jethroe's one-season-old league record for steals; Jose Zardon would top Romero's mark two years later.

The Maracaibo native fell to .206 with no extra-base hits and only one steal in 28 games in 1947-1948. He hit .245/?/.298 in 1948-1949 and .202 with a .241 slugging in 1949-1950. In the 1949 Caribbean Series, he was 7 for 23 with a triple, two steals and four runs as the starting third baseman for Caracas. In 1950-1951, he was just 4 for 14. In 1951-1952, he moved to the Patriotas de Venezuela and batted .277 with a .327 slugging and 28 runs in 44 games. The veteran was down to .186 with a .224 slugging in 1952-1953, at age 35. He was 0 for 1 in the 1953 Caribbean Series, with Pompeyo Davalillo starting at third for Venezuela. In 1953-1954, he hit .195 and slugged .234 for Pastora de Occidente. In the 1954 Caribbean Series, he was 0 for 1; Luis "Camaleón" García started at the hot corner for Occidente. During 1954-1955, he was 13 for 54 with only singles for the Patriotas. In 1955-1956, he hit .257 and slugged .287 for the Licoreros de Pampero. He wound up in 1956-1957, going 5 for 28 with a triple for Pampero. At age 40, he ended his career.

Overall, he hit only .237 with a .268 slugging in 12 seasons in the Venezuelan League. He was one of the last two survivors of the Héroes del 41; only Enrique Fonseca outlived him.

Sources

• Purapelota
• A History of Cuban Baseball by Peter Bjarkman
• Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History by Jorge Figueredo
• Obituary