Natalio Irizarry

Natalio Irizarry
(Pachy)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 185 lb.

• School University of Dayton

• Born September 30, 1929
• Died February 11, 2016

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Natalio Irizarry reached AA as a player and later was a winter league owner.

Irizarry was 12-11 with a 3.22 ERA in his pro debut, with the 1949 Abbeville Athletics. That winter, he had a 8-7, 2.94 record for the Indios de Mayaguez and won the Puerto Rican League Rookie of the Year. Back with Abbeville in 1950, he fell to 6-12, 4.35. He did not pitch in the US in 1951-1952. In '53, the righty split time between the Baton Rouge Red Sticks (6-7, 3.45) and St. Petersburg Saints (1-3, 4.78). In the winter, he set a Puerto Rican League record with 29 consecutive shutout innings en route to a league-best 1.49 ERA (the best in the league from 1948-1957). He ended his minor league career in the Cincinnati Reds chain in 1954, appearing for the Colonial Heights-Petersburg Colts (4-3, 6.00) and Tulsa Oilers (1-4, 4.90). From 1971-1973, he owned the Indios.

Sources

• Puerto Rico's Winter League: A History of Major League Baseball's Launching Pad by Thomas Van Hyning and Eduardo Valero