Orlando Leroux

Orlando Leroux

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 198 lb.

• Born ~1929 in Cuba

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Orlando Leroux spent six seasons at AA before the Cuban Revolution; after it, he managed in his homeland.

Playing Career

Leroux signed with the Washington Senators, just as many Cubans of his era did. He hit .243/.333/.383 for the 1952 Roanoke Rapids Jays in his pro debut; he stole 10 bases in 54 games. With the 1953 Bluefield Blue-Grays, he had a very good campaign with a batting line of .332/.431/.511, 33 doubles, 16 home runs, 72 walks, 102 RBI and 92 runs. He finished third in the Appalachian League in average, 5th in homers, 5th in doubles and tied for second in RBI with Ernest Boushy. The only negative was 19 errors, third among Appy League outfielders.

In 1954, he went deep 20 times between the Kingsport Cherokees (.313/.425/.475 in 76 G) and Hagerstown Packets (.284/.367/.586 in 49 G). His 22 steals were third in the Mountain States League, his 62 RBI were 5th and his 61 runs were tied for 4th. That winter, he made his debut in the Cuban Winter League, going 5 for 15 as the 7th outfielder for Marianao. He returned to Hagerstown in 1955 and produced at a .346/.433/.562 clip; he was second in the Piedmont League in average for players with 70+ games. Despite three good years in a row, he would never play again in the US.

In the winter of 1955-1956, Leroux hit .252 and slugged .369 as Marianao's fourth outfielder (the highest he would get on their depth chart), backing up major leaguers Juan Delis, Minnie Miñoso and Don Nicholas. He came to the Mexican League with the 1956 Yucatan Lions and hit .268/.357/.394. In 1956-1957, he was 5 for 26 as the 5th outfielder for Marianao, which won its first title in decades. He backed up Solly Drake, Miñoso, Asdrúbal Baró and Delis. He was 0 for 2 in the 1957 Caribbean Series, won by his Marianao club. In 1957, he improved to .307/.370/.455 for Yucatan. He was 9th in the Mexican League in batting average.

Orlando was 11 for 38 with a triple for Marianao in 1957-1958, backing up the same four guys he had a year earlier; again they won the Cuban Winter League title. In the 1958 Caribbean Series, he was 2 for 4 with a double, run and two RBI for the repeat champs. In his third season for the Lions, his batting line was .280/.355/.434. In 1958-1959, he was 7 for 40 as Marianao's 6th outfielder behind Drake, Baró, Miñoso, Delis and Jose Tartabull. He moved to the Veracruz Eagle in 1959 but slumped to .270/.331/.387.

Signing with the Mexico City Red Devils for 1960, Leroux cracked 30 doubles, 8 triples and 12 home runs, scored 77 and drove in 84. He hit .287/.400/.442. He was four doubles shy of Delis, the pacesetter. In the winter of 1960-1961, he was 12 for 44 with 3 doubles for Marianao in their final season. He backed up Tartabull, Baró, Miñoso and Oscar Sardinas. His playing career ended with the 1961 Poza Rica Oilers, eking out a .231/.292/.315 line not representative of his minor league career.

Leroux hit .290 with over 100 home runs in over 1,000 minor league contests.

Managerial Career

After the revolution, Leroux managed in Cuba. He guided the Granjeros in 1964-1965 (18-21), the Henequeneros in 1967-1968 (52-47) and 1968-1969 (55-43-1) during the 1960s. In the 1970s, he led the Agricultores to a 24-15 record and the Cuban Serie Nacional title in 1974-1975; it was their only national championship. His final stints came with La Habana. He led them to seasons of 17-32 in 1979-1980, 18-33 in 1980-1981 and 37-38 in 1983-1984. INDER reports him as managing eight seasons with the other season being a 26-38 record; the only campaign that matches is the 1965-1966 Granjeros season, which other sources (including the 1966 Guia de Beisbol) list as going to Juan "Coco" Gómez. INDER may have mistakenly credited this season to Leroux in later records.

Sources

• The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros
• Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History by Jorge Figueredo
• 1953-1956 Baseball Guides
• INDER
• Ecured
• Desde Mi Palco De Fanatico blog