Pedro Orta

Pedro Clodomiro Orta (Charolito)

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• Born January 31, 1914 in Havana Cuba

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Biographical Information

Pedro Orta was the father of Jorge Orta. Like Santos Amaro, the Cuban native had his son while playing in Mexico. Pedro spent nine years in Mexico and never made it to the USA. Unlike his son, the elder Orta was known for his glove - his nickname means "Patent Leather". Originally a third baseman, he was primarily an outfielder. He led the Mexican League in stolen bases three times.

Pedro Orta hit .282 for the Cuban national team to help them to the gold medal in the 1940 Amateur World Series.

Orta debuted professionally in 1943-1944, hitting .235 as a utility player for Marianao in the Cuban Winter League. A year later, he batted .350 in 20 AB for Marianao and stole 3 bases, second to Carden Gillenwater on the team and tied with Frank Austin. Both Gillenwater and Austin had at least five times as many at-bats.

In 1945-1946, Orta was a backup OF/3B for Marianao, subbing for Minnie Minoso, Bobby Estalella, Tony Castano, Frank Campos and Claro Duany. He hit .311 and slugged .392 in 74 AB, posting a better average than any of the above except Campos.

Orta went to the Mexican League when it was becoming populated with major leaguers heading south in 1946. Pedro batted .283/~.334/.371 for the Tampico Lightermen, helping them to a title. He stole 11 bases, second on the team to Hector Rodriguez. In 1946-1947, Orta only went 6 for 31 for Marianao.

Orta slipped to .107/~.265/.143 in 11 games for Tampico in 1947. Orta was with Cuba in the 1947-1948 Players Federation League and batted .198 with a .247 slugging percentage as the fourth outfielder. Back in Mexico for 1949, Orta hit .328/~.456/.425 in a fine rebound year. In 1950, he hit .303/~.431/.385 in 87 games for the Torreon Cotton Dealers and stole 34 bases, leading the Mexican League.

Orta batted .298/~.427/.361 in 1951 and stole 18 bases, leading the LMB. He scored 63 runs in 84 games. In his third season for Torreon, he stole 16 and hit .311/~.420/.449 with 67 runs in 87 games. His 8 triples tied Pablo Garcia and Jesús Díaz for the Liga lead. Charolito hit .310/~.419/.390 in 1953 and stole 28 bases, leading the Mexican League once more.

Orta finished his career in 1954 with the new Yucatan Lions and hit .276/~.396/.382 in 21 contests. Overall, he had hit .301/~.405/.393 with 137 stolen bases in 500 games in the Mexican League.

Sources: The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros, Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History by Jorge Figueredo, A History of Cuban Baseball by Peter Bjarkman