Putsy Caballero

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Ralph Joseph Caballero

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Biographical Information[edit]

Putsy Caballero's debut at age 16 makes him the youngest player to ever appear in a game for the Philadelphia Phillies. For much of his eight-year career, Caballero was one of the youngest players in the league. Even in his last year, 1952, he was only 24. His whole major league career was spent with the Phillies.

He was a schoolboy star in New Orleans when signed in 1944. He became the regular third baseman in 1948, showing good range and a good fielding percentage, and hit .245 on a team that hit .259. Both Robin Roberts and Richie Ashburn were 21-year-old rookies on the team, while Putsy was 20 but already in his fourth year. He was part of the 1950 Whiz Kids team, and appeared in 3 games in the World Series against the New York Yankees. In 1951, he was the regular second baseman of sorts, appearing in 84 games at various positions as a host of players appeared at second base. On [[August 11]th that year, he hit his lone big league homer, a solo shot off George Spencer of the New York Giants, in the 9th inning of a 4-0 Phillies victory.

During his playing career, he attended Loyola University New Orleans in the off-seasons. In 2005, his Louisiana home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. He had retired after running a pest-control business. He was forced by the hurricane to seek aid from the Red Cross and to go on food stamps for the first time ever. His Phillies uniform was salvaged from the flood. Putsy died in December 2016 at the age of 89.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Chuck Hildebrandt: "Sweet! 16-Year-Old Players in Major League History", Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Vol. 48, Nr. 1, Spring 2019, pp. 5-17.

Related Sites[edit]

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