Ramiro Caballero

Ramiro Caballero Gonzalez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 205 lb.

• Born February 12, 1930 in Monterrey, Nuevo León Mexico
• Died July 19, 2008 in Ciudad Pémex, Veracruz Mexico

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Ramiro Caballero once hit 59 home runs in a season but totaled only 18 in six seasons in the Mexican League. Overall, he hit over 200 minor league dingers and won three home run titles.

Caballero helped the Mexican national team to a Silver Medal in the 1954 Central American and Caribbean Games, his 10 RBIs tying Venezuelans Jose Matos and Eladio Reveron for the tourney lead. He debuted as a pro that summer with the Sultanes de Monterrey, hitting .280/.301/.310 with no home runs in 100 at-bats over 38 games. He split 1955 between Monterrey (.219/.286/.359 in 21 G) and the Nogales Yaquis (.266/.319/.422 in 18 G). Caballero spent 1956 with the Chihuahua Dorados and batted .300 with 13 home runs and 77 RBI. With Chihuahua again in 1957, he improved to .366/.407/.627 with 24 circuit clouts, 18 steals, 87 runs and 109 RBI in 99 games. He was second in the Central Mexican League in home runs, 3rd in RBI and 7th in average. He led first basemen with 891 putouts.

In 1958, Caballero once again clobbered the ball for Chihuahua (.358/?/.621, 21 HR in 78 G) and got another look at the Mexican League, now with the Petroleros de Poza Rica (.305/.347/.518 in 38 G, easily his best stint in that loop). He finished 7th in the Arizona-Mexico League in home runs despite not spending a full season there. He was with Poza Rica again in 1959, but did little (5 for 28, 2 2B, HR, 4 BB), backing up Elias Osorio at first base. He did not play in Organized Baseball in 1960.

In 1961, the 31-year-old got a long look for the Veracruz Eagle and hit .280/.326/.435 in 87 games, with 8 home runs. He was player-manager of the Guanajuato Tuzos in 1962; his charges were 54-66, 5th in the 6-team Mexican Center League, but Caballero put on one heck of a personal show: .414/.481/.910 with 59 home runs, 123 runs and 170 RBI in 113 games. He led the league in average (33 points ahead of Hector Sanudo), slugging (85 points over Sanudo), hits (175), total bases (385, 100 more than runner-up Sanudo), home runs (22 more than #2 Sanudo), sacrifice flies (13), times hit by pitch (13), grand slams (tied for first with 3) and RBI (a whopping 51 more than Guillermo Frayde). He led Organized Baseball in both home runs and average - no player (through 2011) has led in both categories while hitting that many home runs (Heriberto Vargas, 55 in 1966, comes in second). He just missed making the minor league's top 10 home run leaderboard for a single season, falling one shy of Tony Lazzeri and Frosty Kennedy, who were tied for 9th.

Caballero split 1963 between the Mexico City Red Devils (9 for 45, 4 BB, 2 2B, 3B in his last look at the Mexican League) and Guanajuato (.352/.454/.704 in 22 G). In 1964, he was with the Leon Broncos, again blasting the ball in the MCL. He produced at a .380/.493/.676 clip with 93 walks, 35 home runs, 135 runs and 145 RBI in 121 games. He led the Mexican Center League in average (by 12 points), slugging, runs, hits (175), total bases (311), home runs (5 ahead of Angel Macias), RBI (by 31) and walks (not a strong suit previously). For the second time, he led Organized Baseball in average. Only one other player (Al Pinkston, 1960-1961) had done so more than once since Ox Eckhardt back in the 1930s. Following Caballero, three more would do it in the 20th Century: Teo Acosta, Jimmie Collins and Willie Aikens.

Ramiro ended his career in 1965 with Leon. He hit .355/.509/.652 with 34 home runs, 126 walks, 133 runs and 113 RBI in 128 games. He was among the league leaders in average (5th), OBP (1st), slugging (1st), runs (3rd, 6 shy of the lead), home runs (1st for the third time in four years) and walks (setting a MCL record that would not be broken).

He died on July 19, 2008 at the age of 78. [1]

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Playoffs	Notes
1962	Guanajuato Tuzos	Mexican Center League	64-66	5th

Sources

• The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros
• Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database
• 1956, 1958, 1960-1966 Baseball Guides
• Total Baseball (7th edition) ed. by John Thorn, Pete Palmer and Michael Gershman
• The Minor League Register ed. by Lloyd Johnson
• A History of Cuban Baseball by Peter Bjarkman
• Central American and Caribbean Games medalist list