Benny Valenzuela

Benjamin Beltrán Valenzuela (June 2, 1933 – October 24, 2018)[1] was a Mexican professional baseball player, a third baseman who appeared in ten Major League Baseball games for the St. Louis Cardinals during the 1958 season. Nicknamed "Papelero" in his native Mexico, he threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg).

Benny Valenzuela
Third baseman
Born: (1933-06-02)June 2, 1933
Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico
Died: October 24, 2018(2018-10-24) (aged 85)
Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 27, 1958, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
September 24, 1958, for the St. Louis Cardinals
MLB statistics
Batting average.214
Hits3
Teams

Biography

His abbreviated MLB service notwithstanding, Valenzuela played 20 years in professional baseball (1952–71), with the last decade spent exclusively in the Double-A Mexican League and lower-classification Mexican minor leagues. He began his pro career with the Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings, an unaffiliated team in the Class C Arizona–Texas League, then was drafted into the Cardinal organization in 1955. After hitting .314 and .286 in consecutive seasons with the Double-A Houston Buffaloes in 1956–57, he received early- and late-season auditions with the 1958 Redbirds, spending the bulk of that year with Triple-A Omaha. He singled in his first MLB at bat off Johnny Podres of the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 27,[2] but overall collected only three hits in 14 at bats with a base on balls during his lone big-league campaign. At the close of the 1958 season, Valenzuela was traded to the San Francisco Giants in a five-player transaction that netted the Cardinals right-handed pitcher Ernie Broglio.

After his playing retirement, he became manager of the Alijadores de Tampico in the Mexican League.

References
  1. "FALLECE BENJAMÍN "PAPELERO" VALENZUELA". www.purobeisbol.mx. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  2. Retrosheet box score: 1958-04-27



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