Joe Azcue

José Joaquín Azcue López (born August 18, 1939) is a Cuban former professional baseball player.[1] He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, California Angels and Milwaukee Brewers.[1] Nicknamed "The Immortal Azcue", he was known for his strong throwing arm.[2][3] In 1968, he was selected to the American League All-Star team.[4]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Azcue and the second or maternal family name is López.
Joe Azcue
Catcher
Born: (1939-08-18) August 18, 1939
Cienfuegos, Cuba
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 3, 1960, for the Cincinnati Reds
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1972, for the Milwaukee Brewers
MLB statistics
Batting average.252
Home runs50
Runs batted in304
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Playing career

Azcue threw and batted right-handed; he was listed as 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and 190 pounds (86 kg). He began his career when he was signed by the Cincinnati Redlegs as an amateur free agent in 1956.[1] He spent the following few years rising up the minor league ranks. He was part of the Cienfuegos Elephants of the Cuban League, and was part of their championship team, winning both the Cuban League title and the Caribbean Series during the 1959–1960 season.[5]

He made his major league debut on August 3, 1960 at the age of 20.[1] However, he finished the season with a batting average of only .097, and was sent back to the minor leagues at the end of the season.[1] He played in the Cuban League for Cienfuegos again during the offseason, and on December 20, 1960, he was purchased by the Milwaukee Braves.[1]

After a season in the minors, Milwaukee traded Azcue to the Kansas City Athletics on December 15, 1961 along with Ed Charles and Manny Jiménez for Bob Shaw and Lou Klimchock.[6] In 1962 he played in 72 games for the Athletics. After two games with the Athletics in 1963, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians with Dick Howser for Doc Edwards and $100,000.[7] He spent parts of seven seasons in Cleveland, and had the best seasons of his career there, earning his only All-Star appearance in 1968.[1]

Azcue hit into the first unassisted triple play since 1927 on July 29, 1968, turned by Ron Hansen of Washington.[8][9] After an early season trade in 1969, Azcue became a bit of a nomad. He was dealt along with Sonny Siebert and Vicente Romo from the Indians to the Boston Red Sox for Ken Harrelson, Dick Ellsworth and Juan Pizarro on April 19, 1969.[10] Only two months later, Azcue had a falling out with Red Sox manager Dick Williams and was again traded, this time to the California Angels.[11]

Azcue played the rest of the 1969 season and all of 1970 for the Angels. Then, unhappy with the contract he was offered by California, Azcue sat out the entire 1971 season.[12] Azcue came back to play for the Angels in 1972 but was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers after playing in only three games. The Brewers sent Azcue to the minor leagues for most of the season. Azcue played in just 11 games for Milwaukee and after 1972 would never play again in the Major Leagues, retiring at the age of 32.

Career statistics

In an eleven-year major league career, Azcue played in 909 games, accumulating 712 hits in 2,828 at bats for a .252 career batting average along with 50 home runs, 304 runs batted in and an on-base percentage of .304. A capable defensive catcher, Azcue led American League catchers in fielding percentage in 1967 and 1968.[13] His .992 career fielding percentage was second only to Elston Howard among major league catchers at the time of his retirement. Over his career, Azcue threw out 45.17% of the base runners who tried steal a base on him, ranking him 10th on the all-time list.[14] During the 1966 season, he threw out 62% of the base runners who tried steal a base, the fifth highest season percentage in major league history.[15] He caught two no hitters in his career, Sonny Siebert in 1966[16] and Clyde Wright in 1970.[17] In 1974, he managed the Reno Silver Sox in the Class-A California League.[18]

References
  1. "Joe Azcue Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
  2. Tales from the Tribe Dugout, Russell Schneider, Sports Publishing LLC, 2002 ISBN 1-58261-303-6 ISBN 978-1-58261-303-1
  3. The 25 Greatest Plays of the 1967 Season, by Herbert Simmons, Baseball Digest, December 1968, Vol. 26, No. 10, ISSN 0005-609X
  4. 1968 All-Star game at Baseball Reference
  5. Eberenz, Leo J. (1960-02-24). "Cuba Caribbean Kings for Fifth Year in Row". The Sporting News. p. 24.
  6. Braves, A's happy over deal
  7. Joe Azcue Trades and Transactions at Baseball Almanac
  8. "Senators' Hansen Makes Triple Play; Indians Win, 10-1". The New York Times. July 31, 1968. p. 44.
  9. Baseball Digest, August 1979, Vol. 38, No. 8, ISSN 0005-609X
  10. Eldridge, Larry. "Ken Harrelson Retires Rather Than Leave Boston," The Associated Press (AP), Monday, April 21, 1969. Retrieved June 9, 2020
  11. More Tales from the Tribe Dugout, Russell Schneider, Sports Publishing LLC, 2005 ISBN 1-58261-680-9 ISBN 978-1-58261-680-3
  12. Joe Azcue at BR Bullpen
  13. Baseball Digest November 1987, Vol. 46, No. 11, ISSN 0005-609X
  14. 100 Best Catcher CS% Totals at The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers
  15. Catching Better Than 50% of Base Stealers at The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers
  16. June 10, 1966 Senators-Indians box score at Baseball Reference
  17. July 3, 1970 Athletics-Angels box score at Baseball Reference
  18. Joe Azcue Minor League Manager record at Baseball Reference
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