 |
 |
Luis Ernesto Aparicio
Baltimore Orioles
Shortstop
Born: April 29, 1934, Maracaibo, Venezuela
Signed: Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before 1954 season
Major League Teams: Chicago White Sox 1956-1962; Baltimore Orioles 1963-1967; Chicago White Sox 1968-1970; Boston Red Sox 1971-1973
Hall of Fame Induction: 1984
Known for his exceptional defense and base running skills, Luis Aparicio played for 18 seasons in the majors, primarily for the White Sox. Ted Williams called him "the best shortstop he had ever seen." Aparicio made his debut in 1956, winning the American League Rookie of the Year honors after batting .266 and leading the league with 21 stolen bases. It was to be the first of nine straight years in which Aparicio led the league or tied for the league lead in stolen bases, and he eclipsed the 50 stolen base mark in four of those seasons. Aparicio helped lead his "Go-Go" White Sox to the World Series in 1959, and he was American League MVP runner-up. Dealt to the Orioles before the 1963 season, Aparicio's production declined slightly but his defensive skills didn't. He reunited with the White Sox in 1968 and enjoyed a late career resurgence making three more All-Star teams in his late 30s with the White Sox and Red Sox.
Aparicio retired with 2,677 career hits, 506 stolen bases (currently 38th all-time) and a .262 lifetime average. Upon his retirement, he was the all-time leader for hits, games played, assists and double plays by a shortstop, and his record nine Gold Gloves was matched by Omar Vizquel in 2001. Derek Jeter broke his all-time hits record by a shortstop in 2009. Aparicio was the first native Venezuelan inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984, and his #11 was retired by the White Sox that same year.
Building the Set
The Card / Orioles Team Set
I didn't recognize the patch on Aparicio's shoulder, and after a quick Google search I discovered this was a patch the Orioles wore during their 1964 season to mark the Sesquicentennial of the Star-Spangled Banner, written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key as he witnessed the attack on Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor by the British. This is the first Orioles card I've added to our set where the patch is visible. On the back of the card, Aparicio's 1956 Rookie of the Year win is celebrated in cartoon form.
November 5, 2021 from Cooperstown, NY (Seventh Inning Stretch) - Card #378
Needing a quick vacation and wanting to take our sons to Cooperstown for the first time, we took advantage of the annual NJEA Teacher Convention in which public schools are closed for a few days in early November. We loaded our car on Thursday morning with a loose plan of spending two days in Cooperstown and the surrounding area, shopping in the village, soaking in the Hall of Fame exhibits and eating a few good dinners. The 4 1/2 hour drive to Otsego County was scenic and enjoyable. Most of the day Friday was spent in the Hall of Fame and Saturday was dedicated largely to shopping in the many stores, mostly baseball related, located in the blocks surrounding the Hall.
On Friday, we luckily didn't bypass Seventh Inning Stretch, located adjacent to Doubleday Field, as we originally thought the store was closed. We entered through their back door, and my eyes immediately turned to the staircase to my left leading to a second floor adorned with thousands of baseball cards for sale in glass cases on the walls, roughly in chronological order. I found this Aparicio card behind one of the last glass cases, and $25 seemed like a reasonable price to me. This was the first of nine cards we'd ultimately add to our 1965 Topps set from that weekend trip to Cooperstown.
I didn't recognize the patch on Aparicio's shoulder, and after a quick Google search I discovered this was a patch the Orioles wore during their 1964 season to mark the Sesquicentennial of the Star-Spangled Banner, written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key as he witnessed the attack on Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor by the British. This is the first Orioles card I've added to our set where the patch is visible. On the back of the card, Aparicio's 1956 Rookie of the Year win is celebrated in cartoon form.
Aparicio is in the harder to find 1965 Topps Transfers insert set, but he's not in the 1965 Topps Embossed insert set.
1965 Season
For the third season in a row, Aparicio was the Orioles' opening day and regular shortstop, providing an amazing defense from the left side of the infield along with third baseman Brooks Robinson (#150). Aparicio's offensive production was down, as he batted just .225 in 144 games and he missed his first All-Star Game selection since 1957. But his defensive abilities stayed steady as he led all American League shortstops with a .971 fielding percentage.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1956 Topps #292
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (19): 1956-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2021 Topps 206 (Wave 8)
1,003 - Aparicio non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/17/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database
1965 Season
For the third season in a row, Aparicio was the Orioles' opening day and regular shortstop, providing an amazing defense from the left side of the infield along with third baseman Brooks Robinson (#150). Aparicio's offensive production was down, as he batted just .225 in 144 games and he missed his first All-Star Game selection since 1957. But his defensive abilities stayed steady as he led all American League shortstops with a .971 fielding percentage.
|
|
|
|
|
First Mainstream Card: 1956 Topps #292
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (19): 1956-1974
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2021 Topps 206 (Wave 8)
1,003 - Aparicio non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 11/17/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
National Baseball Hall of Fame
SABR
The Trading Card Database
No comments:
Post a Comment