#240 Luis Aparicio

Luis Aparicio  Chicago White Sox

Career: Signed by the White Sox out of Venezuela in 1954 on the recommendation of fellow Venezuelan shortstop Chico Carrasquel, Luis Aparicio went on to play for 18 seasons as a shortstop for three AL clubs, the White Sox, Orioles, and Red Sox. He was the 1956 AL Rookie of the Year after leading the league in assists, putouts, and stolen bases.

He played in two World Series, facing the Dodgers both times. He was on the losing end in 1959 with the Sox but got his ring with the Orioles in 1966. He was a ten-time All-Star, won nine Gold Gloves and led the AL in steals for the first nine years of his career. Aparicio received MVP votes as a 22-year-old rookie and as a 38-year-old vet in his next-to-last season in Boston (and eight times in-between). In 1959 Aparicio was second in the MVP balloting to teammate Nellie Fox.

Aparicio was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984. He is third on the list of games played at shortstop behind Omar Vizquel and Derek Jeter. He never appeared at another position other than shortstop.

In 1960: Coming off his near-MVP season Aparicio raised his numbers nearly across the board. His average jumped 20 points while his OPS, Slugging, and RBIs were also up. While he hit two homers as opposed to six the previous year and had eight fewer stolen bases, he again led the AL in almost every defensive category as a shortstop and he actually raised many of those stats. But his MVP share dropped to the point he was 22nd in the voting.

Off The Charts: Aparicio comes from a baseball family. His father, Luis Sr., was considered a superstar in Venezuela and has a stadium named for him in their hometown of Maracaibo. His uncle Ernesto, also a well-known player, was instrumental in teaching Luis Jr. the game. 

This quote is from Aparicio's page at the Hall of Fame site:

"He's the best I've ever seen,” former White Sox owner and future Hall of Famer Bill Veeck said in 1959. “He makes plays which I know can't possibly be made, yet he makes them almost every day.”

#390 1959 World Series Game #6 "Scrambling After Ball"

1959 World Series Game #6 "Scrambling After Ball"

The Card: This is the sixth of Topps' seven card subset commemorating the '59 Series. Game Six was the final game and as the box score indicates was won by the Dodgers, 9-3. Larry Sherry won his second game in relief.

I like to play card detective and find the circumstances around the photos that Topps uses on cards of this era. I've had some pretty good luck in the past. But this one has me stumped. I can't find the original photo at any of my usual websites for this sort of thing.

Topps doesn't necessarily often use photos that come from the game or moment that the front of their World Series or 'special' cards depict. There is no way to identify the three White Sox players on this one although if I was forced to guess I'd say the player reaching down for the ball is Luis Aparicio.

#389 1959 World Series Game #5 "Luis Swipes Base"

The Card: This is the first I've posted of the World Series subset that chronicles the 1959 Dodgers' championship. One card was issued for each game and a seventh shows the Dodgers 'celebration and has Series total stats on the back. The cards use painted game action photos.

This one, purportedly showing Game Five action has Luis Aparicio of the Sox sliding into second with a steal while Maury Wills takes the catcher's late throw.

Interestingly the action shown is actually from Game Four of the Series. Corbis' website had the original image and caption. The photo is dated October 5. And that's the date of Game Four in which Aparicio walked and stole second to lead off the top of the first.

Original caption: Luis Apariclo, Sox ss, steals second in the first inning after getting on base with a walk. John Roseboro's throw to Maury Wills was late. Note ball just reaching Wills glove.

In a further bit of ironic card trivia Maury Wills was famously not included in Topps sets of the day. He wasn't offered the standard Topps $5 contract and by the time he made a splash in the majors he had signed an 'exclusive' contract with Fleer. If you want some background on this the LA Times had a nice article in 2011.