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Today we welcome back Vince Jankoski with an interesting essay on Chico Carresquel. I’m old enough to remember him during his time with the White Sox, but I didn’t realize he had an uncle who also played in the majors. Together, they achieved a number of major league “firsts.” -GL

THE CARRASQUELS, ALEX AND CHICO:

A Family of Firsts!

More years ago than I wish to admit, my family gave me as a Christmas present two framed photographs of the first pitch of Opening Day games in Baltimore.  The more recent of the pics was from 1992.  It identified the pitcher as Rick Sutcliffe and the batter as Kenny Lofton.  The earlier of the two photos was from the current Orioles’ initial Opening Day in Memorial Stadium, April 15, 1954.  It listed the hurler as Bob Turley, but failed to identify the batsman.  I wondered.  Who could the batter be? 

One could see from the scoreboard in the background of the image that the Birds’ opponent that day was the Chicago White Sox.  I surmised that the leadoff batter for the Sox that year would be Nellie Fox.  Fox was a good hitter with little power, a perfect leadoff man.  He hit over .300 six times but never struck more than six home runs in a single season.

This was before the internet – I told you it was longer ago than I wish to admit – so my curiosity mandated a trip to the public library.  There, I found the Baltimore Sun for April 16, 1954, turned to the sports section, and found the box score for the game held the previous day.  To my mild surprise, the leadoff batter for the Sox that day was Alphonso (“Chico”) Carrasquel, not Nellie Fox.

However, Chico was not the first Venezuelan to play in the majors.  That honor belongs to his uncle, Alejandro (“Alex”) Carrasquel, a pitcher mostly for the Washington Senators in the 1940s.  Alex was also the first Venezuelan to win a major league game, throw a shutout, record a save, hit safely, and strike a home run. So, I guess you could say that the Carrasquels are a family of trend setters.

On a more unusual note, Chico was the first and only player to be traded for his uncle – well, sort of, if you believe the story.   Early in 1946, the White Sox acquired Uncle Alex from the Senators.  Instead of moving to the Southside, Alex jumped to the Mexican League, incurring the wrath of Commissioner Happy Chandler, who suspended Alex and other jumpers from playing in the majors for four seasons.  When Alex returned to the major league fold in 1949, the Sox had also purchased nephew Chico from the Dodger organization.  Chico was expendable to the Dodgers.  He was not going to beat out Pee Wee Reese as the shortstop in Brooklyn, and Dodger General Manager Branch Rickey pocketed part of any sale proceeds.  The Sox needed a shortstop, the Dodgers had an extra one that they were not going to use any time soon, and Rickey wanted the money.  The transaction made sense all around.

However, so the story goes, Chico was not fluent in English.  So, after Uncle Alex hurled only three and two-thirds innings for the Sox, he was traded to the Tigers for Luis Aloma.  It has been reported that the reason for the trade was so that Aloma could act strictly as a translator for Chico.  This is unlikely.  Aloma did more than translate during his years with the Sox.  He pitched, fairly successfully.  In four seasons in Chicago, Aloma compiled an 18-3 win-loss record (.857) with a 3.44 ERA and 15 saves.   Besides, if Chico needed a translator, why not use Uncle Alex?    

Nephew Chico was a good shortstop for ten major league seasons, six with the White Sox, the remainder with the Indians, As, and Orioles.  In his rookie year of 1959, he finished third in the rookie-of-the-year balloting and twelfth in the MVP voting.  Never a power hitter, he batted .258 for his career, with the best being .282 in his rookie year.  He also drew a fair number of walks.  A fair assumption is that his appearance as a leadoff hitter in the first game at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium had something to do with his ability to get on base.  He was a fine fielder, leading the league in fielding average three times and assists and double plays once each. 

Uncle Alex compiled a 50-39 record with a 3.73 ERA in eight seasons, all but one in Washington.  Although not a superior control pitcher, he hit only six batters in 861 innings, or one hit batsman every 143.5 innings.  By comparison, Whitey Ford, well-recognized as a control pitcher, hit 28 batters in 3,170 and one-third innings, or one every 113.2 innings.  By contrast, Sal “The Barber” Maglie hit 44 batters in 1,723 innings, or one every 39.2 innings.  Many others fall in between. 

After his brief stint in Chicago, Alex was demoted to the minor leagues, where he spent another four years before returning to the Mexican League, by then a part of organized baseball, for a final three years before retiring at age 43 in 1956.   

Uncle Alex passed away from complications from diabetes in Caracas at age 57 in 1969.  Nephew Chico died of a heart attack in 2005 at age 79, also in Caracas.   

Vince Jankoski

Photo Credits: All found on Google search

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