Antonio Briñez (September 17, 1917 – September 3, 1999) was a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n professional baseball player, coach and manager. He batted and threw left handed. Born in

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

Zulia Zulia State ( es, Estado Zulia, ; Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest population among Venezuela's states. It ...

, Briñez spent almost 30 years in Venezuelan baseball, playing in three different leagues while managing in two of them. Basically a line-drive hitter and a fine defensive

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, Briñez also was a member of the Venezuela national team that won the gold medal in the 1944 Baseball World Cup, powering his team to upset victories over the strong Panama and Puerto Rico teams, while leading the tournament with seven

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

. Briñez made his professional debut in the First Division of Baseball of Venezuela, playing for five teams in nine seasons spanning 1936–1945. He then moved to the

Cervecería Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

club in 1946, to become a founding member of the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

in its inaugural season.La Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela Briñez played for the Caracas club in five of his seven seasons in the league. In between, he also played with the

Navegantes del Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes (Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It wa ...

and the

Sabios de Vargas The Sabios de Vargas baseball club became a founding member of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League in its inaugural season of 1946. The team represented the city of La Guaira, Vargas and played its home games at the now-extinct Estadio Cer ...

before retiring in 1952. He returned to the VPBL during the 1960–1961 season to manage the Caracas franchise, after it was named the

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

. In a seven-season playing career, Briñez batted a .288 average and slugged .325 in 161 games. As a manager for Caracas, he replaced

Tim Thompson Charles Lemoine Thompson (March 1, 1924 – October 25, 2021) was an American professional baseball player and catcher in the Major Leagues. He appeared in 187 games over all or parts of four seasons (1954; 1956–58) for the Brooklyn Dodgers, ...

in the midseason, but the timing could not be better for the last-place Leones, who finished with a 21-30 record and 10½ games out of contention. After that, he managed the

Rapiños de Occidente The Rapiños de Occidente (Western Raptors) was a Venezuelan baseball club that played from 1957 through 1963 in the Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional (Western Professional Baseball League). They played their home games at the old olympic sta ...

of the

Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional The Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional (Western Professional Baseball League) was a baseball circuit that operated between 1954 and 1963 in Maracaibo, the capital city in the Venezuela state of Zulia. The league played their games at the old ol ...

in 1963. Then, in 1966 he became the first manager who brought a National Amateur Baseball championship to his homeland. Briñez died in 1999 in his natal city of Maracaibo, just 14 days short of his 82nd birthday.

Greatest personal award

In 1944, Briñez was honored with the Athlete of the Year Award created by the Circle of Sports Journalists in Venezuela, becoming the first Venezuelan athlete to receive the award. Since then, significant Venezuelan sportspeople have been awarded over the years, among others ballplayers

Wilson Álvarez Wilson Eduardo Álvarez Fuenmayor (born March 24, 1970) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher. During a thirteen-year baseball career, he pitched for the Texas Rangers, ...

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Chico Carrasquel Alfonso Carrasquel Colón, better known as Chico Carrasquel (January 23, 1926 – May 26, 2005), was a Venezuelan professional baseball player, coach, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from 1950 to 1 ...

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Freddy García Freddy Antonio García (born October 6, 1976), is a former Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher. He is best known for his many seasons with seven Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, including the Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox, and ...

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Félix Hernández Félix Abraham Hernández García (born April 8, 1986), nicknamed "King Félix", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners from 2005 through 2019. On August 15, 2 ...

Vidal López Vidal López Ascanio (April 19, 1918 – February 20, 1971) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player and manager. He batted and threw right handed. (Spanish) López starred as a starting pitcher and Slugging percentage, slugging outfielder ...

Magglio Ordóñez Magglio José Ordóñez Delgado (; born January 28, 1974) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball right fielder. He played for the Chicago White Sox (1997–2004) and Detroit Tigers (2005–2011). Ordóñez is tall and weighs . Having pos ...

Luis Salazar Luis Ernesto Salazar Garcia (born May 19, 1956) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1992 as a third baseman and outfielder for the San Diego Padres (1980–84, 19 ...

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and

Omar Vizquel Omar Enrique Vizquel González (; born April 24, 1967), nicknamed "Little O", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. During his 24-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Vizquel played for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indi ...

. The long honorees list of the CSJV also includes boxers

Betulio González Betulio Segundo González (born October 24, 1949) is a former boxer from Venezuela, who is considered a national hero in Venezuela. He is considered by many to be Venezuela's greatest world champion in boxing history. A combatant of 91 bouts, he ...

and Vicente Paúl Rondón; cyclist racers

Daniela Larreal Daniela Grelui Larreal Chirinos (born 2 October 1973) is a Venezuelan track cyclist. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed in the Women's team sprint for the national team as well as the women's individual sprint and the keirin. Major ...

José Rujano José Humberto Rujano Guillen (born 18 February 1982) is a Venezuelan road bicycle racer who competed professionally between 2003 and 2013, and most recently competed for Venezuelan amateur team Osorio Grupo Ciclismo. Career Born in Santa Cruz d ...

and

Leonardo Sierra Leonardo Sierra Sepúlveda (born 10 October 1968) is a Venezuelan former road bicycle racer. He competed in the road race at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Career achievements Major results ;1988 : 1st Stage 4 Vuelta al Táchira ;1989 : 6th Ove ...

; motorcycle road racers

Carlos Lavado Carlos Alberto Lavado Jones (born May 25, 1956) is a Venezuelan former professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He competed in the FIM motorcycle Grand Prix world championships from 1978 to 1992. Lavado is notable for winning two 250cc road raci ...

and

Johnny Cecotto Johnny Alberto Cecotto Persello (born 25 January 1956), better known as Johnny Cecotto, is a Venezuelan former professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer and auto racer. He rose to prominence as a teenage prodigy in 1975 when he became the youn ...

, as well as basketballer

Greivis Vásquez Greivis Josué Vásquez Rodríguez (born January 16, 1987) is a former Venezuelan professional basketball player, who spent six seasons in the NBA. He is currently a coach, most recently working as the associate head coach for the Erie BayHawks ...

and free-diver

Carlos Coste Carlos Coste (born in Caracas, Venezuela, on February 2, 1976) is a Venezuelan professional free-diver. He started his training in apnea and Free-diving in 1996, and got his first national record in 1998. In October 2002 he broke his 1st Official ...

.Círculo de Periodistas Deportivos de Venezuela – expediente 1613
(Spanish)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brinez, Antonio 1917 births 1999 deaths Baseball first basemen Baseball managers Cervecería Caracas players Navegantes del Magallanes players Sportspeople from Maracaibo Sabios de Vargas players Venezuelan baseball players