Robert Rudolph Balcena (August 1, 1925 – January 5, 1990) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player. He played as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for the

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

during the season. Listed at 5' 7", 160 lb., Balcena batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

and threw

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

. He was born in

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; Spanish: " St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

. Balcena became the first player of

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

ancestry to appear in a major league game. He had a long distinguished Triple-A career with the

Seattle Rainiers The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 19 ...

as a

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

in the 1950s, and in Seattle is fondly remembered to this day. He also played from 1952 through 1962 in the

Minor Leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

, including stints with 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 ...

and the

Industriales de Valencia The Industriales de Valencia was a baseball club who played from 1955 through 1968 in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. The Industriales joined the league as a replacement for the Santa Marta BBC. The Industriales were based at Valencia ...

in 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 ...

. He batted .284 with 134

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 441

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

in 1948 minor league games. In a VPBL two-season career, he posted a .306 average with five homers and 44 RBI in 87 games. Balcena died in his hometown of

at the age of 64.

External links

Baseball Reference major league statisticsBaseball Reference minor league statisticsBaseball FeverVenezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics
1925 births 1990 deaths Águilas de Mexicali players American baseball players of Filipino descent American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from California Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Dallas Rangers players Cincinnati Redlegs players Hawaii Islanders players Industriales de Valencia players Kansas City Blues players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball left fielders San Antonio Missions players Seattle Rainiers players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Vancouver Mounties players Wichita Indians players {{US-baseball-outfielder-1920s-stub