Carlos Alberto Pascual Lus (13 March 1931 – 12 May 2011) was a
Cuban-born 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), ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
. The , right-hander was signed by the
Washington Senators as an amateur free agent before the 1949 season, and he played for the Senators in 1950. Nicknamed "Big Potato" (a corruption of the Spanish slang "patato", meaning short; Pascual was listed at 5'6"), he was the older brother of
All-Star pitcher
Camilo Pascual
Camilo Alberto Pascual Lus (born January 20, 1934) is a Cuban former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. During an 18-year baseball career (1954–71), he played for the original modern Washington Senators franchise (which became the Mi ...
.
He began his professional career with the
Big Spring Broncs
Big or BIG may refer to:
* Big, of great size or degree
Film and television
* ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks
* '' Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show
* ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...
of the
Longhorn League
The Longhorn League was the name of a Minor league baseball circuit that operated from through in the Southwestern United States. In , it was renamed the Southwestern League and operated through before changing its name to the Sophomore Leag ...
, where he spent a season and a half. He then played for three seasons for the
Havana Cubans
The Havana Sugar Kings were a Cuban-based minor league baseball team that played from 1946 to 1960. From 1954 until 1960, they belonged in the Class AAA International League, affiliated with Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds. Their home s ...
of
Florida International League
The Florida International League was a lower- to mid-level circuit in American and Cuban minor league baseball that existed from 1946 through July 27, 1954. It was designated Class C for its first three seasons, then upgraded to Class B in 1949 fo ...
and was promoted to the Washington major league squad while a member of that club.
Pascual started two games for Washington towards the end of the season. At 19 years of age, he was the third-youngest player to appear in an
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
game in 1950. He won his first start (September 24), defeating the
Philadelphia Athletics
The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...
at
Griffith Stadium
Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW.
The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Bounda ...
, 3–1. He lost his second start (September 28), by a score of 4–3 to the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
at
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...
. His two-game career totals were 2
complete games
In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...
, 17
innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...
, 12
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 ...
allowed, 3
strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
s, 8
bases on balls
A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...
, a 1–1 record, and a 2.12
ERA
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Comp ...
.
Pascual spent the rest of his 14-year career in the minor leagues where he also saw time at both shortstop and third base in addition to starting and relieving. Pascual finished his minor league career with a .323 batting average and 198 home runs and 40–32 pitching record with a 3.09 ERA in 161 games.
He died in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
at the age of 80.
[Fallece el ex pelotero cubano Carlos "Patato" Pascual (Spanish)]
, ''El Nuevo Herald'', May 12, 2011
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pascual, Carlos
1931 births
2011 deaths
Baltimore Orioles scouts
Big Spring Broncs players
Caribbean Series managers
Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players
Fort Walton Beach Jets players
Fox Cities Foxes players
Havana Cubans players
Hobbs Sports players
Kansas City Royals scouts
Lamesa Indians players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Major League Baseball players from Cuba
Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States
Midland Indians players
Minnesota Twins scouts
New York Mets scouts
Seattle Rainiers players
Washington Senators (1901–1960) players