César Dario Gutiérrez oo-te-er'-rez(January 26, 1943 – January 22, 2005), also nicknamed "Cocoa", was a Venezuelan 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 t ...

player. He played as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

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

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

in the 1967 and 1969 seasons, and for the Detroit Tigers from 1969 to 1971. Listed at 5'9" and 155 lbs, he batted and threw right handed.César Gutiérrez at Baseball Reference
/ref> Gutiérrez is notable for being the second player in Major League history to record seven hits in a game without making an out.

Career

Born in Coro,

Falcón ) , anthem = , image_map = Falcon in Venezuela.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location within Venezuela , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_mapsiz ...

, Gutiérrez was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 1960.César Gutiérrez Trades and Transactions at Baseball Almanac
/ref> He was released in 1962, then was signed by the Giants before the 1963 season. Gutiérrez hit a combined .182 average in just 33 games for the Giants in parts of two seasons, before being traded to Detroit during the 1969 midseason. His most productive season came in 1970 with the Tigers, when he became the everyday shortstop for the team, while posting career-highs in batting average (.243), RBI (22), runs (40), hits (101), doubles (11), triples (6), stolen bases (4) and games played (135), although he committed 23 errors for the third highest total in the league. On June 21, 1970 in the second game of a doubleheader against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

, Gutiérrez collected seven hits in seven

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

including a double, to become the second player in Major League history, after Wilbert Robinson, to record seven hits in a game without making an out. The Tigers won 9–8 in twelve innings, as his batting average went up 31 points that day, from .218 to .249. Nevertheless, in 1971, Gutiérrez lost his regular shortstop position to

Ed Brinkman Edwin Albert Brinkman (December 8, 1941 – September 30, 2008) was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball, principally as a shortstop, for the Washington Senators (1961– ...

, who had been acquired in a blockbuster six-player trade with the Washington Senators in the off-season. He played 40 games as a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

for Detroit, batting only .189. Gutiérrez was sold to the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

prior to the start of the next season, being assigned to their Triple-A affiliate, the Peninsula Whips, where after playing in only 12 games he was then released and picked up by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

, who assigned him to their Triple-A

Hawaii Islanders The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played ...

affiliate club. Gutiérrez played the rest of the 1972 season in Hawaii, and retired at the end of the year.

Career statistics

In a four-year career, Gutiérrez played in 223 games, accumulating 128 hits in 545

for a .235 career batting average and 26

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 ba ...

without

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 ...

s. He ended his career with a .953 fielding percentage. In between, Gutiérrez played winter baseball in the

Venezuelan 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 ...

from 1961 to 1976. He later became a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

, and served as a coach and scout with several teams. Gutiérrez died in Cabimas, Zulia State, Venezuela, four days short of his 62nd birthday.Baseball Digest, April 2006, Vol. 65, No. 2

References

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutierrez, Cesar 1943 births 2005 deaths Águilas del Zulia players Baseball coaches Cardenales de Lara players Detroit Tigers players El Paso Sun Kings players Fresno Giants players Hawaii Islanders players Hobbs Pirates players Johnson City Phillies players Leones del Caracas players Lexington Giants players Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Minor league baseball managers Navegantes del Magallanes players Peninsula Whips players People from Falcón Phoenix Giants players San Francisco Giants players Tigres de Aragua players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States

Career

Career statistics

See also

References

External links