Guillermo Aquilino Vento (born July 5, 1921) is 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 former professional baseball player. Listed at 5' 8" (1.75 m), 165 lb (75 kg), Vento batted and threw right handed. He was born in Maracaibo,

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 ...

. Basically a line-drive hitter and a fine defensive

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

, Vento also showed his versatility as a strong-armed

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

corner 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 ...

and first sacker, as well as a very good

base runner In baseball, base running is the act of running from base to base, performed by members of the team at bat. Base running is a tactical part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home base (home plate) to score a run. Batters strive to ...

. He was a member of the Venezuela national team that won gold medals in the 1941 and 1944

Baseball World Cup The Baseball World Cup was an international tournament where national baseball teams from around the world competed. It was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). Along with the World Baseball Classic, it was one of two acti ...

tournaments, helping his team to an upset victory over Cuba in 1941, while leading the

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

edition with 14 runs scored. In 1946, Vento entered 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 ...

with the Cervecería Caracas club, playing for the franchise through the 1954–1955 season, after it was christened as 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 ...

. During this span, he won three pennant titles with Caracas and played in three

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is norma ...

. As a 25-year rookie, Vento hit a .286

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with five

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 and 21 RBI in 33 games, including a .476 slugging percentage, while improving to a .303 average in the 1946–1947 season.La Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela On November 30, 1947, Vento became the first VPBL player to connect six hits in a single game. This record would eventually be matched by Pete Koegel (1974), Steve Carter (1991) and Ramón Flores (2014). Vento was instrumental in the Cervecería championship during the 1948–1949 season, going 31-for-118 for a .269 average, including a 22-game hitting streak, while catching in 30 of the 31 games of his team. He then hit .375 for Cervecería in the

1949 Caribbean Series The 1949 Caribbean Series was the first edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe''). It was held from February 20 through February 25 with the champion baseball teams of Cuba, Alacranes del Almendares; Panama, Spur Cola Colonites; Pu ...

, good for third in the batting race behind

Al Gionfriddo Albert Francis Gionfriddo (March 8, 1922 – March 14, 2003) was an American professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder. Career Gionfriddo made his major league debut on September 23, at the age of 22 with ...

(.533) and

Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have p ...

(.409). His most productive season came in 1950–1951, when he batted .309 in 53 games, slugged .409, and posted career-numbers in hits (69) doubles (14), RBI (34), runs (42) and

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, whil ...

(96). In between, Vento joined the

Águilas Cibaeñas The Águilas Cibaeñas (English lit. ''Cibaoan Eagles'') is a professional baseball team in the Dominican Republic's winter baseball league. Founded on January 28, and based in Santiago, the team has won 6 Caribbean Series and 22 national titles ...

club of the now extinct

Dominican Summer League The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only ...

in the 1952 season. He batted .327 and slugged .470 in 43 games to help his team win the pennant. Vento usually served as a battery mate for fellow country man

Emilio Cueche Emilio Cueche h-mee'-leo / coo-eh'-chay/small> (October 20, 1927 – July 31, 2006) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He was nicknamed ″Indio″. (Spanish) Born in Barcelona, Anzoátegui, the righthander Cueche was one of the mos ...

in many games, including the 4–1 victory over the

Tigres del Licey Tigres del Licey (English: Licey Tigers) is a professional baseball team in the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM). The team was founded in 1907 and based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It is one of two LIDOM franchises based in ...

in the decisive seventh game of the final series, to give the Aguilas its first championship title in the long storied history of the franchise. He later played from 1954 through 1958 for the Sultanes de Monterrey of the

Mexican Summer 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 ...

, where he posted a .271 average with 40 homers and 204 RBI in 410 games. Vento collected .300 or more in four of his 19 seasons in the Venezuela winter league, with a career high .346 in 1958–1959, which was the fifth-best of the season, being surpassed only by

Rudy Regalado Rudolph Valentino Regalado (May 21, 1930 – February 12, 2018) was a Major League Baseball player. He was an infielder for the Cleveland Indians from 1954 to 1956, and played in the 1954 World Series. He was born in Los Angeles, Californi ...

(.366), Joe Collins (.360), Rod Graber (.350) and Bill Taylor. That season, Vento collected 50 total bases for a .481 slugging, also a personal mark for the 37-year-old veteran. Besides, Vento played three seasons with the Licoreros de Pampero, returned to Caracas for the second time, and played his last season with the

Tiburones de La Guaira The Tiburones de La Guaira ( en, La Guaira Sharks) are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in the city of La Guaira, they play their home games in Estadio Fórum La Guaira and have won seven national champions ...

in 1962–1963. He later coached and served as an instructor during the next four seasons. At age 45, Vento made a special appearance for the Leones club in the 1966–1967 tournament, going 1-for-5, strictly in pinch-hitting duties. In 2006, he received the honor of induction into the

Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The Salón de la Fama y Museo del Béisbol Venezolano (in English, the ''Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum'') is a nonprofit institution operated by private interests, which was founded on April 18, 2002, thanks to the vision of Carlos ...

as a member of the 1941 WBC Champion Team. Museo del Béisbol de Venezuela – Campeones Mundiales de Béisbol Amateur 1941
(Spanish)

Batting statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Sources

External links

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League – Guillermo Vento career statisticsEstadísticas del Béisbol Mexicano – Guillermo Vento pageBaseball Reference MiLB – Guillermo Vento entryLa Patilla website – Hace 92 años nació Guillermo Vento
(Spanish)
Leones del Caracas website – Historia del Caracas BBC
(Spanish)

(Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vento, Guillermo 1921 births Year of death missing Águilas Cibaeñas players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Baseball catchers Baseball outfielders Baseball third basemen Cervecería Caracas players Leones del Caracas players Licoreros de Pampero players Sportspeople from Maracaibo People from Zulia Sultanes de Monterrey players Tiburones de La Guaira players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico Venezuelan people of Italian descent