Gonzalo Enrique Márquez Moya (March 31, 1940 – December 19, 1984) was a

Venezuelan 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 ...

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player. He played as a

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 ...

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

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

(1972–73) and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

(1973–74). Although baseball references during his career (and afterwards) showed the year of his birth as 1946, his birth certificate showed the true year to be 1940. Márquez presented an ID that showed 1946 when he turned professional. Márquez was a left-handed batter, hitting .235 (27-for-115) with one

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 ...

, 10

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 ...

, nine runs, three doubles and one

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

in 76 games. However, his skill as a contact hitter was visible in the postseason. In eight playoff and World Series games in 1972, he hit 5-for-8 for a .625 BA with two RBIs and one run scored. He's still well remembered by the Oakland fans for his contribution off the bench. Marquez was also known as a fine fielder at first base. On May 5, 1973, 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 F ...

, he became the last left-handed player to be listed in the lineup card as a second baseman in a major-league game. He did not appear in the field at second, though. Márquez enjoyed a long career at home in the

Venezuelan Winter 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 ...

, nearly all of it 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 ...

club. He compiled a record of .288 with 16 homers and 295 RBI in 833 games, from 1965 to 1984. In the 1970 Caribbean Series, he led all players with a .440 batting average and 4 stolen bases, to help 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 ...

win the series, marking the first time a Venezuelan team had taken the title. Gonzalo Márquez was killed in a car accident as he was returning home from a baseball game in Valencia with two of his sons. He and the boys stopped for a roast pork sandwich at a nationally known roadside eatery, but another car prevented them from leaving the parking lot. Once Marquez did get back out onto the road, a drunk driver struck his car. Marquez died (though the two boys survived).

References

External links

Costello, Rory SABR BioProject biography of Gonzalo MarquezVenezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marquez, Gonzalo 1946 births 1984 deaths Alijadores de Tampico players Birmingham A's players Caracas Metropolitanos players Chicago Cubs players Iowa Oaks players Oakland Athletics players Petroleros de Zulia players Leesburg A's players Leones del Caracas players Navegantes del Magallanes players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Peninsula Grays players People from Carúpano Pericos de Puebla players Road incident deaths in Venezuela Tucson Toros players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Wichita Aeros players

See also

References

External links