José Vidal Nicolás (April 3, 1940 – January 7, 2011), nicknamed "Papito", was a Dominican

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), ...

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 c ...

. He was signed by 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 ...

as an amateur free agent before the 1958 season. He played for 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 ...

(1966–1968) and Seattle Pilots (1969). He also played one season in Japan for the

Nishitetsu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Rail ...

(1971). During a four-year major league baseball career, Vidal

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

.164 with three

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 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 ba ...

(RBI) in 88 career games. Vidal was a very good minor league hitter, but a poor fielder. He led his league three times in errors by an outfielder (1959, 1965 and 1966). Playing for the Hobbs Pirates of the Sophomore League in 1960, he hit .342 with 17 home runs and 81 RBI from just 93 games. In 1963, Vidal won the California League

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

while playing for the Single-A

Reno Silver Sox The Reno Silver Sox were a minor league baseball team that existed on and off from 1947 to 1992. The team name is derived from the nickname of Nevada, the "Silver State". There was another baseball team known as the Reno Silver Sox who played i ...

. He had a

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 ...

of .340 with 40 home runs and 162 RBI in 139 games and was named the league's Most Valuable Player. He was called up to the Indians in September 1966 after hitting .293 with 15 home runs and 57 RBI in 115 games for the Triple-A

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

of the Pacific Coast League. He made his major league debut as a pinch hitter on September 5, 1966, against 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 eigh ...

Cleveland Stadium Cleveland Stadium, commonly known as Municipal Stadium, Lakefront Stadium or Cleveland Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball a ...

. Batting for

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 ...

Tom Kelley in the bottom of the sixth inning against

Lee Stange Albert Lee Stange (October 27, 1936 – September 21, 2018) was an American professional baseball player and coach. During his playing career, the right-handed pitcher appeared in 359 games pitched in Major League Baseball over all or parts of ten ...

, he flew out to

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

Tony Conigliaro Anthony Richard Conigliaro (January 7, 1945 – February 24, 1990), nicknamed "Tony C" and "Conig", was a Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played for the Boston Red Sox (1964–1967, 1969–1970, 1975) and California ...

. The Tribe lost that game, the first of a doubleheader, 5–1, but won the nightcap by a score of 3–1. His first major league

came 12 days later, in his first appearance in the starting lineup, with a two- run

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

against

Mickey Lolich Michael Stephen Lolich (born September 12, 1940) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1963 until 1979, almost entirely for the Detroit Tigers. A three-time All-Star ...

at Tiger Stadium. During his four stints in the big leagues, Vidal never got on track at the plate, with successive averages of .188, .118, .167 and .192. He made 53 appearances in the outfield, 35 of which were starts, and, ironically, was charged with just one error in 65

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

. On May 19, 1969, Vidal was traded by the Seattle Pilots to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, and never again appeared in a big league game. Vidal's career highlights included hitting a

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will no ...

off of Jack Fisher in a game against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

in the bottom of the 14th inning on June 3, 1968.

Trivia

*Vidal's first and last big league hits were both triples. *His walk-off home run on June 3, 1968, earned teammate Hal Kurtz his first and only major league win.

References

*1968 Baseball Register published by ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal, Jose 1940 births 2011 deaths Águilas Cibaeñas players Burlington Bees players Charleston Indians players Cleveland Indians players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dubuque Packers players Grand Forks Chiefs players Hastings Giants players Hobbs Pirates players Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball right fielders Nishitetsu Lions players Portland Beavers players Reno Silver Sox players Seattle Pilots players Syracuse Chiefs players Toledo Mud Hens players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Alijadores de Tampico players Leones de Yucatán players Petroleros de Poza Rica players