Orlando Ramírez Leal (born December 18, 1951), nicknamed as "El Ñato" (Snub Nose), is a Colombian former

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), ...

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 who ...

who played for the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

between 1974 and 1979. He was the first recognized Colombian-born player in major league history, following Luis Castro, who played 42 games for 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 ...

in the 1902 season. In his 143-game major league career, Ramírez batted .189 with 16 RBI, 24 runs, five doubles, one

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 * ...

and 16

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 ...

s. On the international stage, he led the Colombian national team at the

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 activ ...

and

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

Professional career

Ramírez began his career with the Willard club from

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of Atlántico Department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean Coast region; as of 2018 it had a population of 1,206,319, making it Col ...

, Colombia in 1966 which was recognized as the top level of Colombian baseball. Ramírez first played for the

Shreveport Captains The Shreveport Captains (1971–2000) and Shreveport Swamp Dragons (2001–02) were a professional minor-league baseball team based in Shreveport, Louisiana. They were affiliated with the California Angels (1971–72), Milwaukee Brewers (1973–74 ...

in the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, the Double-A affiliate of the

. He excelled and was transferred to the

Idaho Falls Angels Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

in the Pioneer Rookie League. From Idaho Falls, he was sent to the minors in 1973, playing for the

Quad Cities Angels Quad as a word or prefix usually means 'four'. It may refer to: Government * Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States * Quadrilateral group, an informal group which in ...

where he soon played Double-A again in 1974. A short time after playing Double-A, Ramírez was promoted to the majors.

International career

At the age of 17, Ramírez made the Colombian national team and debuted in his first game in the Amateur World Series held in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

. He batted third and played third base on the Colombian national team. In the

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

and 1971 Amateur World Series, Ramírez played shortstop and led all players in stolen bases. He led the Colombian national team to a silver medal in the 1971 tournament, held in Havana. He also won a bronze medal at the

1971 Pan American Games * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Jan ...

Colombian significance

Ramírez was inducted in the Colombian Baseball Hall of Fame in September 2009. He was the first Colombian to play in the Major Leagues. The

Colombian Professional Baseball League The Colombian Professional Baseball League ( es, Liga Profesional de Béisbol Colombiano, links=no or LPB), is a professional baseball league based in Colombia. It is a five-team winter league that plays during the Major League Baseball offseason ...

Most Valuable Player award has been in his name since the winter of 2005-06.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Orlando 1951 births Living people Sportspeople from Cartagena, Colombia Colombian expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball players from Colombia Major League Baseball shortstops California Angels players Charleston Charlies players Quad Cities Angels players Shreveport Captains players El Paso Diablos players Salt Lake City Gulls players Bakersfield Outlaws players Baseball players at the 1971 Pan American Games Pan American Games medalists in baseball Pan American Games bronze medalists for Colombia Medalists at the 1971 Pan American Games Idaho Falls Angels players Dorados de Chihuahua players Colombian expatriate baseball players in Mexico

Professional career

International career

Colombian significance

See also

References

External links