Otoniel "Otto" Vélez Franceschi (born November 29, 1950), nicknamed "Otto the Swatto", is a Puerto Rican 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), ...

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 ...

who played from to .

Major league career

New York Yankees (1973–1976)

Vélez signed with the

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

as an amateur free agent on December 23, 1969, and worked his way through their minor league system and made his

debut with the team on September 4, 1973, where he recorded his first hit off

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

pitcher

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, ...

. Vélez hit his first career home run on September 23 off

Dick Tidrow Richard William Tidrow (May 14, 1947 – July 10, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher and the senior vice president of player personnel and senior advisor to the general manager for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Basebal ...

of 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 ...

in the second inning, then hit another home run in his next at-bat against Tidrow in the fourth inning to lead the Yankees to a 9–1 victory over Cleveland. Velez finished the season hitting .195 with 2 HR and 7 RBI in 23 games with the Yankees. Vélez played in 27 games with the Yankees in 1974, batting .209 with 2 HR and 10 RBI, then in 1975, he hit .250 with no home runs and one RBI in six games with New York. Vélez saw more playing with the Yankees in 1976, playing in 49 games, as he hit .266 with 2 HR and 10 RBI, as New York reached the post-season. Vélez appeared in one game, going hitless in one at-bat in the

American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...

against the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. In the

1976 World Series The 1976 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1976 season. The 73rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Cincinnati Reds and the Ameri ...

against the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, Velez went 0-for-3 and struck out three times, as the Yankees lost the series.

Toronto Blue Jays (1977–1982)

On November 5, 1976, the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

selected Vélez in the

1976 MLB expansion draft The 1976 MLB Expansion Draft was held November 5, 1976. This expansion draft was conducted by Major League Baseball to stock the major league rosters of the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners, new major league expansion franchises establis ...

. Vélez was named the

opening day designated hitter in their first game on April 7, 1977, as he went 2-for-4 with a run, helping Toronto defeat 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 p ...

9–5. Vélez was named

American League Player of the Month In Major League Baseball (MLB), the Player of the Month Award is given monthly during the regular season to two outstanding players, one each in the National League (NL) and American League (AL). The NL first awarded the honor during the season, ...

for the month of April, as he hit .442 with 5 HR and 18 RBI in 21 games. He had a very solid first season in Toronto, finishing the season with a .256 batting average with 16 HR and 62 RBI in 120 games. Vélez saw his offensive production dip in 1978, as he hit .266 with 9 HR and 38 RBI in 91 games, but despite appearing in only 99 games in 1979, Velez improved to a .288 batting average with 15 HR and 48 RBI. Vélez had his best season in 1980, as in 104 games, he hit .269 with 20 HR and 62 RBI. On May 4, Vélez hit four home runs in a doubleheader against the

, and this feat was notable in that Velez hit one of each possible home run in the doubleheader, that is, a solo, two-run, three-run home run as well as a grand slam, therefore "hitting for the cycle" in home runs. His home run and RBI totals were the second highest on the team. Vélez struggled in 1981, appearing in 80 games, batting .213 with 11 HR and 28 RBI. In 1982, Vélez appeared in only 28 games with Toronto, hitting .192 with 1 HR and 5 RBI. On September 7, the Blue Jays released Velez.

Cleveland Indians (1983)

On February 7, 1983, Vélez signed with the

as a free agent. He played in only 10 games with the Indians, hitting .080 with 0 HR and 1 RBI. He retired after the season.''1983 Cleveland Indians Roster.''
Baseball-Almanac, Inc. Accessed March 29, 2018. Vélez appeared in 637 games during his career, hitting .251 with 78 HR and 272 RBI. He collected 452 career hits. In four career playoff games, Velez had four at-bats, getting no hits and striking out three times.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velez, Otto 1950 births Living people Charleston Charlies players Cleveland Indians players Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Johnson City Yankees players Kinston Eagles players Major League Baseball designated hitters Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Major League Baseball right fielders Major League Baseball third basemen New York Yankees players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Canada Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Mexico Rieleros de Aguascalientes players Baseball players from Ponce, Puerto Rico Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Blue Jays players West Haven Yankees players