Pompeyo Antonio Davalillo Romero a-va-LEE-yo(June 30, 1928 – February 28, 2013) was a Venezuelan professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player and minor league

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. He played in

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), ...

as a

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 wh ...

for the Washington Senators. Nicknamed "Yo-Yo" by his teammates, he was listed at 5' 3", 140 lb. Davalillo batted and threw right-handed.

Career

Davalillo was drafted by 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 ...

in 1953 and later transferred to the Washington Senators. At the age of 25, he made his major league debut with the Senators on August 1,

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

, becoming only the fourth Venezuelan to play in Major League Baseball after Alex Carrasquel (1939), Chucho Ramos (1944) and Chico Carrasquel (1950). He had a promising future, but his aversion to airplane travel, combined with a severe injury, curtailed his career in the major leagues. Davalillo played eleven seasons in minor league baseball, nine of them at Triple-A level, and posted a .270 average in 1,207 games. He also played in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

(1962–64) and spent fourteen seasons 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 ...

of 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 ...

(1952–53 and 1965–66). He is the second-smallest player in major league baseball history. The shortest player on record is 43-inch

Eddie Gaedel Edward Carl Gaedel (June 8, 1925 – June 18, 1961) was the smallest player to appear in a Major League Baseball game. Gaedel gained recognition in the second game of a St. Louis Browns doubleheader on August 19, 1951. Weighing and standing t ...

, who got one plate appearance (a walk) as a 1951 publicity stunt. Five players listed at 5-3 have graced the major leagues since 1900, according to Baseball Reference, with Pompeyo Davalillo,

Jess Cortazzo John Francis "Jess" Cortazzo (September 26, 1904 – March 4, 1963) also known as ''Shine'' was a professional baseball player. He was a shortstop for one season (1923) with the Chicago White Sox. For his career, he appeared in one game and was ...

Bob Emmerich Robert George Emmerich (August 1, 1891 – November 22, 1948) is a former Major League Baseball player. He played one season with the Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massach ...

, Stubby Magner and Mike McCormack combining for 90 hits in 463 at-bats".

Career statistics

In a 19-game major league career, Davalillo had 17 hits in 58

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

for a .293 career

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 ...

along with 2

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 ...

, 1 stolen base and scored 10 runs. He had a .305 on-base percentage along with a .935 fielding percentage. In 469 Venezuelan Winter League games, he was a .276 hitter 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 130 RBI, including 246 runs, 58 doubles, 19 triples and 67 stolen bases.

Coaching career and honors

After his playing career had ended, Davalillo became a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and a manager in the Venezuelan league. Davalillo was inducted 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 ...

in 2006. His younger brother

Vic Davalillo Víctor José Davalillo Romero (born July 30, 1936) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder. He played for 30 years in the U.S., Mexico, and his homeland, compiling more than 4,100 base hits total. Davalillo (pronounced da-va-L ...

, also played in Major League Baseball.

Notes

References

, o
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davalillo, Pompeyo 1931 births 2013 deaths Anaheim Angels scouts California Angels scouts Caribbean Series managers Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Havana Sugar Kings players Jersey City Jerseys players Leones del Caracas players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Major League Baseball shortstops Miami Marlins (IL) players Minor league baseball managers Mexican League baseball managers People from Cabimas Tigres del México players Tigres de Salamanca players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Cuba

Career

Career statistics

Coaching career and honors

See also

Notes

References