Paulino Ortiz Casanova (December 21, 1941 – August 12, 2017) was a

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...

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 tea ...

player. He played as a

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

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), ...

from 1965 to 1974 for the Washington Senators and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

Minor league career

Paul Casanova began his

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 ...

career on January 1, when he was signed as a free agent by 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 ...

. After playing ten minor league games, he was released by the Indians. Casanova was picked back up by the Indians in December, only to be released again in April 1961. During the 1961 season, he played for the

Indianapolis Clowns The Indianapolis Clowns were a professional baseball team in the Negro American League. Tracing their origins back to the 1930s, the Clowns were the last of the Negro league teams to disband, continuing to play exhibition games into the 1980s. The ...

, a former

Negro league The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

team which was now competing as an independent. His third short minor league stint was with the

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 ...

, who signed him on September 21, and released him on April 26, after he had played two minor league games. On October 5 of that year, Casanova was signed by the Washington Senators, and his professional baseball career would truly begin the following season. He played 94 games in the minors during the 1963 season. He continued to play in the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

during the 1964 season and played 120 games, finishing with 19

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 a .325

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 ...

. He spent the 1965 season playing for the

Burlington Senators Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

, and was called up to the major league roster in September, starting his major league career.

Major league career

Casanova began his major league career on September 18, , stepping up to bat twice in a losing effort to the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

– the team which had relocated from Washington less than five years earlier, paving the way for the expansion Senators. He played four more games that season. Casanova's first full season came in 1966, when he had career highs of 13 home runs and 5 triples. The 1967 season was Casanova's best, as he earned his only All-Star bid, though he did not play in the game. He played 141 games, had a

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

of .984, and was tied for 21st in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

's MVP voting. Casanova was also the starting catcher for a night 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 p ...

on June 12, . He caught the whole night, and although he only got one hit in nine

at bat 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 ...

s, it came in the bottom of the 22nd inning, driving in the winning run. The game, which went 6 hours and 38 minutes, remains the longest night game in MLB history. The following season was a disappointment, as Casanova played in only 96 games and had a batting average of only .196. Casanova continued to earn fielding percentages of over .985, but he struggled at the plate for three more seasons. The franchise was moved to the

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is a conurbated metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchore ...

and rebranded as the Texas Rangers, but Casanova would not be part of the transition as he was traded to the

for

Hal King Harold King (February 1, 1944 - March 23, 2019) was an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball and the Mexican League as a catcher from to for the Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Cinci ...

at the

Winter Meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

on December 2, 1971. He played for three seasons on the Braves, serving primarily as a backup. He played behind Earl Williams for the 1972 season, then split time with

Johnny Oates Johnny Lane Oates (January 21, 1946 – December 24, 2004) was an American professional baseball player, Coach (baseball), coach, and Manager (baseball), manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the Baltimore Orioles, ...

in 1973. After playing in only 42 games during the 1974 season, Casanova was released on March 28, . As a Brave, Casanova caught

Phil Niekro Philip Henry Niekro ( ; April 1, 1939 – December 26, 2020), nicknamed "Knucksie", was an American baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball, 20 of them with the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves. Niekro's 31 ...

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

on August 5, 1973. Casanova died in 2017 in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

at 75 of cardiorespiratory complications.Paul Casanova: Everyone's 'Brother/
''La Vida Baseball''. Retrieved on August 14, 2017.

References

External links

Paul Casanova
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Paul Casanova
at Baseball Almanac
Paul Casanova
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) {{DEFAULTSORT:Casanova, Paul 1941 births 2017 deaths Almendares (baseball) players American League All-Stars Atlanta Braves players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Burlington Senators players Cuban emigrants to the United States Florida Instructional League Senators players Geneva Senators players Gold Coast Suns (baseball) players Indianapolis Clowns players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from Cuba Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Minor league baseball coaches Minot Mallards players People from Colón, Cuba San Antonio Missions players Tiburones de La Guaira players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tigres de Aragua players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players York White Roses players 21st-century African-American people