Sandalio Simeón Consuegra Castellón
on-SWEH-grah(September 3, 1920 – November 16, 2005) was a
Cuban-born 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), ...
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 ...
with the
Washington Senators (1950-1953),
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 ...
(1953-1956),
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
(1956-1957) and
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
(1957). He batted and threw right-handed.
In an eight-season career, Consuegra posted a 51–32 record with 26
saves and a 3.37
ERA
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Comp ...
in 809.1
innings
An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...
. He pitched in 248 games, starting 71 of them.
A native of Potrerillo, a town from the municipality of
Cruces in the province of
Cienfuegos
Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 150,000. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, especial ...
,
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
, Consuegra made his major league debut in 1950 with the Washington Senators when he was 29 years old. Previously, he had played with the Havana Cubans, the first Cuban team in the American
minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
system.
The Chicago White Sox purchased Consuegra from Washington in the 1953 midseason. He went 16–3 during his
All-Star season with the White Sox, leading 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 ...
with a .842
winning percentage
In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...
, and included a league-high eight relief wins without a defeat. His 2.69 ERA was second in the league to 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 ...
'
Mike Garcia (2.64).
Consuegra also played with the Baltimore Orioles and New York Giants. He announced his retirement at the end of the 1957-58 Cuban winter-ball season, though he made a brief comeback in the minors in 1961.
Following his playing career, Consuegra settled 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 ...
, where he died at age 85.
Sources
SABR BioProjectSandy Consuegra- Baseballbiography.com
Baseball Reference minor league statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Consuegra, Sandy
1920 births
2005 deaths
American League All-Stars
Baltimore Orioles players
Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players
Chicago White Sox players
Havana Cubans players
Havana Sugar Kings players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Major League Baseball players from Cuba
Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States
New York Giants (NL) players
Vancouver Mounties players
Washington Senators (1901–1960) players
People from Cienfuegos Province