Santiago Rosario (July 25, 1939 – September 6, 2013) was a
first baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
and
corner 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 briefly for the
Kansas City Athletics
The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...
during the season. Listed at 5' 11", 165 lb., Rosario batted and threw left handed. He was born in
Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
Guayanilla (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located on the southern coast of the island, bordering the Caribbean Sea, south of Adjuntas, east of Yauco; and west of Peñuelas and about west of Ponce. Guayanilla is spread over 1 ...
.
Career
At age 20 Rosario was selected for the baseball team that represented Puerto Rico at the
1959 Pan American Games
The 1959 Pan American Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959.
Host city selection
One city initially submitted a bid to host the 1959 Pan American Games that was recognized by the Pan Am ...
held in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
. This was a historical fact because it was the first time that a Puerto Rico baseball team participated in the Pan Am Games. ′′Chago′′, as his teammates dubbed him, helped offensively and defensively his team, which won a
silver medal in the event as a runner-up for the
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
n squad.
Rosario was signed originally by the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
as an amateur free agent in 1960 and was sent to the Athletics in 1964. He hit a .235
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 ...
in 81 games for the Athletics, 47 of them in
pinch-hitting duties.
He also spent parts of nine minor leagues spanning 1961–1971, collecting a .275 average with 49
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 332
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 ...
through 1091 games. After that, he joined the
Mexican League
The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country.
The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...
from 1973 through 1976, and also was a member of the
Leones de Ponce Puerto Rican team that clinched the
1972 Caribbean Series.
Following his playing retirement, Rosario
coached in the Puerto Rican league both for Ponce and the
Indios de Mayagüez
The Indios de Mayagüez (Mayagüez Indians) are a baseball team in Puerto Rico's Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League, in Spanish). Based in Mayagüez, the ''Indios'' have won 18 national ...
.
Pacific Coast League incident
During his playing career, Rosario was involved in a significantly more serious sequel to the
Juan Marichal
Juan Antonio Marichal Sánchez (born October 20, 1937), nicknamed "the Dominican Dandy", is a Dominican former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three teams from 1960 to 1975, almost entirely the San Francisco Giant ...
–
John Roseboro brawl of August 1965.
In a
Pacific Coast League game played on May 11, 1966,
Merritt Ranew
Merritt Thomas Ranew (May 10, 1938 – October 18, 2011) was an American professional baseball catcher who appeared in 269 games over all or parts of five Major League Baseball seasons (1962–65; 1969) for five different teams. He batted left ...
was catching for the
Seattle Angels
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of ...
(a
California Angels affiliate club) while
Jim Coates
James Alton Coates (August 4, 1932 – November 15, 2019) was an American professional baseball pitcher. A right-hander, Coates pitched in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees (1956, 1959–62), Washington Senators (1963), Cincinnati ...
was pitching against the
Vancouver Mounties (a Kansas City A's affiliate).
The incident started when Coates hurled one high and tight pitch and struck
Ricardo Joseph of Vancouver on the shoulder. Then, Joseph charged the mound but, before he could get to Coates, he was tackled from behind and had his chin bloodied by Ranew. The ensuing free-for-all finally subsided, but then Vancouver's
Tommie Reynolds
Tommie D. Reynolds (born August 15, 1941) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He was signed by the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent in 1963, and played for them from 1963 to 1965. He also played for the New York Mets (1967 ...
pushed a
bunt up the first base line, which forced Coates to field the ball while Reynolds tried to run the pitcher down. Once more Ranew raced to the aid of Coates. Nevertheless, Rosario dashed from the
on-deck circle and hit Ranew over the head with his bat, opening up a deep three-inch gash. Ranew suffered internal bleeding in the brain and the left side of his face was paralyzed.
Days later, PCL President Dewey Soriano fined all the participants in the incident and suspended Rosario for the remainder of the season. "Using a bat on a player is not part of baseball," Soriano stated.
''Scorecard – Time for Severity'', Sports Illustrated, May 23, 1966
/ref>
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosario, Santiago
1939 births
2013 deaths
Baseball players at the 1959 Pan American Games
Birmingham A's players
Birmingham Barons players
Cardenales de Villahermosa players
Daytona Beach Islanders players
Diablos Rojos del México players
Kansas City Athletics players
Lancaster Red Roses players
Major League Baseball first basemen
Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico
Mexican League baseball players
Pan American Games medalists in baseball
Pan American Games silver medalists for Puerto Rico
People from Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
Portsmouth-Norfolk Tides players
Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Canada
Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Mexico
Richmond Braves players
Rieleros de Aguascalientes players
Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players
Savannah Braves players
Shreveport Braves players
Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players
Vancouver Mounties players
Winnipeg Goldeyes players
Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games