Antonio Aristides Pacheco (August 9, 1927 – March 23, 1987) was a Cuban-born

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and

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in Major League Baseball. A longtime

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 ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

and manager, Pacheco coached in MLB for six seasons (1974; 1976–79; 1982) for the Cleveland Indians and

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. Born in Punta Brava (now Havana), Pacheco got his start in American professional baseball in 1949 with the Class D

Newport Canners The Newport Canners were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Class D Appalachian League from 1937 to 1942 and the Mountain States League from 1948 to 1950. The were located in Newport, Tennessee, and played their home games at City ...

of the

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from ...

, but by 1951 he was a regular second baseman for the Havana Cubanos of the Class B Florida International League, one of the most successful minor league clubs of its day (and provider of a stream of Cuban talent to its parent team, the Washington Senators). Pacheco's playing career would take him back to the United States' mainland after 1953, but he would return to Cuba's capital twice to play (1954), then manage (1958) for the Triple-A Havana Sugar Kings of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. As a player, Pacheco batted .236 with 14

home runs 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 ...

in 2,825 at bats over eight seasons. He threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . Pacheco managed in 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 ...

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

in 1958–59 (the Sugar Kings were a Reds' affiliate at that time), scouted for the Reds, then in 1961 became a scout for the expansion Houston Colt .45s (renamed the Astros after 1964). In 1966–73, he resumed his minor league managing career, reaching Triple-A Oklahoma City of the American Association in 1972. He also managed in winter baseball and served as a part-time Houston scout; in October 1967, Pacheco and scouting director Pat Gillick signed César Cedeño to his first professional contract.http://www.astrosdaily.com/history/cedeno.htm In 1973, former Cincinnati farm system director Phil Seghi, now general manager of the Indians, hired Pacheco as manager of the Tribe's Double-A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in San Antonio, Texas, and are named for the Spanish missions around which the city was founded. ...

farm club, then brought him to Cleveland as a coach on Ken Aspromonte's staff in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

. Pacheco was not retained when Frank Robinson replaced Aspromonte for 1975 but instead managed the Rookie-level

Gulf Coast Indians The Arizona Complex League Guardians are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. The team is c ...

that season. But in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, Pacheco was appointed a coach with the Astros by their new manager, Bill Virdon, and he would serve through 1979 as the team's first-base coach. He also coached for Houston in 1982 and scouted for them during the early 1980s. Pacheco died at age 59 in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...

References

External links

Coach's page
from Retrosheet {{DEFAULTSORT:Pacheco, Tony 1927 births 1987 deaths Charleston Senators players Cincinnati Reds scouts Cleveland Indians coaches Cocoa Indians players Columbia Reds players Cuban emigrants to the United States Havana Cubans players Havana Sugar Kings players High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms players Houston Astros coaches Houston Astros scouts Major League Baseball first base coaches Minor league baseball managers Newport Canners players Savannah Redlegs players Sultanes de Monterrey players West Palm Beach Indians players Baseball players from Havana American expatriate baseball players in Cuba Cuban expatriate sportspeople in Colombia