Antonio Briñez (September 17, 1917 – September 3, 1999) was a

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n professional baseball player, coach and manager. He batted and threw left handed.

Biography

Born in

Maracaibo Maracaibo ( , ; ) is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the largest city in Venezuela and is List of cities in Venezuela by population ...

Zulia Zulia State (, ; Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest population among Venezuela's states. It is also one of t ...

, Briñez spent almost 30 years in Venezuelan baseball, playing in three different leagues while managing in two of them. Basically a line-drive hitter and a fine defensive

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 ...

, Briñez also was a member of the Venezuela national team that won the gold medal in the 1944 Baseball World Cup, powering his team to upset victories over the strong Panama and Puerto Rico teams, while leading the tournament with seven

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

. Briñez made his professional debut in the First Division of Baseball of Venezuela, playing for five teams in nine seasons spanning 1936–1945. He then moved to the

Cervecería Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A., better known by its commercial name as the Leones del Caracas, is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVPB). The owner and sole shareholder of the sports club is Ricardo C ...

club in 1946, to become a founding member of the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (, or LVBP) is the top-level professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Background and predecessors Baseball had been play ...

in its inaugural season.La Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela Briñez played for the Caracas club in five of his seven seasons in the league. In between, he also played with the

Navegantes del Magallanes Navegantes del Magallanes B.B.C., commonly known as Navegantes del Magallanes (; ''Strait of Magellan, Magellan Navigators''), or simply Magallanes, are a professional baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP), based in ...

and the

Sabios de Vargas The Sabios de Vargas baseball club became a founding member of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League in its inaugural season of 1946. The team represented the city of La Guaira, Vargas and played its home games at the now-extinct Estadio Cerv ...

before retiring in 1952. He returned to the VPBL during the 1960–1961 season to manage the Caracas franchise, after it was named the

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A., better known by its commercial name as the Leones del Caracas, is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVPB). The owner and sole shareholder of the sports club is Ricardo C ...

. In a seven-season playing career, Briñez batted a .288 average and slugged .325 in 161 games. As a manager for Caracas, he replaced

Tim Thompson Charles Lemoine Thompson (March 1, 1924 – October 25, 2021) was an American professional baseball player and catcher in the Major Leagues. He appeared in 187 games over all or parts of four seasons (1954; 1956–58) for the Brooklyn Dodgers, ...

in the midseason, but the timing could not be better for the last-place Leones, who finished with a 21-30 record and 10½ games out of contention. After that, he managed the

Rapiños de Occidente The Rapiños de Occidente (Western Raptors) was a Venezuelan baseball club that played from 1957 through 1963 in the Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional (Western Professional Baseball League). They played their home games at the old olympic sta ...

of the

Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional The Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional (Western Professional Baseball League) was a baseball circuit that operated between 1954 and 1963 in Maracaibo, the capital city in the Venezuela state of Zulia. The league played their games at the old ol ...

in 1963. Then, in 1966 he became the first manager who brought a National Amateur Baseball championship to his homeland. Briñez died in 1999 in his natal city of Maracaibo, just 14 days short of his 82nd birthday.

Greatest personal award

In 1944, Briñez was honored with the Athlete of the Year Award created by the Circle of Sports Journalists in Venezuela, becoming the first Venezuelan athlete to receive the award. Since then, significant Venezuelan sportspeople have been awarded over the years, among others ballplayers

Wilson Álvarez Wilson Eduardo Álvarez Fuenmayor (born March 24, 1970) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher. During a thirteen-year baseball career, he pitched for the Texas Rangers ...

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Chico Carrasquel Alfonso Carrasquel Colón, better known as Chico Carrasquel (January 23, 1926 – May 26, 2005), was a Venezuelan professional baseball player, coach, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from 1950 to ...

Dave Concepción David Ismael Concepción Benitez (born June 17, 1948) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won four National L ...

Andrés Galarraga Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (– and ), St. Louis Cardinals (), Colorado Rockies (–), ...

Freddy García Freddy Antonio García (born October 6, 1976) is a Venezuelans, Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He is best known for his many seasons with seven Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, including the Seattle Mariners, Chicago Whi ...

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Félix Hernández Félix Abraham Hernández García (born April 8, 1986), nicknamed "King Félix", is a Venezuelan-American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners from 2005 through 2019. Hernánd ...

Vidal López Vidal López Ascanio (April 19, 1918 – February 20, 1971) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player and manager. He batted and threw right handed. (Spanish) López starred as a starting pitcher and slugging outfielder in his homeland betw ...

Magglio Ordóñez Magglio José Ordóñez Delgado (; born January 28, 1974) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball right fielder. He played for the Chicago White Sox (1997–2004) and Detroit Tigers (2005–2011). Ordóñez is tall and weighs . Having po ...

Luis Salazar Luis Ernesto Salazar Garcia (born May 19, 1956) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1992 as a third baseman and outfielder for the San Diego Padres (1980–84 ...

Johan Santana Johan Alexander Santana Araque (; born March 13, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball starting pitcher. Santana pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from 2000 to 2007 and for the New York Mets from 2008 ...

and

Omar Vizquel Omar Enrique Vizquel González (; born April 24, 1967), nicknamed "Little O", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. During his 24-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Vizquel played for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indi ...

. The long honorees list of the CSJV also includes boxers

Betulio González Betulio Segundo González (born October 24, 1949) is a former boxer from Venezuela, who is considered a national hero in Venezuela. He is considered by many to be Venezuela's greatest world champion in boxing history. A combatant of 92 bouts, he ...

and Vicente Paúl Rondón; cyclist racers

Daniela Larreal Daniela Greluis Larreal Chirinos (2 October 1973 – 11 August 2024) was a Venezuelan track cyclist – a five-time Olympian considered one of Venezuela's most important sportspeople and the leading Venezuelan cyclist for over two decades. Sh ...

José Rujano José Humberto Rujano Guillen (born 18 February 1982) is a Venezuelan road bicycle racer who competed professionally between 2003 and 2013, and most recently competed for Venezuelan amateur team Osorio Grupo Ciclismo. Career Born in Santa Cruz d ...

and

Leonardo Sierra Leonardo Sierra Sepúlveda (born 10 October 1968) is a Venezuelan former road bicycle racer. He competed in the road race at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Career achievements Major results ;1988 : 1st Stage 4 Vuelta al Táchira ;1989 : 6th Over ...

; motorcycle road racers

Carlos Lavado Carlos Alberto Lavado Jones (born May 25, 1956) is a Venezuelan former professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He competed in the FIM motorcycle Grand Prix world championships from 1978 to 1992. Lavado is notable for winning two 250cc road raci ...

and

Johnny Cecotto Johnny Alberto Cecotto Persello (born 25 January 1956), better known as Johnny Cecotto, is a Venezuelan people, Venezuelan former professional Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix motorcycle racer and auto racing, auto racer. He rose to pro ...

, as well as basketballer

Greivis Vásquez Greivis Josué Vásquez Rodríguez (born January 16, 1987) is a Venezuelan former professional basketball player, who spent six seasons in the NBA. He is currently a coach, most recently working as the associate head coach for the Birmingham Squa ...

and free-diver

Carlos Coste Carlos Coste (born on February 2, 1976) is a Venezuelan professional free diver. Career Coste's interest in apnea and freediving began in 1996, when he joined the University Underwater Activities Club at the Central University of Venezuela. In ...

.Círculo de Periodistas Deportivos de Venezuela – expediente 1613
(Spanish)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brinez, Antonio 1917 births 1999 deaths Baseball first basemen Baseball managers Cervecería Caracas players Navegantes del Magallanes players Baseball players from Maracaibo Sabios de Vargas players Venezuelan baseball players 20th-century Venezuelan sportsmen Leones del Caracas managers