Gonzalo Enrique Márquez Moya (March 31, 1940 – December 19, 1984) was a

Venezuelan Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...

professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. He played as 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 ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

(1972–73) and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

(1973–74). Although baseball references during his career (and afterwards) showed the year of his birth as 1946, his birth certificate showed the true year to be 1940. Márquez presented an ID that showed 1946 when he turned professional.

Career

Márquez was a left-handed batter, hitting .235 (27-for-115) with one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

, 10

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

, nine runs, three doubles and one

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

in 76 games. However, his skill as a contact hitter was visible in the postseason. In eight playoff and World Series games in 1972, he hit 5-for-8 for a .625 BA with two RBIs and one run scored. He's still well remembered by the Oakland fans for his contribution off the bench. Marquez was also known as a fine fielder at first base. On May 5, 1973, against 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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

, he became the last left-handed player to be listed in the lineup card as a second baseman in a major-league game. He did not appear in the field at second, though. Márquez enjoyed a long career at home in the

Venezuelan Winter 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 ...

, nearly all of it with 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 ...

club. He compiled a record of .288 with 16 homers and 295 RBI in 833 games, from 1965 to 1984. In the

1970 Caribbean Series After nine years of absence, the thirteenth edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') was revived in 1970 without the representing baseball clubs of Cuba and Panama. It was held in Caracas, Venezuela from February 5 to February 10 at ...

, he led all players with a .440 batting average and 4 stolen bases, to help 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 ...

win the series, marking the first time a Venezuelan team had taken the title. Gonzalo Márquez was killed in a car accident as he was returning home from a baseball game in Valencia with two of his sons. He and the boys stopped for a roast pork sandwich at a nationally known roadside eatery, but another car prevented them from leaving the parking lot. Once Marquez did get back out onto the road, a drunk driver struck his car. Marquez died (though the two boys survived).

References

External links

Costello, Rory SABR BioProject biography of Gonzalo Marquez
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marquez, Gonzalo 1946 births 1984 deaths Alijadores de Tampico players Birmingham A's players Caracas Metropolitanos players Chicago Cubs players Iowa Oaks players Oakland Athletics players Petroleros de Zulia players Leesburg A's players Leones del Caracas players Navegantes del Magallanes players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Peninsula Grays players People from Carúpano Baseball players from Sucre (state) Pericos de Puebla players Road incident deaths in Venezuela Tucson Toros players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Wichita Aeros players 20th-century Venezuelan sportsmen Leones del Caracas managers

Career

See also

References

External links