Guillermo Montañez Naranjo (born April 1, 1948) is a Puerto Rican former 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 ...

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 ...

, who played in

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 ...

(MLB) for the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

(),

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

(–, ),

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

(–),

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

(–),

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

(–), Texas Rangers (),

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

(),

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

(–), and

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

(-). He batted and threw left-handed. Along with

Tito Fuentes Rigoberto "Tito" Fuentes Peat (born January 4, 1944) is a retired professional baseball player. He played for 13 seasons in the Major League Baseball, major leagues between 1965 and 1978, primarily as a second baseman. Fuentes played for most o ...

, Montañez was most noted for being one of MLB's two most flamboyant personalities during the 1970s, so much so that he was labeled a hot dog by detractors. He once commented, “I don't mind being called a hot dog, but it all depends on how people say it."

Career

California Angels

Montañez was born in

Cataño, Puerto Rico Cataño () is a Cataño barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico. It is west of the capital San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, east of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, Toa Baja, nor ...

, and was originally signed 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

as an amateur in 1965. After one season with the Florida Rookie League Cardinals, he was selected by the

in the 1965

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

, and made his major league debut with the Angels in their 1966 season opener as a

pinch runner In baseball or softball, a pinch runner is a player substituted into a game for the purpose of base running. Description A pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been s ...

for

Norm Siebern Norman Leroy Siebern (July 26, 1933 – October 30, 2015) was an American professional baseball player and scout. He appeared in 1,406 games over a 12-year career in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and left fielder for the New York Yanke ...

in the 14th inning. The

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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

won the game in the bottom of the inning before Montañez could log an at bat, however, he did have two at bats without a hit with the Angels before being returned to the Cardinals on May 5.

Philadelphia Phillies

On October 7, 1969, the Cardinals traded

Curt Flood Curtis Charles Flood Sr. (January 18, 1938 – January 20, 1997) was an American professional baseball center fielder and activist. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Redlegs, St. Louis Cardinals, and Washin ...

, Byron Browne,

Joe Hoerner Joseph Walter Hoerner (November 12, 1936 – October 4, 1996) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher, who played 14 years in Major League Baseball (MLB), for seven different teams. A native of Dubuque, Iowa, he grew up in nearby Ke ...

and

Tim McCarver James Timothy McCarver (October 16, 1941 – February 16, 2023) was an American professional baseball catcher, television sports commentator, and singer. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1959 to 1980 for four teams, spending almost ...

to the

for

Dick Allen Richard Anthony Allen (March 8, 1942 – December 7, 2020), nicknamed "Crash" and "the Wampum Walloper", was an American professional baseball player. During his 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played as a first baseman and thir ...

, Jerry Johnson and

Cookie Rojas Octavio Víctor "Cookie" Rojas Rivas (born March 6, 1939), is a Cuban-American former professional baseball player, coach, manager and current television sports presenter. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman and outfielder fro ...

. When Curt Flood refused to report to his new team, the Cardinals sent Montañez and Jim Browning to the Phillies to complete the trade. He appeared in eighteen games with the Phillies in 1970, mostly in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In bat and ball games ...

, and collected three runs batted in and scored three runs. In 1971, Montañez was tabbed as the starting

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

for the Phillies, and responded with a career-high 30 home runs (still a Phillies' rookie record), 99 runs batted in, and a league-leading thirteen

sacrifice flies In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

. He finished second behind

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

Earl Williams in the

National League Rookie of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

balloting. In 1972, Montañez led the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

in doubles (39), and tied for the league lead in outfield assists with fifteen. With

Del Unser Delbert Bernard Unser (born December 9, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder and utility player from to , most prominently with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he was ...

's arrival in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1973, Montañez returned to his natural position at first base where he stayed for the remainder of his career. Montañez batted over .300 for the first time in his career in 1974 (.304). Made expendable after the Phillies claimed

off waivers from the

one week earlier, he was traded to the

for

Garry Maddox Garry Lee Maddox (born September 1, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and business entrepreneur. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from to . Maddox began his career with the San Francisco Giants ...

on May 4, 1975.

San Francisco Giants

Though he was batting .286 with the Phillies at the time of the trade, he ended the season with a .302

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 ...

for the second of his three consecutive seasons batting over .300. He also collected a career high 101 runs batted in between his two teams, and emerged as one of the league's top fielding first basemen, leading the league first basemen in assists for the first of three times in his career (1975, 1976 and 1978).

Atlanta Braves

For the second season in a row, Montañez found himself changing teams in the middle of the season when the Giants sent him to the Braves with Jake Brown, Mike Eden and Craig Robinson for

Darrell Evans Darrell Wayne Evans (born May 26, 1947) is an American former baseball player, coach and manager. He played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), beginning his career as a third baseman with the Atlanta Braves (1969–1976, 1989), alternat ...

and

Marty Perez Martin Roman Perez (born February 28, 1946) is an American former shortstop and second baseman for the California Angels (1969–70), Atlanta Braves (1971–76), San Francisco Giants (1976), New York Yankees (1977) and Oakland Athletics (1977– ...

on June 13, 1976. As a result, Montañez played in an unusual 163 games. At the time of the trade, Montañez had appeared in sixty games for the Giants. He then appeared in 103 games for the Braves, bringing his total to 163 games in a 162-game season. He was named first baseman on ''

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' NL All-Star team. The Braves lost 101 games in 1977, and Montañez was selected as the team's sole representative at the 1977 All-Star Game. He went 0 for 2 in his only All-Star game.

New York Mets

Montañez was dealt by the Braves to the

in the first four-team deal in Major League Baseball history on December 8, 1977 that also involved the Texas Rangers,

and a total of eleven players changing teams. The Mets also got from the Rangers

Tom Grieve Thomas Alan Grieve (born March 4, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1979 for the Washington Senators / Texas Rangers, New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals. He was nickna ...

and

Ken Henderson Kenneth Joseph Henderson (born June 15, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from through for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, ...

who was sent to New York to complete the transaction three months later on March 15, 1978.

Adrian Devine Paul Adrian Devine (December 2, 1951June 27, 2020) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher in and from through for the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers. He batted and threw r ...

Tommy Boggs Thomas Winton Boggs (October 25, 1955 – October 5, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and college baseball coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Texas Rangers (1976–1977, 1985) and the ...

and Eddie Miller were traded from the Rangers to the Braves. The Rangers received

Al Oliver Albert Oliver Jr. (born October 14, 1946) is an Americans, American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and first baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams ...

and

Nelson Norman Nelson Augusto Norman (born May 23, 1958) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from to for the Texas Rangers and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He returned ...

from the Pirates and

Jon Matlack Jonathan Trumpbour Matlack (born January 19, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player and Coach (baseball), coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through for the New York Mets and the Texas Rang ...

from the Mets. The Pirates acquired

Bert Blyleven Rik Aalbert Blyleven (born Blijleven, April 6, 1951) is a Dutch-American former professional baseball pitcher and color commentator. He played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1970 to 1992, primarily with the Minnesota Twins, and f ...

from the Rangers and

John Milner John David Milner (December 28, 1949 – January 4, 2000) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and left fielder from to for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Montreal ...

from the Mets.Durso, Joseph. "Mets Get Ken Henderson, Outfielder, From Rangers," ''The New York Times'', Thursday, March 16, 1978.
Retrieved April 30, 2020 Montañez found himself, again, on a last place team as the 1978 Mets narrowly avoided losing 100 games themselves. However, Montañez emerged as one of the few bright spots on the team, leading it with seventeen home runs and 96 runs batted in.

Texas Rangers

Montañez's fortunes with the Mets turned around substantially in 1979. He was batting only .234 with five home runs and 47 runs batted in when the Mets sent him to the Texas Rangers for two players to be named later. In 71 fewer games with the Rangers, he swatted eight home runs and batted .319. Following the season, he was traded to the

for

Tucker Ashford Thomas Steven Ashford (born December 4, 1954) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. He was drafted second overall (to Roy Smalley III) in the January Draft by the San Diego Padres. In addition to the Padres, Ashford also pl ...

, Joe Carroll and future

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Gaylord Perry Gaylord Jackson Perry (September 15, 1938 – December 1, 2022) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for eight teams from 1962 to 1983, becoming one of the most durable and successful pitchers in histor ...

Montreal Expos

The 1980 Montreal Expos were in a tight division race with the Philadelphia Phillies throughout the season. They completed a deadline deal for Montañez on August 31, 1980 for

Tony Phillips Keith Anthony Phillips (April 25, 1959 – February 17, 2016) was an American professional baseball utility player who had an 18-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1982 to 1999. He played regularly at second base, but also had signifi ...

and cash. In fourteen games with the

, Montañez batted .211 with one run batted in.

Return to Philadelphia

On August 20, 1981, he was again involved in a trade with John Milner—this time going from the Montreal Expos to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was released by the Pirates on July 1, 1982. Ironically, Milner was released by the Expos four days later, and signed with the Pirates later in the month. Montañez signed with the Phillies for the remainder of the season, at the end of which he retired. Montañez had a career .992

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

at first base, and led National League first basemen in assists in 1975, 1976 and 1978. From 1975 to 1978 he collected 349 runs batted in.

Career statistics

References

External links

Willie Montañez
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Willie Montañez
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Montanez, Willie 1948 births Living people Atlanta Braves players California Angels players Eugene Emeralds players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars New York Mets players Philadelphia Phillies players Philadelphia Phillies scouts People from Cataño, Puerto Rico Pittsburgh Pirates players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Canada San Diego Padres players San Francisco Giants players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Texas Rangers players