Vic Davalillo
From BR Bullpen
Victor Jose Davalillo Romero
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 5' 7", Weight 155 lb.
[edit] Biographical Information
Five-foot seven-inch Vic Davalillo is the younger brother of Pompeyo "Yo-Yo" Davalillo and uncle of Marco Antonio Davalillo and David Davalillo. Vic (known as Vítico in Spanish-speaking countries) came up as a pitcher in his native Venezuela and in the minors before being converted to the outfield. He broke into the majors at age 26 with the Cleveland Indians. He won a Gold Glove in his second year in the majors, and was named to the All Star team in his third year, when he hit .301.
He played on two World Series winning teams: the Pittsburgh Pirates of 1971 and the Oakland Athletics of 1973.
Davalillo, who played for six teams in his 16-year career, achieved some notoriety as the oldest player in baseball from 1977-1980 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, after having played from 1974 through 1977 in Mexico. Appearing often as a pinch-hitter, he hit .312 in both 1977 and 1978 as the Dodgers won the pennant each year. Vic had 24 pinch-hits in 1970, which tied the single-season record established by Dave Philley in 1961. The mark was then broken by José Morales in 1976 (Vic's 1970 total was subsequently shown to be 23). Davalillo finished his career with 95 pinch-hits in the majors.
Vic was 32-27 as a minor league pitcher and was used twice as a relief pitcher by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1969 but both times he failed to get a single batter out. Late in his career, he took several more turns on the mound while playing Triple-A ball at Albuquerque.
He was the leading hitter for average (.325) in the history of Venezuelan baseball. His one-two with Cesar Tovar was a great show. Vic continued to play winter ball at home until the age of 50, in the 1986-87 season. All told, he played 30 seasons in Venezuela.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 1963 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
- AL All-Star (1965)
- AL Gold Glove Winner (1964)
- Won two World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1971) and the Oakland Athletics (1973)
