Elías Osorio

Elías Cantella Osorio (Ali)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb.

• Born July 27, 1930 in Chitré, Herrera Panama

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Elías Osorio was a top Panamanian slugger of the 1950s. He is the brother of Pedro Osorio and cousin of Fernando Osorio.

He was on the Panamanian national team in the 1951 Amateur World Series. He made his pro debut with the 1952 Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings, hitting .310/.419/.429 with 11 triples, 143 runs, 103 RBI, 53 steals and 90 walks in 135 games. In the high-flying Arizona-Texas League, he was third in runs (behind Art Lilly and Burro Hernandez), tied for 9th in triples, tied Gil Hawkins for 10th in RBI, led in steals (by ten ahead of Joe Joshua) and was 7th in walks. He was 1 for 8 for Chesterfield in the 1953 Caribbean Series.

Moving to the Carlsbad Potashers in 1953, he batted .372/.432/.605 with 103 runs, 19 triples, 16 home runs and 104 RBI. The Longhorn League was another of the southwest's offense-friendly circuits, but his numbers were impressive even in context: he was second in average (.016 behind Ike Jackson), in the top ten in the other rate stats, second in hits (179, 11 behind Jackson), first in triples and 6th in RBI (between Merv Connors and Jackson). He also led the league's outfielders in fielding percentage at .982. He spent most of 1954 with Carlsbad (.336/.450/.621, 124 R, 18 3B, 18 HR, 89 RBI, 16 SB, 81 BB) and also saw some time with the San Francisco Seals, one step from the majors; he was 2-for-10 with a run and a RBI. It would be the highest level he would play at during his career and a short cup of coffee as a pinch-hitter. With Carlsbad, he and his brother Pedro both had big years at the plate. He was 9th in the loop in runs, second in triples (two behind Duke Henderson), one homer from the top-10 (the list paced by Joe Bauman in his famous 72-homer campaign), 7th in walks (between John Goodell and Dioscorides Wilson), 5th in OBP (between Hillis Layne and Gerald Fineman) and in the top 10 in slugging and OPS.

In 1955, he played primarily for the San Angelo Colts (.375/.461/.676, 142 R, 32 2B, 10 3B, 35 HR, 123 RBI, 15 SB, 78 BB in 138 G) and was 1-for-1 for the Globe-Miami Miners. He was third in the Longhorn League in average (after Tom Jordan and Glenn Burns), 4th in OBP (between Burns and Jordan), 4th in slugging (between Burns and Carroll Gholson), 4th in OPS (between Jordan and Gholson), first in runs (7 ahead of his brother Pedro and Henderson), tied fellow Panamanian Oliver Hardy for 3rd in hits (196), tied Bauman for 7th in doubles, tied Leroy Williams for 4th in dingers, tied Pedro Aldazabal for 7th in triples, was 6th in RBI, tied for 8th in walks and was second in total bases (25 behind Jordan, 25 ahead of Bauman). He batted .286 and slugged .762 for Chesterfield in the 1956 Caribbean Series, going deep three times in 21 at-bats. He tied Lou Limmer for the Series lead in home runs.

Taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in the 1955 Rule V Draft, spending most of 1956 with the Waco Pirates and producing at a .306/.385/.574 clip with 23 homers in 104 games; he also was 4-for-17 for the Williamsport Grays. He was 5th in the Big State League in circuit clouts (between John Wyre and George Wegerek); among players with 400 PA, only Danny Ozark slugged higher. He moved to the Mexican League in 1957, playing for the Monterrey Sultans and Mexico City Tigers; he had a combined .299/.362/.543. He also spent part of the summer with the Rieleros de Aguascalientes in the Mexican Center League, driving in 20 runs in 20 games with a .324/.388/.544 slash line.

For the 1958 Tigers, he hit .313/.431/.593. He tied Aldo Salvent for third in the Mexican League with nine triples, was third in homers (23, after Eddie Moore and Hermenio Cortes), 7th in RBI (74) and tied Moore and Earl Taborn for the walk lead (73). He hit .250 with a run and a RBI for Cocle in the 1959 Caribbean Series. Switching clubs in 1959, he batted .326/.420/.527 for the Petroleros de Poza Rica with 27 doubles, 9 triples, 15 homers, 77 runs, 75 RBI and 74 walks. He was second in the LMB in OBP (.001 shy of Al Pinkston), in the top 10 in average, 4th in slugging (between Luis Garcia and Pedro Almenares), 3rd in OPS (behind Pinkston and Salvent), fifth in doubles, tied for sixth in triples, tied for 7th in home runs and 4th in walks.

With Marlboro in the 1960 Caribbean Series, he was 3 for 9 with a homer, backing up Stan Palys at 1B. Among Panamanians, his four homers in Caribbean Series play ranked second, one behind Héctor López, as of 2020. He slashed .321/.416/.525 with 87 runs, 28 doubles, 10 triples, 15 homers, 79 RBI and 74 walks in 1960. He was on the leaderboards for average (10th), triples (tied Juan Delis for 6th), walks (10th), slugging (9th, between Tony Washington and Gene Collins) and OPS (8th). He hit for the cycle twice, the second Mexican Leaguer to do so, following Alonzo Perry.

In 1961, the Poza Rica veteran slipped to .275/.387/.457. He was at .325/.423/.564 with 19 home runs in 1962. Had he qualified (he fell short by 8 plate appearances) , he would've been 10th in average, 7th in OBP, 4th in slugging and 4th in OPS (between Luis Márquez and Pinkston). He tied Felipe Montemayor for 5th in home runs. For the 1963 Petroleros, he batted .322/.434/.592. He played for the Charros de Jalisco in 1964, hitting .287/.377/.364. He also spent some of the summer with the Plataneros de Tabasco, hitting .267/.392/.467. With Tabasco for 1965, his swan song, he hit .279/.400/.371 and was 5th in the Mexican Southeast League in walks.

During his pro career, he hit well over .300 with over 200 homers, 270 doubles and 100 triples. He was the first Panamanian to homer 100 times in the Mexican League; as of 2021, only Rubén Rivera and Bobby Prescott had passed him.