Chico Carrasquel

Alfonso Carrasquel Colon
Born: Jan. 23, 1928 in Caracas Venezuela
Died: May 26, 2005 in Caracas, Venezuela
Debut: 1950 | Pos: SS
H: 6'0" | W: 170 | B: R | T: R

Yrs	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	BA
10	1325	4644	568	1199	55	474	31	.258

>> Visit the Chico Carrasquel biography on Baseball Almanac for complete statistics.

Alfonso "Chico" Carrasquel, the first Latin American player to appear in an All-Star Game, died on May 26, 2005 in Caracas, Venezuela. He was 77.

According to news reports, he died of a cardiac arrest before arriving at the hospital.

"As the first great Venezuelan shortstop, Chico helped put our country on the baseball map," said Ozzie Guillen, former player and currently a manager with the White Sox.

In 10 seasons in the major leagues, Carrasquel hit .258 with 55 home runs and 474 RBI. In 1954, he had career highs of 12 home runs and 62 RBI while playing in 155 games for the White Sox.

He made his debut with the White Sox in 1950, hitting .282 with four home runs and 46 RBI in 524 at-bats. He also had a 24-game hitting streak that first season. He was stepping into the position that had previously been held by White Sox Hall-of-Famer Luke Appling.

In 1951, he started at shortstop for the American League in the All-Star Game.

The White Sox traded Carrasquel in 1955, along with Jim Busby, to the Indians for Larry Doby. That move opened the way for another White Sox Hall-of-Famer, Luis Aparicio, to take over at shortstop.

He was traded by the Indians in June 1958 to the Athletics for Billy Hunter and he was traded again in October of that year -- the Athletics traded him to the Orioles for Dick Williams.

Following his career in baseball, Carrasquel worked for the White Sox doing Spanish-language broadcasts of game. He later worked in the White Sox community relations department.

Source: Associated Press obituary