Remembering Luis Aparicio: Hall of Fame Fleet

In the six years before Maury Wills "resurrected" the stolen base as an offensive weapon, another shortstop was using the stolen base – and two of the surest hands in baseball – in launching a career that led straight to Cooperstown.

Speed and defense made Luis Aparicio the American League's premier shortstop from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. His impact on the league was almost immediate. A native of Venezuela, Aparicio was signed by the White Sox as an amateur free agent in 1954 and was Chicago's starting shortstop in his rookie season two years later. The year, 1956, marked the first of 9 consecutive years when Aparicio led the American League in steals (with a career high of 57 in 1964). He was selected as Rookie of the Year for the 1956 season.

From 1956 through 1962, his first tour with the White Sox, Aparicio was consistently spectacular in the field and a scoring threat any time he got on base (with a .310 on-base percentage over those 7 seasons). Aparicio's best season with the White Sox came in 1959, when he scored 98 runs and drove in 51runs for the American League pennant winners. He also led the league with 56 stolen bases, his highest total as a member of the White Sox. (He would steal 57 bases, his career best, in 1964 while playing with the Baltimore Orioles). Following his 1959 season, Aparicio finished second in the voting for American League Most Valuable Player, losing out to teammate Nellie Fox.

As the team's lead-off hitter, Aparicio was the spark plug for the White Sox offense until he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles prior to the 1963 season (in a deal that included shortstop Ron Hansen and future Hall of Fame reliever Hoyt Wilhelm).

Aparicio played for the Orioles for 5 years, leading the league twice in stolen bases and winning 2 of his 9 Gold Gloves during his tenure in Baltimore. Aparicio was traded back to the White Sox before the 1968 season, closing out the 1960s with the Pale Hose. Aparicio retired after the 1973 season, his third season with the Boston Red Sox.

An 11-time All-Star, Aparicio collected 2,677 hits on a career batting average of .262, with a total of 506 stolen bases. The 342 bases Luis Aparicio stole during the 1960s ranks him first among American League base stealers during that decade.

Aparicio played more games at shortstop than any other player in major league history (2,581) and retired with more assists (8,016) than any other shortstop in history. (Today he still ranks #2 in this category behind Ozzie Smith.) He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984, the first native of Venezuela to be so honored.