Roberto Francisco Avila González (April 2, 1924 - October 26, 2004) was a Major League Baseball second baseman and right-handed batter who played for the Cleveland Indians (1949-58), Baltimore Orioles (1959), Boston Red Sox (1959) and Milwaukee Braves (1959). Born in Veracruz, Mexico, and listed at 5' 10", 175 lb., the diminutive ballplayer cemented his image as a local baseball idol among Indians fans. He was better known in his homeland and other Latin American countries as "Beto", in the majors as "Bobby". April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 273 days remaining. ... 1924 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 66 days remaining. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in professional baseball in North America. ... The position of the second baseman A second baseman often ranges onto the outfield grass to field a ground ball A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base. ... The Cleveland Indians are a Major League Baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. ... Baltimore Orioles American League AAA Ottawa Lynx AA Bowie Baysox A Frederick Keys Delmarva Shorebirds Aberdeen IronBirds R Bluefield Orioles Sarasota Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are a Major League Baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. ... Boston Red Sox American League AAA Pawtucket Red Sox AA Portland Sea Dogs A Wilmington Blue Rocks Greenville Bombers Lowell Spinners R Gulf Coast Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Boston, Massachusetts. ... Atlanta Braves National League AAA Richmond Braves AA Mississippi Braves A Myrtle Beach Pelicans Rome Braves R Danville Braves Orlando Braves The Atlanta Braves are a Major League Baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. ... Veracruz is the name of a city and a state in Mexico. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ...

In 1954 Avila won the AL batting crown, edging out Ted Williams and Minnie Miñoso with a .341 mark and becoming the first Hispanic American to earn a batting title in the major leagues. What made this accomplishment even more remarkable was that he played almost the entire season with a broken thumb. He also registered career highs in home runs (15), runs (112) and RBI (67). See also: 1953 in sports, 1955 in sports and the list of years in sports. Auto Racing NASCAR Championship - Lee Petty AAA Racing: Bill Vukovich won the Indianapolis 500 Jimmy Bryan won the season championship Formula One Championship - Argentina 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Froilán Gonz... The American League (or formally the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs) is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States of America and Canada. ... Batting average is a statistic in both baseball and cricket measuring the performance of baseball hitters and cricket batsmen, respectively. ... Ted Williams & Tom Yawkey Theodore Samuel Ted Williams (August 30, 1918 - July 5, 2002), also called The Splendid Splinter, Teddy Ballgame or The Kid, was a Baseball Hall of Famer who spent 19 seasons, twice interrupted by military service, with the Boston Red Sox. ... Minnie Miñoso [me-NYO-so] (b. ... Hispanic, as used in the United States, is one of several terms used to categorize US citizens, permanent residents and temporary immigrants, whose background hail either from the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America or relating to a Spanish-speaking culture. ... In baseball, a home run is a base hit in which the batter is able to circle all the bases, ending at home plate and scoring a run, with no errors on the play that result in the batter achieving extra bases. ... In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances safely around all three bases and returns safely to home plate. ... In baseball statistics, a run batted in (RBI) is given to a batter for each run scored as the result of a batters plate appearance. ...

In that same season, the Indians faced the New York Giants in the World Series, which matched the two leagues' champion bats, Avila and Willie Mays; it was the third time that top batters in the majors played each other in the Series. Other matchups were Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb in 1909; Al Simmons and Chick Hafey in 1931. San Francisco Giants National League AAA Fresno Grizzlies AA Norwich Navigators A San Jose Giants Augusta GreenJackets Salem-Keizer Volcanoes R Scottsdale Giants The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California. ... In baseball, the World Series is the championship series of Major League Baseball in North America, played in October after the end of the regular season between the pennant winner of the American League and the pennant winner of the National League. ... Willie Howard Mays, Jr. ... John Peter Honus Wagner (February 24, 1874 - December 6, 1955) is considered by many to have been the greatest shortstop ever to play major league baseball. ... Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 in Royston, Georgia - July 17, 1961 in Atlanta, Georgia), usually known as Ty Cobb and nicknamed The Georgia Peach, was an American baseball player considered to be the greatest player of the Deadball Era (1900-1920), and perhaps of all time. ... See also: 1908 in sports, 1910 in sports and the list of years in sports. Baseball The Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the Detroit Tigers, four games to three, in the World Series. ... Aloysius Harry Simmons (May 22, 1902 - May 26, 1956), born Aloysius Szymanski in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was an American player in Major League Baseball over three decades. ... Charles James Chick Hafey (February 12, 1903 - July 2, 1973) was an American player in Major League Baseball. ... See also: 1930 in sports, 1932 in sports and the list of years in sports. Auto Racing 24 hours of Le Mans: Earl Howe and Tim Birkin, driving an Alfa Romeo 8C. Louis Schneider wins the Indy 500. ...

Avila was selected an All-Star in 1952, 1954 and 1955; he led the league in triples in 1952, and led AL second basemen in fielding percentage in 1953. He also appeared in the MVP Award ballot in 1951 and 1954. The Major League Baseball All-Star Game is an annual exhibition baseball game between the best players from the National League and the American League. ... In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player handles a batted ball properly. ... In the game of baseball, both amateur and professional, it is tradition to annually recognize the one player in the league who has contributed the most to the success of the players team. ...

In 11-season career, Avila hit .281 with 80 homers, 467 RBI, 1296 hits, 725 runs, 185 doubles, 35 triples, and 78 stolen bases in 1300 games. Dealt three times in his last season career, he returned to Mexico in 1960 and became a politician. After serving as mayor in his home city of Veracruz, he became president of the Mexican League. In baseball, a double is the act of a batter safely reaching second base by striking the ball and getting to second before being made out, without the benefit of a fielders misplay (see error) or another runner being put out on a fielders choice. ... In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base by striking the ball and getting to third before being made out, without the benefit of a fielders misplay (see error) or another runner being put out on a fielders choice. ... The all-time stolen base leader, Rickey Henderson, swipes third in 1985 In baseball statistics, stolen bases (denoted by SB) is a count of the number of bases successfully stolen by a player. ... The Mexican League is a minor league baseball league which operates in Mexico. ...

Beto Avila is still widely recognized as the player who catalyzed the development of Mexican baseball. He died in his homeland of complications from diabetes. He was 79. This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ...

Quotation

• An adept bunter and daring baserunner, his soccer training paid off several times when he intentionally kicked the ball out of defenders' mitts while sliding. Cleveland manager Al Lopez said Avila had "a fine swing, a sharp eye, a good spirit of competition ... and a world of confidence in himself." - Jane Charnin-Aker, at Baseball Library (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/A/Avila_Bobby.stm)

External links

• Beto Avila at:
  • Complete statistics at Baseball Reference (http://www.baseball-reference.com/a/avilabo01.shtml)
  • The Top 100 Greatest Indians Roster (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/submit/Cleveland_Indians1.stm)
  • 1954 Cleveland Indians (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/features/topteams/1954indians.stm)
  • The Sporting News All-Time Latin American MLB Stars (http://www.sportingnews.com/archives/sports2000/players/169115.html)