Luis Rodríguez Olmo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Luis Olmo | |
|---|---|
| Utility player | |
| Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| MLB Debut | |
| July 23, 1943 for the Brooklyn Dodgers | |
| Final game | |
| June 6, 1951 for the Boston Braves | |
| Career Statistics | |
| Batting average | .289 |
| ERA | 29 |
| RBI | 272 |
| Teams | |
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| Career Highlights and Awards | |
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Luis Francisco Rodríguez Olmo (born August 11, 1919) in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, best known as Luis Olmo, is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter. Olmo played in the Majors with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1943-45, 1949) and Boston Braves (1950-51).
Olmo debuted with the Dodgers on July 23, 1943. In 57 games he batted .303 with four home runs and 37 RBI. He gained regular status in the next season, batting for .258 with nine home runs and 85 RBI in 136 games.
On May 10, 1945, in a 15-12 Dodgers victory over the Cubs, Olmo hit a triple and one home run, each with the bases loaded. No 20th Century major league player has done that since. He added a double for good measure, only failing to hit a single to complete the cycle. In that season he led the league in triples (13) and reached high career numbers in batting average (.313), home runs (10), RBI (110), doubles (27), stolen bases (15) and games (141).
In 1946, Olmo was among a group of players whom were lured to play in the Mexican League by the promise of higher salaries. This group of players was suspended by Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler for jumping the Major Leagues. Two years later, Olmo was reinstated in the majors and he returned to the Dodgers, batting .305 to help win the pennant.
In the 1949 World Series against the Yankees, Olmo became the first Puerto Rican to play in a World Series; to hit a home run, and to get three hits in a Series game. After a couple of seasons, he was dealt to the Braves. He retired at the end of the 1951 season.
In six-year career, Olmo batted .281 (458-for-1629) with 29 home runs, 208 runs, 65 doubles, 25 triples, and 33 stolen bases in 462 games.
Many Puerto Rican fans consider Olmo to have been as gifted as Roberto Clemente and Roberto Alomar, among other countrymen players. He also played in four Caribbean World Series. In 1951 he was selected the Most Valuable Player in the Series played at Caracas, batting .416 with three homers, and powering the Santurce Crabbers (Cangrejeros de Santurce) to the championship. He also helped the Cangrejeros to the league title in 1953. In over three Caribbean Series work, Olmo hit for .303 and had 13 RBI playing for Santurce, Caguas and San Juan teams.
His best friend was former big-leaguer Rubén Gómez, who pitched for the Giants. On October 1, 1954, Gómez became the first Puerto Rican to pitch in a World Series (in Game 3), to get a victory, and to win a Championship Ring, in the Giants' four-game sweep over the Cleveland Indians. Upon learning of Gómez' death in July 2004, Olmo rushed to attend the funeral services. He was pictured on the cover of the newspaper El Vocero de Puerto Rico, visibly consternated next to the Gómez casket.
Olmo was selected to the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame on February 6, 2004. His baseball career will be part of an American documentary titled "Beisbol", directed by Alan Swyer and narrated by Esai Morales, which pretend cover the early influences and contributions of hispanics in the game. The City of Arecibo has honored Luis Rodríguez Olmo by naming a stadium after him.
