César Gutiérrez

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César Dario Gutiérrez [goo-te-ER-rez] (January 26, 1943 – January 22, 2005), also nicknamed "Cocoa", was a Venezuelan shortstop in Major League Baseball who played with the San Francisco Giants (1967, 1969) and Detroit Tigers (1969-71).

1 Career
2 7-for-7 games chronology
3 Note
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Career

Gutiérrez was born in Coro, Falcón State. Nominally a "good field-no hit" shortstop, he never represented a danger for any pitcher. He was a career .235 hitter with 26 RBI and no home runs in 223 games.

Gutiérrez's most productive season came in 1970, his only season as a regular, when he posted career-highs in batting average (.243), RBI (22), runs (40), hits (101), doubles (11), triples (6), stolen bases (4) and games played (135). Also in that season, the modest shortstop saved himself from major league anonymity. On June 21, in the second game of a doubleheader between Detroit and the Cleveland Indians, Gutiérrez hit a perfect 7-for-7 including a triple, to set an American League mark (and tie a major league record) for hits in a game without making an out. The Tigers won 9-8 in twelve innings. Gutiérrez's batting average shot up 31 points that day, from .218 to .249.

In 1971 Gutiérrez played only 40 games as an infield backup, retiring at the end of the season. Later, he served as a coach and scout with several teams.

Gutiérrez died in Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela, four days short of his 62nd birthday.

[edit] 7-for-7 games chronology

June 10, 1892: Baltimore Orioles catcher Wilbert Robinson set a major league record by going 7-for-7 as his team topped the St. Louis Browns 25-4. Roberts also set a second record with 11 RBI.

June 21, 1970: Tigers shortstop César Gutiérrez became the first player to go 7-for-7 in the modern era (since 1900).

September 16, 1975: Rennie Stennett, of the Pittsburgh Pirates (NL), topped the 7-for-7 mark as Pittsburgh massacred the Chicago Cubs 22-0. Pittsburgh also set a major league record for the biggest score in a shutout game in the modern era. This record was matched by Cleveland against the Yankees on August 31, 2004 (AL).

[edit] Note

Robinson and Stennett accomplished their feats during the course of nine-inning games. Gutiérrez did it in a 12-inning game. Curiously, Stennett didn't complete his record game; Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh sent in a pinch runner for him after Stennett's seventh hit.