Carlos Paula

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Carlos (Conill) Paula (November 28, 1927 - April 25, 1983) was a Major League Baseball right fielder who played for the Washington Senators from 1954 to 1956. A native of Havana, Cuba, he stood 6'3" and weighed 195 lbs.

Paula was acquired by Washington via a transaction with the Paris, Texas team of the Big State League before the 1954 season. When he made his major league debut (September 6, 1954 at Griffith Stadium), he became the first black player in Washington Senators history. He got into nine games that month.

He played in 115 games during the 1955 season, batting .299 with 6 home runs and 55 runs batted in. In 1956 he appeared in only 33 games and batted .183. His last game was on June 23.

Career totals for 157 games include a .271 batting average (124-for-457), 9 HR, 60 RBI, 44 runs scored, and a slugging percentage of .416. In his 111 appearances in the outfield, he handled 211 out of 222 total chances successfully for a fielding percentage of .950, well below the league average during his era.

Paula passed away at the age of 55 in Miami, Florida.

[edit] Trivia

When Paula hit 7 triples in 1955, it tied him for eighth in the American League. He was in some pretty good company...Ray Boone, Jim Finigan, Nellie Fox, Elston Howard, Minnie Minoso, and Harry "Suitcase" Simpson. It took Paula only 351 at bats to hit 7 triples. By contrast, it took the other six players an average of 479 at bats to hit the same number.