Mike de la Hoz
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Miguel Angel (Piloto) de la Hoz (born October 2, 1938 in Havana, Cuba) is a former Major League Baseball infielder. He was signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before the 1958 season, and played for the Indians (1960-1963), Milwaukee Braves (1964-1965), Atlanta Braves (1966-1967), and Cincinnati Reds (1969). He was a valuable utility player...a slightly below average fielder with a decent bat.
De la Hoz started in a career-high 43 games in 1960, his rookie season, and 214 in all. (83 at third base, 70 at second base, 60 at shortstop, and 1 in left field). He did his best work at second base, fielding .972 in 119 appearances. He was also used quite often as a pinch hitter throughout his career.
One game he is well-remembered for took place on July 8, 1965 while playing for the Milwaukee Braves. He hit a pinch home run in the bottom of the 8th inning against Dave Giusti of the Houston Astros, tied the game in the bottom of the 9th with an RBI single off Jim Owens, and singled and scored against Ron Taylor in the bottom of the 12th as the Braves won, 9-8.
Career totals for 494 games include 280 hits, 25 home runs, 115 runs batted in, 116 runs scored, a .251 batting average, and a slugging percentage of .365.
Career highlights include:
- two 4-hit games...two singles and two doubles vs. the Los Angeles Angels (July 15, 1961), and four singles vs. the Cincinnati Reds (July 29, 1964)
- ten 3-hit games...the most impressive being a single, double, and home run vs. the St. Louis Cardinals (September 15, 1964 - game 1)
- hit a grand slam against Don Mossi of the Detroit Tigers (September 1, 1963 - game 1)
- hit a combined .420 (21-for-50) against All-Stars Hank Aguirre, Jim Bouton, Ryne Duren, Roy Face, Jim Kaat, Jim Maloney, Dick Radatz, and Wilbur Wood
- hit a combined .306 (15-for-49) against Hall of Famers Jim Bunning, Steve Carlton, Whitey Ford, and Hoyt Wilhelm
