Leo Posada
Posada in 1961
Outfielder
Born: (1934-04-01)April 1, 1934
Havana, Cuba
Died: June 23, 2022(2022-06-23) (aged 88)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 21, 1960, for the Kansas City Athletics
Last MLB appearance
July 20, 1962, for the Kansas City Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average.256
Home runs8
Runs batted in58
Teams

Leopoldo Jesús Posada Hernández (April 1, 1934 – June 23, 2022) was a Cuban baseball player. He played for the Kansas City Athletics of Major League Baseball from 1960 through 1962. After his retirement as a player, Posada served as a manager in Minor League Baseball.

Early life

Posada was born on April 1, 1934, in Havana, Cuba. He was not, as is commonly believed, Jorge Posada's uncle. They were at most distant kin (Leo had just one sister; Jorge Posada Sr. was not his brother).[1]

He attended high school in Havana, and played baseball and volleyball.[2] Posada was a cyclist before beginning his professional baseball career. He was a national champion and represented Cuba in cycling at the 1951 Pan American Games and the 1954 Central American and Caribbean Games.[2][3][4]

Career

Playing career (1954–1967)

Posada was signed as an amateur free agent by the Milwaukee Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1954.[3] He began the 1954 season with the Odessa Oilers of the Class C Longhorn League[5] and also played for the Lake Charles Lakers of the Class C Evangeline League. Posada played for the Corpus Christi Clippers of the Class B Big State League in 1955 and 1956.[2][6] After the 1956 season, the Columbia Gems of the Class A South Atlantic League selected Posada from Corpus Christi in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.[7] Posada started the season with Columbia and promoted to the Little Rock Travelers of the Class AA Southern Association,[8] and then sent down to the Abilene Blue Sox of the Big State League during the season.[9] He played for the Rochester A's of the Class B Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League in 1958[10] and the Shreveport Sports of the Southern Association in 1959. Posada attended spring training with the Kansas City Athletics of MLB before the 1960 season, but was sent back to Shreveport for the start of the season.[11] He batted .314 with 18 home runs and 122 runs batted in (RBIs) for Shreveport in 1960.[12]

Posada made his MLB debut with the Athletics on September 21, 1960.[3] He played in 10 games for Kansas City in 1960, recording a .361 batting average.[13] In 1961, Athletics manager Joe Gordon chose to start Posada over Hank Bauer in the Opening Day starting lineup.[14] Posada struggled to begin the season, batting .190, before he was optioned to Shreveport; Athletics general manager Frank Lane had intended to option Norm Bass to the minor leagues, but team owner Charlie O. Finley overruled Lane, who sent down Posada instead.[15] In 116 games for Kansas City in the 1961 season, Posada batted .253. He was returned to Shreveport for the 1962 season, but also played in 29 games for the Athletics, batting .196.[13] He played in his final MLB game on July 20, 1962. In MLB, Posada had a .256 batting average, eight home runs, and 58 RBIs in 426 plate appearances, all for Kansas City.[3]

On August 3, 1962, the Athletics traded Posada, Dale Willis, and Bill Kunkel along with cash considerations to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the Class AAA International League for Orlando Peña.[16] Posada began the 1963 season with Toronto, but batted .235 for the Maple Leafs before he was optioned to the Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) in May.[17] Posada played in 12 games for Hawaii, recording two hits in 14 at bats (.143), before the Islanders reassigned Posada to the Seattle Rainiers of the PCL.[18] He was released by Seattle[19] and finished the 1963 season with the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Class AA Mexican League.[20] He batted .267 for Monterrey. Before the 1964 season, Posada signed with the Houston Colt .45s (now the Houston Astros) of MLB, who assigned him to the San Antonio Bullets of the Class AA Texas League.[21] Posada batted .272 with 22 home runs for San Antonio.[22] Playing for the Amarillo Sonics of the Texas League in 1965, Posada was named to the league's all-star game[23] and he won the Texas League Player of the Year Award.[24] Posada led the league with 26 home runs, 107 RBIs, and 266 total bases.[25] He returned to Amarillo in 1966 and batted .317. Posada served as a player-coach for the Oklahoma City 89ers of the PCL in 1967.[26][27]

Managing career (1968–1980s)

In 1968, the Astros announced that Tony Pacheco would manage the Cocoa Astros of the Class A Florida State League (FSL) from April until June, at which point Pacheco would become the manager of the Covington Astros, in the short-season Gulf Coast League, and Posada would take over as Cocoa's manager. Posada was a player-manager for Cocoa.[28][29] He batted .284 in 148 at bats for Cocoa in 1968 and returned to manage Cocoa in 1969.[30] He played in nine games for Cocoa in the 1969 season, the final season in which he appeared as a player.[13] He then served as a scout for the Astros.[31] Posada became the manager of the Cedar Rapids Astros of the Midwest League for the 1973 season.[13]

After the 1974 season, executives Tal Smith and Pat Gillick left the Astros for the New York Yankees organization. In 1975, Posada served as manager of the Fort Lauderdale Yankees of the FSL.[31] He returned to the Astros organization as the manager of the Columbus Astros in 1976 and 1977 and the Daytona Beach Astros in 1978.[32] In 1979, he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers organization as their minor league hitting instructor.[33] Posada continued to work as a hitting coach for the Dodgers organization,[34] and he provided instruction to Raúl Mondesí.[35] He also served as a manager for the Águilas del Zulia and Cardenales de Lara of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League and for the Tigres del Licey of the Dominican Professional Baseball League.[3]

Personal life

Posada's father, mother, and sister left Cuba for the United States after the Cuban Revolution.[36]

Posada settled in Miami, Florida, and he owned a bicycle store.[31] Posada died on June 23, 2022, in Miami, from pancreatic cancer.[3][37]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Leo Posada". SABR BioProject. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Posada Once Bicycle Race Champ of Cuba". Corpus Christi Times. May 2, 1956. Retrieved June 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Martínez, Marino (June 23, 2022). "Fallece en Miami pelotero cubano que jugó en Grandes Ligas". El Nuevo Herald (in Spanish). Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  4. ^ Hernández, Lou (April 29, 2013). Memories of Winter Ball: Interviews with Players in the Latin American Winter Leagues of the 1950s. McFarland. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-7864-7141-6. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  5. ^ "Oilers 'Mystery' Team In Longhorn League". The Odessa American. April 21, 1954. p. 19. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Clippers Get Leo Posada". Corpus Christi Times. April 18, 1956. p. 7-B. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Sally League Team Drafts Leo Posada". Corpus Christi Times. Associated Press. December 6, 1956. p. 12B. Retrieved June 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Herdien, Bob (April 25, 1957). "Big State Grads Advance". Times Record News. p. 10B. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Oliver, Don (July 15, 1957). "Blue Sox Due Help From A's". Abilene Reporter-News. p. 8-A. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ White, Don (April 27, 1958). "Three-I League Opens Its 51st Season Today". Quad-City Times. p. 2B. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Fiser, Jack (March 30, 1960). "Sports Pepper Lookouts, 11–5". The Shreveport Times. p. 14-A. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Former Sports Star Inks KC Contract". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. United Press International. February 15, 1961. p. 14. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b c d "Posada Will Boss C.R. Club". The Cedar Rapids Gazette. November 22, 1972. p. 13. Retrieved June 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Posada to Start For Kansas City". Springfield Leader and Press. Springfield, Missouri. Associated Press. April 7, 1961. p. 7. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Finley's Still Boss of K.C." The Record. Hackensack, New Jersey. Associated Press. May 11, 1961. p. 32. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Leafs Sell Pena to Kansas City". The Sun Times. Canadian Press. August 4, 1962. p. 18. Retrieved June 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Islanders Acquire 2 Outfielders". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. May 17, 1963. p. 15. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Hawaii Drops Posada". The Honolulu Advertiser. June 9, 1963. p. C-6. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Small, Ken (July 8, 1963). "Time Plays Trick, Arias an 'Amateur'". The Miami Herald. p. 4-D. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ McIntyre, Bill (August 2, 1963). "From Here and There...". The Shreveport Times. p. C-1. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Bullets Get Leo Posada". San Antonio Express and News. February 29, 1964. p. 2-D. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Salazar, Carlos (April 16, 1965). "Tidal Wave of Changes in TL's 78th Season". The Albuquerque Tribune. pp. C-1, C-2. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Van Fleet, Bill (July 15, 1965). "Record Crowd May See Houston, Stars". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 1. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Posada, Nixon Honored by TL". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 5, 1965. p. 2. Retrieved June 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Tulsa's Pavlesic Grabs Texas League Bat Title". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 12, 1965. p. 7. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ Godsoe, Frank A. (April 5, 1967). "Sonics Get Colbet; Posada Sent to O-City". The Amarillo Globe-Times. p. 13. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ Meece, Volney (April 9, 1967). "New Look 89ers Go Friday". The Daily Oklahoman. p. 1. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ Montague, John (January 10, 1968). "Cocoa Taps Two Pilots". Florida Today. p. 1B. Retrieved June 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "Manager Leo Posada Shows Astros How". The Evening Tribune. Cocoa, Florida. April 29, 1969. p. 5A. Retrieved June 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ "Posada Back With Cocoa As Manager". Florida Today. January 19, 1969. p. 1B. Retrieved June 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ a b c Boetel, Ray (January 19, 1975). "Leo Posada: The FSL Yankees' New Spokesman". Fort Lauderdale News. p. 8D. Retrieved June 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ^ Coble, Don (April 13, 1978). "Coaching doesn't end as game does". The Orlando Sentinel. p. 18. Retrieved June 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ^ "Dodgers Name New Instructors". Albuquerque Journal. February 4, 1979. p. E-9. Retrieved June 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ^ Amore, Don (March 29, 2000). "Ladies And Gentlemen...Jorge Posada". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  35. ^ Hermoso, Rafael (August 9, 2003). "BASEBALL; Mondesi Is Happier, but He's Still Unforgiving". The New York Times. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  36. ^ Dickerson, Jan (April 29, 1962). "Cuban Jails Can't Silence the Posadas". The Kansas City Star. pp. 1A, 8A. Retrieved June 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. ^ "Leo Posada, obituary" (in Spanish). Dignity Memorial. Retrieved June 29, 2022.

External links

Texas League Most Valuable Player Award
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