Who Was: Bobby Avila by Harold Friend
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by user LouGehrig
Nineteen fifty four was different. It wasn't like 1951, or 1952, or 1953, or 1955, or 1956. No, in 1954 the Cleveland Indians, for the only time in a span of six seasons, didn't finish second to the New York Yankees. Led by one of the greatest pitching staffs in baseball history, one that included Hall of Famers Bob Lemon, Early Wynn, and Bob Feller, and an adequate offense led by American League home run champion Larry Doby and American League batting champion Bobby Avila, the Indians won an American League record 111 games. The Yankees finished 8 games back. Ironically, the Yankees won more games that season than they had in any of their five consecutive World Championship seasons. Bobby Avila was a major reason the Indians won the pennant.
Roberto Francisco Avila was born in Vera Cruz, Mexico in 1924. His father was a wealthy lawyer who discouraged "Beto" from participating in sports, but Bobby was not to be denied. As a youngster, he played in the Vera Cruz State League, a Mexican winter league. In 1944, at the age of 20, Avila hit .334 with 14 triples for the Puebla Parrots. He was one of the league's stars when, in 1946, Brooklyn Dodgers' manager Leo Durocher offered him $10,000 to sign, but before a deal could be finalized, Leo was suspended from baseball and Brooklyn subsequently withdrew the offer. Bobby stayed in Mexico in 1947.
In 1948, Bobby Avila signed for $17,500 with the Cleveland Indians, He had led the Mexican League in batting and was assigned to the Baltimore Orioles for the 1948 season. Don't be confused. The Orioles were the Indians top farm club that played in the AAA International League in 1948. Bobby had a bad season, batting only .220 in 56 games before he suffered an injury that ended his season.
Since Bobby had received a substantial sum of money to sign (remember, this was 1948), he was considered a "bonus baby," which meant that the Indians were required to keep him on their roster or lose him. He appeared in 31 games for the Tribe in 1949, getting 3 hits in 14 at bats, but in 1950, the Indians' regular second baseman, Joe Gordon, was having a subpar season and Avila got much more playing time. Bobby batted .299 and the following season took over the second base job.
In 1954, he had his best year, winning the batting title with a .341 average, hitting 15 home runs, which was a substantial amount for a second baseman in the 1950s, and fielding almost flawlessly at second base. Thirteen of Avila's 15 home runs either tied the score or won the game. His grand slam against the Tigers on September won the game that clinched a tie for the pennant. What is amazing is that Bobby played half of the 1954 season with a broken thumb.
The World Series against the New York Giants was an Indians' nightmare. Giants' pitchers Johnny Antonelli, Sal Maglie, Ruben Gomez, Hoyt Wilhelm, Marv Grissom, and Don Liddle held the Tribe to nine runs as they swept the Series. Bobby Avila managed only 2 singles in 15 at bats for a .133 average, while Larry Doby had only 2 singles in 16 at bats for a .125 average. The team that won 111 regular season games didn't win a single World Series game.
Things almost returned to "normal" in 1955. The Yankees won the pennant by three games over the Indians, starting a streak of four consecutive pennants, but this streak would produce World Championships only in 1956 and 1958. Bobby Avila did not repeat his 1954 season. He batted only .272 to drop 69 points. In 1956, it got worse, as Bobby hit only .224. Following the 1958 season, he was sent to the Baltimore for the Orioles, who used to be the St. Louis Browns and were now part of the American League, for pitcher Russ Heman, who whose career consisted of pitching 20 innings in 1961.
Following a nondescript 1959 in which he played for the Orioles, Red Sox, and Braves, Bobby retired. He had a .281 lifetime average, was on the American League All-Star team three times, and is considered one of the better second baseman of the 1950s.
Bobby returned to Mexico, played for the Mexico City Tigers, hitting .336 in 1960. When he retired as a player, Bobby became a team owner in the Mexican League, then its president, and eventually the mayor of Vera Cruz. He died on October 26, 2004.
References:
"Bobby Avila." Baseball-Reference. <http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Bobby_Avila>
"Bobby Avila." Baseball Page. <http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/avilabo01.php>
"Minor Leagues." <http://www.geocities.com/big_bunko/international0299.htm>
