Ozzie Virgil
Utility player
Born: (1932-05-17) May 17, 1932
Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 23, 1956, for the New York Giants
Last MLB appearance
June 27, 1969, for the San Francisco Giants
MLB statistics
Batting average.231
Home runs14
Runs batted in73
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • First Dominican to play in Major League Baseball
  • First black player to play for Detroit Tigers

Osvaldo José Virgil Pichardo (born May 17, 1932) is a Dominican former professional baseball player and coach. He was the first person from the Dominican Republic to play in Major League Baseball,[1] appearing in 324 MLB games between 1956 and 1969 as a utilityman for the New York / San Francisco Giants (1956–57, 1966, 1969), Detroit Tigers (1958, 1960–61), Kansas City Athletics (1961), Baltimore Orioles (1962) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1965). Frequently a third baseman, Virgil played every position except pitcher and center field. He batted and threw right-handed, was 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 174 pounds (79 kg).

His son, catcher Ozzie Jr., played in all or parts of 11 MLB seasons (1980–90) and was a two-time National League All-Star.

Career

Virgil was born in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic. His family emigrated to the United States when he was 13 and settled in the Bronx, where Virgil graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School.[2] He served in the United States Marines from 1950 to 1952,[2] and began his 17-season professional playing career in 1953.

On September 23, 1956, he became the first person from his native country to play in the Majors when he started for the Giants at third base against the Philadelphia Phillies. Twenty-one months later, on June 6, 1958, Virgil became the first player of African descent to take the field for the Tigers,[1] again starting at third base, this time against the Washington Senators.

Charlie Metro, his manager on the 1960 Denver Bears, had this to say about him: "Ozzie Virgil Sr. was from the Dominican Republic. He came to my ball club at Denver, and then Detroit picked him up. He had a fantastic record for us. Ozzie was hitting about .400, and in a part-time role. I played him everywhere—third, second, outfield. He had 77 hits and 55 runs batted in, and was batting .381, when they took him up to the big leagues. I was crazy about him. He did everything well. Later, when I was putting together the Kansas City Royals, I was going to draft him as a player-coach out of the Giants organization, where he was with their Triple-A club, but I spoke up out loud. Tom Sheehan, a scout and front office guy for the Giants, overheard me, so they put him on the big league club and protected him."[3]

In a nine-season big-league career, Virgil posted a .231 batting average with 174 hits, 14 home runs and 73 RBI. After his playing career ended, Virgil spent 19 seasons as a coach for the Giants (1969–72; 1974–75); Montréal Expos (1976–81); San Diego Padres (1982–85); and Seattle Mariners (1986–88). From 1977 to 1988, he served as the third-base coach on the staff of Baseball Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams.

Osvaldo Virgil National Airport serves the Monte Cristi Province, in the north of the Dominican Republic. This airport was opened in 2006 for tourism with flights from other Dominican airports.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. "Bob Matthews Sports Article (January 27, 2008)". Retrieved 2008-01-27.
  2. 1 2 Simonetti, Anthony. "Living history: Ozzie Virgil, Sr". SMBA Blog. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  3. ↑ Metro, Charlie (2002). Safe by a Mile. University of Nebraska Press. p. 237. ISBN 0-8032-8281-8.
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