Coco Laboy
Encyclopedia
José Alberto "Coco" Laboy (born July 3, 1939) was a Puerto Rican
Major League Baseball
player. He was signed by the San Francisco Giants
as an amateur free agent in 1959 but remained mired in the minor leagues until the 1969 expansion of major league baseball, which added two teams to both leagues. The expansion Montreal Expos
drafted Laboy from the St. Louis Cardinals
organization.
Laboy was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico
. As a 29-year old rookie, he excelled at the plate. His 145 hits gave him an average of .258, and he slugged 18 home runs and drove in 83 runs. He tied for second place with Al Oliver
for the 1969 National League Rookie of the Year Award, which was won by Ted Sizemore
.
In 1970, Laboy's average dropped from .258 to .199 as pitchers adjusted to him and stopped feeding him fast balls. However, he led the Expos with 26 doubles. Anxious to prove that his rookie year was not a fluke, Laboy worked out in the off-season but injured his knee in his first game of the Puerto Rican winter-league season. The injury reduced him to 151 at-bats in the 1971 season and he spent most of 1972 on the disabled list after undergoing knee surgery in March.
At 33 years old and with essentially only two full seasons behind him it was hard to come back, particularly with the primitive state of orthopedic surgery at the time. He was released after the 1973 season and was not picked up by any other team. He ended his career with an average of .233/28/166 in 420 games. Exactly half of his RBIs were racked up in his rookie campaign.
Laboy returned to his native Puerto Rico and got a job with the government, which he served for 27 years, eventually becoming director of the commonwealth's athletic programs.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player. He was signed by the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
as an amateur free agent in 1959 but remained mired in the minor leagues until the 1969 expansion of major league baseball, which added two teams to both leagues. The expansion Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
drafted Laboy from the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
organization.
Laboy was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
. As a 29-year old rookie, he excelled at the plate. His 145 hits gave him an average of .258, and he slugged 18 home runs and drove in 83 runs. He tied for second place with Al Oliver
Al Oliver
Albert Oliver, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball player. Over the course of his 18-year career, he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates , Texas Rangers , Montreal Expos , San Francisco Giants , Philadelphia Phillies , Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays...
for the 1969 National League Rookie of the Year Award, which was won by Ted Sizemore
Ted Sizemore
Ted Crawford Sizemore was a second baseman for Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers , St...
.
In 1970, Laboy's average dropped from .258 to .199 as pitchers adjusted to him and stopped feeding him fast balls. However, he led the Expos with 26 doubles. Anxious to prove that his rookie year was not a fluke, Laboy worked out in the off-season but injured his knee in his first game of the Puerto Rican winter-league season. The injury reduced him to 151 at-bats in the 1971 season and he spent most of 1972 on the disabled list after undergoing knee surgery in March.
At 33 years old and with essentially only two full seasons behind him it was hard to come back, particularly with the primitive state of orthopedic surgery at the time. He was released after the 1973 season and was not picked up by any other team. He ended his career with an average of .233/28/166 in 420 games. Exactly half of his RBIs were racked up in his rookie campaign.
Laboy returned to his native Puerto Rico and got a job with the government, which he served for 27 years, eventually becoming director of the commonwealth's athletic programs.