Hank Aguirre
Encyclopedia
Henry John "Hank" Aguirre (January 31, 1931 – September 5, 1994) was a Major League Baseball
pitcher
who played with the Cleveland Indians
(1955–57), Detroit Tigers
(1958–67), Los Angeles Dodgers
(1968), and Chicago Cubs
(1969–1970). His last name was typically pronounced "ah-GEAR-ee".
to Jenny Alva and Joseph Aguirre. Joseph was born in Jalisco, Mexico in 1902 and emigrated with his family during the time of the Mexican Revolution. Joseph and Jenny had seven children. Henry or Hank Aguirre worked in his youth, making, packaging and delivering tortillas for his father's business, the "Aguirre Tortillas Factory" in San Gabriel, California. At 4 a.m., the young Aguirre would make deliveries—mostly running -— before school. Hank attended and graduated from Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra in 1949 but his "goofy feet" (his words) prevented him from being selected to be part of the baseball team. Hank graduated from East Los Angeles Junior College in 1951.
in , Aguirre struck out Boston Red Sox
legend Ted Williams
the first time he faced him. After the game, Aguirre asked Williams to autograph the ball. Reluctantly, Williams complied. A couple of weeks later Aguirre faced Williams again. This time the "Splendid Splinter" smashed Aguirre's first offering for a home run. While circling the bases, Williams yelled to Aguirre, "Get that ball, and I'll sign it, too."
He pitched in the big leagues for 16 years for four different teams. Before the 1958 season began, Aguirre was traded to the Detroit Tigers
, where he remained for 10 years from 1958-1967. Aguirre was principally a relief pitcher
until . During a 1962 game at Yankee Stadium, Tigers manager Bob Scheffing
used him as a starter
when Don Mossi
had arm trouble. Scheffing wanted a left-hander to pitch against the Yankees, and he chose Aguirre. Aguirre joined the Tigers starting rotation and finished the 1962 season with a 2.21 earned run average
in 42 games (22 as a starter), the best in Detroit since Hal Newhouser
in 1946. Having pitched over 100 innings (216 in total) for the first time in his career, Aguirre led the major leagues in ERA
(0.33 points lower than Sandy Koufax who was second best), won 16 games, and was selected to the American League All-Star team. He also led the American League in WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) with a 1.051 average. Aguirre also finished 17th in the 1962 American League Most Valuable Player voting.
Aguirre lost his spot in the Tigers starting rotation in 1966, and returned to the bullpen. Before the start of the 1968 season, Aguirre was traded by the Tigers to the Los Angeles Dodgers
for a player to be named later. In one season with the Dodgers, Aguirre allowed only three runs in 39-1/3 innings for a 0.69 ERA. Despite the good season, Aguirre was released by the Dodgers and spent the final two seasons of his big league career pitching for Leo Durocher
’s Chicago Cubs where he was 4-0 in two seasons from 1969-1970.
In 16 Major League seasons, Aguirre finished with a record of 75-72 in 1,375-2/3 innings pitched, with 856 strikeouts and an earned run average of 3.24.
Aguirre was considered one of the worst hitters of his day. Loving fans would cheer, and in some cases give him a standing ovation, if he was able to make contact fouling off a ball.
Aguirre was born on the same date as Hall-of-Famer
Ernie Banks
. In addition to being Cubs teammates in 1969 and 1970, both were also Cubs coaches in 1972 and 1973. http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/chc/history/coaches.jsp
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...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
who played with the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
(1955–57), Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
(1958–67), Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
(1968), and Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
(1969–1970). His last name was typically pronounced "ah-GEAR-ee".
Youth in Azusa, California
Nicknamed "Mex" because he was of Mexican descent, Aguirre was born on January 31, 1931, in Azusa, CaliforniaAzusa, California
Azusa is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 46,361 at the 2010 census, up from 44,712 at the 2000 census. Though sometimes assumed to be a compaction of the phrase "everything from A to Z in the USA" from an old Jack Benny joke, the place name "Azusa"...
to Jenny Alva and Joseph Aguirre. Joseph was born in Jalisco, Mexico in 1902 and emigrated with his family during the time of the Mexican Revolution. Joseph and Jenny had seven children. Henry or Hank Aguirre worked in his youth, making, packaging and delivering tortillas for his father's business, the "Aguirre Tortillas Factory" in San Gabriel, California. At 4 a.m., the young Aguirre would make deliveries—mostly running -— before school. Hank attended and graduated from Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra in 1949 but his "goofy feet" (his words) prevented him from being selected to be part of the baseball team. Hank graduated from East Los Angeles Junior College in 1951.
Pitching career
As a rookie for the Cleveland IndiansCleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
in , Aguirre struck out Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
legend Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
the first time he faced him. After the game, Aguirre asked Williams to autograph the ball. Reluctantly, Williams complied. A couple of weeks later Aguirre faced Williams again. This time the "Splendid Splinter" smashed Aguirre's first offering for a home run. While circling the bases, Williams yelled to Aguirre, "Get that ball, and I'll sign it, too."
He pitched in the big leagues for 16 years for four different teams. Before the 1958 season began, Aguirre was traded to the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
, where he remained for 10 years from 1958-1967. Aguirre was principally a relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
until . During a 1962 game at Yankee Stadium, Tigers manager Bob Scheffing
Bob Scheffing
Robert Boden Scheffing was an American baseball player, coach, manager and front-office executive. Nicknamed "Grumpy," the native of Overland, Missouri is most often identified with the Chicago Cubs, for whom he played as a catcher , coached , and managed .Scheffing also spent 2½ years as...
used him as a starter
Starting pitcher
In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....
when Don Mossi
Don Mossi
Donald Louis Mossi, , was an American major league pitcher from 1954 to 1965. He was a left-handed control pitcher whose strikeout-to-walk ratio was regularly amongst the league leaders . He retired with a career earned run average of 3.43, 101 wins, and 50 saves.- Biography :Mossi was born in St...
had arm trouble. Scheffing wanted a left-hander to pitch against the Yankees, and he chose Aguirre. Aguirre joined the Tigers starting rotation and finished the 1962 season with a 2.21 earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
in 42 games (22 as a starter), the best in Detroit since Hal Newhouser
Hal Newhouser
Harold "Prince Hal" Newhouser was an American pitcher for Major League Baseball who played 17 seasons from 1939 to 1955, mostly with the Detroit Tigers of the American League...
in 1946. Having pitched over 100 innings (216 in total) for the first time in his career, Aguirre led the major leagues in ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
(0.33 points lower than Sandy Koufax who was second best), won 16 games, and was selected to the American League All-Star team. He also led the American League in WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) with a 1.051 average. Aguirre also finished 17th in the 1962 American League Most Valuable Player voting.
Aguirre lost his spot in the Tigers starting rotation in 1966, and returned to the bullpen. Before the start of the 1968 season, Aguirre was traded by the Tigers to the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
for a player to be named later. In one season with the Dodgers, Aguirre allowed only three runs in 39-1/3 innings for a 0.69 ERA. Despite the good season, Aguirre was released by the Dodgers and spent the final two seasons of his big league career pitching for Leo Durocher
Leo Durocher
Leo Ernest Durocher , nicknamed Leo the Lip, was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,009 career victories, second only to John McGraw in National League history. Durocher still ranks tenth in career wins by...
’s Chicago Cubs where he was 4-0 in two seasons from 1969-1970.
In 16 Major League seasons, Aguirre finished with a record of 75-72 in 1,375-2/3 innings pitched, with 856 strikeouts and an earned run average of 3.24.
Aguirre was considered one of the worst hitters of his day. Loving fans would cheer, and in some cases give him a standing ovation, if he was able to make contact fouling off a ball.
Aguirre was born on the same date as Hall-of-Famer
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
Ernie Banks
Ernie Banks
Ernest "Ernie" Banks , nicknamed "Mr. Cub", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and first baseman. He played his entire 19-year baseball career with the Chicago Cubs . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.-High school years:Banks was a letterman and standout in football,...
. In addition to being Cubs teammates in 1969 and 1970, both were also Cubs coaches in 1972 and 1973. http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/chc/history/coaches.jsp
See also
- List of Major League Baseball ERA champions
- Best pitching seasons by a Detroit Tiger