Trade to Orioles invigorates Aparicio
After seven record-setting seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Luis Aparicio told reporters he was “disappointed” about being traded to the Baltimore Orioles on Jan. 14, 1963.
But Aparicio also knew that this deal might be his ticket to another shot at a World Series ring.
“The Orioles have better pitching, more youth and more drive,” Aparicio told the Associated Press.
And once they got Aparicio, the Orioles had another piece that would result in a world championship in 1966.
The speedy shortstop from Maracaibo, Venezuela, debuted in the big leagues in 1956 with Chicago and led the American League with 21 steals en route to the Rookie of the Year Award. It would mark the first of nine straight years where Aparicio would lead the league in steals, peaking in 1959 when he paced the Go-Go Sox with 56 stolen bases en route to a second-place finish in the AL Most Valuable Player Award voting.
The White Sox fell to the Dodgers in the World Series that year, but Aparicio kept piling up steals and honors, earning eight All-Star Game selections and five Gold Glove Awards in his first seven seasons.
But when Aparicio’s batting average dropped to .241 in 1962, rumors abounded that Chicago would ask Aparicio to take a pay cut. When Aparicio balked, the White Sox traded him to Baltimore with Al Smith in exchange for Ron Hansen, Dave Nicholson, Pete Ward and Hoyt Wilhelm. It was a rare trade that featured two future Hall of Famers, and both Aparicio and Wilhelm went on to star for their new teams.
“We feel that Aparicio’s great speed and ability as a leadoff man will be very beneficial to us,” Orioles manager Billy Hitchcock told the Baltimore Sun. “Luis has a lot of dash and…should prove to be quite a favorite here.”
The Orioles rewarded Aparicio with a one-year deal worth $37,500 in 1963, and Aparicio gave Baltimore exactly what it wanted at shortstop. In 146 games, he stole a big league-best 40 bases and scored 73 runs while finishing 23rd in the AL MVP voting.
In 1964, Aparicio set a career-high with 57 steals – his ninth and final time leading the league in that category – while winning another Gold Glove Award to give Baltimore an almost impenetrable left-side defense along with third baseman Brooks Robinson.
By 1966, the Orioles’ young pitching staff had matured into a formidable unit. And prior to that season, Baltimore acquired another future Hall of Famer – Frank Robinson – from Cincinnati. The resulting chemistry powered the Orioles to their first American League pennant – and just the second one in franchise history dating back to the days of the St. Louis Browns.
Aparicio led the AL in plate appearances (707) and at-bats (659) that year while batting .276 with 97 runs scored and 25 steals. He added four more hits in the World Series as Baltimore swept Los Angeles, fulfilling Aparicio’s prophesy of a title for the Orioles.
Aparicio would return to the White Sox after the 1967 season, playing three more seasons in Chicago before his final three years with the Red Sox. He finished his career with 13 All-Star Game selections, nine Gold Glove Awards and 506 steals.
After playing all of his 2,583 career games in the field at shortstop, Aparicio was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984.
But in January of 1963, Cooperstown was still off in the distance as Aparicio prepared to build on his already impressive legacy.
“I’m going to have the best year of my life,” Aparicio told the Sun at the start of the 1963 campaign. “I am really happy here.”
Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
