Alejandro Eloy Carrasquel Aparicio (July 24, 1912 – August 19, 1969) was a Venezuelan pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Washington Senators and the Chicago White Sox in a span of eight seasons from 1939 to 1949. Listed at 6' 1" (1.85 mt), 182 lb. (82 kg), he batted and threw right handed.
Carrasquel became the first Venezuelan-born to play in the majors when he joined the Senators in its 1939 season. He is also known as one of the handful of major leaguers who jumped their organized baseball teams to play in the outlaw Mexican League in .
Baseball career
Born in Caracas, Carrasquel had a fine fastball, which he complemented with an effective knuckleball and a decent curve. He started his major league career with the Senators of the American League on April 23, 1939. Carrasquel became the second player to go straight into the major leagues, following Ted Lyons, who did it in 1923.
Carrasquel made his first appearance against the New York Yankees at Griffith Stadium. He relieved starter Ken Chase with two outs in the fourth inning and a runner on first base. The first three batters Carrasquel faced were future Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig and Bill Dickey. He retired them all, striking out DiMaggio while retiring Gehrig on a ground ball and Dickey on a pop fly. Carrasquel threw solid innings of relief, surrendering only one run over that span, though the Yankees won, 7–4.
In his second game, on April 30, Carrasquel earned his first save at Yankee Stadium. He was called in to relieve in the eighth inning, with two outs and the bases loaded, and Washington trying to preserve a 3–2 lead. Carrasquel got the third out by retiring Yankees second baseman Joe Gordon, and then retired Red Ruffing, Frankie Crosetti and Red Rolfe in order in the ninth to preserve the Senators victory.
A month later, on May 30, Carrasquel hit his only career home run, a solo blast off pitcher Nels Potter in a 3–1 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics, which was the first home run hit by a Venezuelan player in a major league game.
In the 1940s, Carrasquel posted positive win–loss records in six consecutive seasons for lousy Senators teams that usually finished below .500. He had a 6–2 record (.750) in both 1940 and 1941, while the Senators went 64-90 and 70–84, respectively. In 1942 he went 7–7 (.500); Washington, 60–91.
His most productive season came in 1943, when he had a 11–7 record and 3.43 ERA in 39 games (13 starts), including four complete games, one shutout and five saves. His shutout was also a career highlight on April 25, as he pitched a two-hitter, 5–0 victory against the Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park. The Senators actually finished over .500 at 84–69.
Three days later, on May 3, Carrasquel made his third relief appearance and picked up his first win as well as the first by a Venezuelan pitcher in Major League Baseball history when the Senators defeated the St. Louis Browns at Sportsman’s Park. Washington rallied from a six-run deficit in the sixth, scoring seven runs over the final three innings of the game, en route to an 11–10 road victory. Carrasquel pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings to secure the historic win.
Carrasquel made his first big league start on May 14 against the visiting Boston Red Sox at Griffith Stadium. Carrasquel engaged in a 11-inning pitching duel with Lefty Grove and the score tied at 2–2, until the Red Sox chased him with three runs in the top of the 12th, while the Senators’ rally in the bottom of the inning against Grove and two relievers fell one run short, as the Sox prevailed, 5–4. Besides, in the 7th inning Carrasquel recorded the first hit by a Venezuelan player in the major leagues when he singled off Grove. Incidentally, Carrasquel faced a Red Sox starting lineup that had other future Hall of Famers: Joe Cronin, Bobby Doerr, Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, and the aforementioned Grove. On August 13, he won a rematch with the Red Sox at Fenway Park, earning his sixth win of the season on a 6–3, complete game effort.