| Pancho Herrera | |
|---|---|
 Herrera in 1961 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born:(1934-06-16)June 16, 1934 Santiago de Las Vegas,[1]Cuba | |
| Died: April 28, 2005(2005-04-28) (aged 70) Miami, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 15, 1958, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 1, 1961, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .271 |
| Home runs | 31 |
| Runs batted in | 128 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
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Juan Francisco Herrera Villavicencio (June 16, 1934 – April 28, 2005), nicknamed "Pancho" and "Frank", was aCuban-born professionalbaseball player. He appeared in an even 300games over all or part of three seasons inMajor League Baseball for thePhiladelphia Phillies between1958 and1961, primarily as afirst baseman. He also played for theKansas City Monarchs in theNegro American League, from whom he was purchased by the Phillies in 1954. A prodigiousminor-league slugger, Herrera was listed at 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and 220 pounds (100 kg); he threw and batted right-handed. He was the firstAfro-Latino to play for the Phillies.[2]
Born inSantiago de las Vegas,[1] nearHavana, Herrera began hisorganized baseball career in the higher levels of the Phillies'farm system in 1955. As a 23-year-old prospect, he spent 1957 with theMiami Marlins of theInternational League, where he,Woody Smith,Mickey Micelotta andBobby Young were considered to be one of the best infields in the circuit; one writer said, "They make plays the Phillies couldn't make."[3] That season, Herrerabatted .306 with 173hits, 17home runs and 93runs batted in.
He began 1958 on Philadelphia's 28-manNational League roster, but went hitless in 11at bats and was sent back to Miami in May when rosters were cut to 25. After batting .282 with 20 homers for the 1958 Marlins, he was recalled to the Phillies in September when squads could carry 40 players. He started 15 late-season games atthird base, and got untracked at the plate in a five-game stretch from September 13–17, going 12 for 19, raising his average from .053 to .342,[4] and hitting his first major-league home run off left-handerBill Henry of theChicago Cubs on the 16th atConnie Mack Stadium.[5] He finished his first MLB season with a respectable batting mark of .270 and 17 hits.
But Herrera could not make the1959 Phillies. A December 1958 leg injury sidelined him during Cuba's winter league season, and he gained unneeded weight.[1] Although his leg had healed by the time the 1959 campaign began, Herrera was back in the International League, this time as a member of theBuffalo Bisons, the Phils' newTriple-A affiliate. Herrera proceeded to win the league's Most Valuable Player award and itsTriple Crown, pacing all hitters in home runs (37),runs batted in (128), and batting average (.329), as well as in hits (187). He was also elected to the league's All-Star team as a first baseman.
That banner year at Triple-A set the stage for1960, Herrera's most productive campaign as a major leaguer. He appeared in 145 games, starting the season in the unlikely role of the Phillies' regularsecond baseman before permanently shifting to first base in May. He collected 144 hits, homered 17 times, added 26doubles and sixtriples, and batted .281 for the season; he posted anOPS of .803. He also led National League batters with 136strikeouts, a league record at the time (it would be broken byDick Allen four years later). Herrera also committed moreerrors (13) than any other first baseman in the league. Still, Herrera finished a distant second toFrank Howard in that year'sRookie of the Year balloting.[6] But he couldn't build on that success. Although he started 1961 as the Phillies' regular first baseman, his production seriously declined: his OPS dropped to .759 on 32extra-base hits (including 13 home runs) and his batting average dipped 23 points to .258. He continued to strike out at an alarming rate, with 120 whiffs, second in the National League. That off-season, Philadelphia traded for veteranAmerican League sluggerRoy Sievers to take over as the club's first baseman for 1962, and Herrera played the rest of his career in the minor leagues.
He had another strong season for Buffalo in 1962, making the All-Star team and leading the International League in home runs (32) and tying for the RBI title (108). At season's end, the Phillies used him andoutfielderTed Savage in a trade with thePittsburgh Pirates for veteran third basemanDon Hoak. He played another seven years of minor league baseball, including four more seasons in the International League, before retiring in 1969, although he continued to play sporadically until 1974. After that he managed in both theMexican andFlorida State leagues. He continued to hit the long ball, especially late in his career in the Class AMexican Southeast League, where he was a player-manager in the late 1960s.
As a big leaguer, Herrera collected 264 hits, with 46 doubles, eight triples, 31 homers and 128 career RBIs. He struck out 270 times, and batted .271 lifetime.[1]
In 1980, Herrera managed theColombia national baseball team in the qualifiers for the1980 Amateur World Series; former Colombia skipperAntonio Torres (baseball) was on his coaching staff.[7]
He died inMiami from aheart attack at age 70 in 2005.[1]
Herrera was elected to theInternational League Hall of Fame in 2008.
· Baseball Almanac