| José Bracho | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born:(1928-07-23)July 23, 1928 Maracaibo,Zulia,Venezuela | |||||||||||||||
| Died: June 16, 2011(2011-06-16) (aged 82) Los Puertos de Altagracia,Zulia | |||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| Member of the Venezuelan | |||||||||||||||
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |||||||||||||||
| Induction | 2003 | ||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||
José de la Trinidad Bracho (July 23, 1928 – June 16, 2011) was aVenezuelan professionalbaseballpitcher. Listed at 6' 1", 185 lb., he batted and threw right handed.[1] His friends and fans affectionately called himCarrao ("crying bird"), a moniker that he used throughout his life. Born inMaracaibo,Zulia, Bracho has been considered one of the best pitchers in Venezuelan baseball history.
Bracho spent 26 years in theVenezuelan Professional Baseball League, played four minor leagues seasons, hurled in theDominican Winter League, and appeared in sixCaribbean Series, setting an all-time pitching mark in this tournament. Notably, forty years after his retirement in 1973, Bracho still owns the all-time records in the Venezuelan league for the mostwins (109),complete games (91),strikeouts (859) and innings pitched (1,769+2⁄3), and still owns the record for the most wins in a single-season, while collecting 15 in the 1961–1962 season.[2]
Asinking fastball specialist, Bracho made his debut as a 20-year-old rookie with theCaracas team in the 1948–1949 season, playing for them during ten seasons, while helping the team to clinch four championship titles in 1948-49, 1951–52, 1952–53 and 1956-57. He also played for thePastora (1953–54) andMagallanes (1954-55) champion teams before joiningOriente/Orientales (1959-60 through 1963-64). He then returned to Magallanes (1964–65), and later formed part ofLa Guaira (1964–67) andLara (1966-68), ending his career with his home teamZulia (1970–73).[3]
His most productive campaign came in the 1961–1962 season for Oriente, when he posted a 15-5 record with 97 strikeouts and a 2.25earned run average in 160 innings pitched, leading the league both in wins and innings. During that season he formed part of a solid one-two rotation alongBob Gibson, who went 7-10 with a 2.54 ERA and topped the league with 134 strikeouts in 142 innings.[4]
In a 23-year career, Bracho had a 109-90 record and a 3.17 ERA in 370 pitching appearances (195starts), giving up 624 earned runs on 1626 hits and 618walks while striking out 859 in1,769+2⁄3 of work.[5]
In addition to his career in Venezuela, Bracho pitched in theTexas League with theSan Antonio Missions (1952) andHouston Buffaloes (1954), as well as for theToronto Maple Leafs (1952) andHavana Sugar Kings (1955-1956) of theInternational League. He registered a combined record of 18-19 and a 3.22 ERA in 71 games (40 starts).[1]
Bracho was very solid in sixCaribbean Series, while appearing in the1949,1951,1952,1953,1955 and1958 tournaments.
In 12 pitching appearances, he went 6–3 with a 2.15 ERA and five complete games in 71.0 innings of work. His six victories ties him withRubén Gómez andCamilo Pascual for the most all-time wins in the Series.
He was also a productive hitter, batting an average of .393 (11-for-28) andslugging .464, while scoring two runs with sixruns batted in.[6]
Bracho was inducted into theCaribbean Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001. Two years later, he gained induction into theVenezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum as part of their first class.[3]
Since the 1985–1986 season, the VPBL honors annually the best pitcher in the league with theCarrao Bracho Trophy.[7]
