Go Go Little Louie
GO GO LITTLE LOUIE
One of my favorite baseball players when I was growing up was Luis Aparicio. " Little Louie " was born in Venezuela in 1934. This fine shortstop was only a middleweight by boxing standards but in baseball he was a true heavyweight.
Luis was signed by the Chicago White Sox in 1954 and hit the Majors with the Sox in 1956. He was a slick fielder and a speed demon on the base paths. He played in 152 games in his initial year. Luis stole over 20 bases in each of his first three seasons.
In 1959 Aparicio had his breakout year. He was an integral part of leading the Al Lopez led Sox to the American League pennant. The 59 Sox were about pitching and speed and Louie paced the " Go Go Sox " with 56 stolen bases. The Sox would lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series but Aparicio had established himself as a force to be reckoned with.
Luis would steal over fifty bases in seasons 1960 and 1961. In 1963 the White Sox surprisingly traded Aparicio and Al Smith to the Baltimore Orioles for third base prospect Pete Ward, the great reliever Hoyt Wilhelm, shortstop Ron Hansen and Dave Nicholson. Luis was a valuable member of the great 1966 Oriole team.
In 1968 he was dealt back to the White Sox where he spent the next three seasons. Luis went on to spend three seasons with the Boston Red Sox ending his career in 1973 after eighteen years.
Aparicio came to the plate over 10,000 times in 2,601 games. He ended his career with 506 stolen bases and in the late 50's and early 60's he was the premier base thief in the American League.
Luis Aparicio was inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame in 1984. He's right where he belongs.
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Go Go Little Louie
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