Chico Carrasquel, 77; Was 1st Latino to Start in a Major League All-Star Game

Former Chicago White Sox shortstop Chico Carrasquel, the first Latino player to start in a major league baseball All-Star game, died Thursday of cardiac arrest en route to a hospital in Caracas, Venezuela, according to a hospital spokesman. Carrasquel was 77.

A native of Caracas, Carrasquel had been in failing health battling diabetes for several years.

“Venezuela lost one of its heroes today,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said in a statement. “As the first great Venezuelan shortstop, Chico helped put our country on the baseball map. I am honored and proud to have known him as a friend and will miss seeing him in my office each day at the ballpark. He was such a great friend, person and role model for young players.”

Carrasquel was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949. But the Dodgers had Pee Wee Reese at shortstop, and general manager Branch Rickey sold Carrasquel’s contract to the Chicago White Sox before the 1950 season for $35,000.

Carrasquel played in the majors from 1950 to 1959 and was a four-time All-Star with the White Sox.

A nifty fielder, he teamed with Nellie Fox in Chicago to form one of baseball’s best double-play combinations.

In 1951, he started at shortstop for the American League in the All-Star game at Detroit and singled in his first at-bat off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Robin Roberts.

Carrasquel hit .258 lifetime with 55 home runs and 474 RBIs. He was traded by the White Sox after the 1955 season to the Cleveland Indians in a deal for Larry Doby.

He later played for the Kansas City Athletics and Baltimore Orioles.

Alfonso “Chico” Carrasquel was the third Venezuelan player in the majors.

He took over for Luke Appling as Chicago’s shortstop in 1950. He had a 24-game hitting streak as a rookie. When he was traded to the Indians, it was to make room for another future Hall of Famer, Luis Aparicio.

Last year, before Guillen’s first home game as manager of the White Sox, three star Venezuelan shortstops threw out ceremonial first balls: Carrasquel, Aparicio and Guillen.

Carrasquel spent several seasons doing Spanish-language telecasts of White Sox games. He also worked in the team’s community relations department for several years.

In the early ‘90s, he lost much of his baseball memorabilia in a fire that destroyed his Chicago home. In 2003, he sustained minor injuries when he was beaten during a carjacking in Venezuela.

Information on survivors was not immediately available.