Zoilo Versalles
[edit] Biography
Zoilo Casanova Versalles Rodriguez (December 18, 1939 - June 9, 1995) was a Cuban shortstop in Major League Baseball, considered to be a great fielder, solid leadoff man, and a brilliant baserunner. He was the sparkplug that led the 1965 Twins to their first World Series. He was voted the American League Most Valuable Player in 1965. He had a hard time adjusting to life in the U.S; he was eternally homesick for his native Cuba. In 1967 he was traded by Minnesota and that led to his decline as a major talent. He went from team to team until he formally retired in 1972. He was born in El Vedado, Cuba and died in 1995 in Bloomington, Minnesota.
He played for the Minnesota Twins from 1961-1967, the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1968, the Cleveland Indians and Washington Senators in 1969, and the Atlanta Braves in 1971. He led the Twins to their first-ever World Series against the Dodgers and was the AL MVP in 1965. He led the American League in at-bats, runs scored, doubles and triples. He had a batting average of .252 during his six years with the Twins. Bill James points out that Versalles' MVP season makes him the player with the fewest career win shares (134) to win an MVP award.[1] He had 1,046 hits, scored 564 runs, had 86 homers, 401 RBI's, and stole 84 bases in a total of 1,065 games. He was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2006.
[edit] Statistics
[edit] Batting Stats
| 1959
| WAS
| A
| 29
| 59
| 4
| 9
| 1
| 1
| .153
| .219
| .203
| 0
| 0
| 4
| 15
| 1
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 0
|
| 1960
| WAS
| A
| 15
| 45
| 2
| 6
| 0
| 4
| .133
| .170
| .267
| 2
| 2
| 2
| 5
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
|
| 1961
| MIN
| A
| 129
| 510
| 65
| 143
| 7
| 53
| .280
| .314
| .390
| 25
| 5
| 25
| 61
| 1
| 4
| 16
| 2
| 8
|
| 1962
| MIN
| A
| 160
| 568
| 69
| 137
| 17
| 67
| .241
| .287
| .373
| 18
| 3
| 37
| 71
| 2
| 10
| 5
| 8
| 13
|
| 1963
| MIN
| A
| 159
| 621
| 74
| 162
| 10
| 54
| .261
| .303
| .401
| 31
| 13
| 33
| 66
| 5
| 7
| 7
| 2
| 11
|
| 1964
| MIN
| A
| 160
| 659
| 94
| 171
| 20
| 64
| .259
| .311
| .431
| 33
| 10
| 42
| 88
| 8
| 7
| 14
| 1
| 5
|
| 1965
| MIN
| A
| 160
| 666
| 126
| 182
| 19
| 77
| .273
| .319
| .462
| 45
| 12
| 41
| 122
| 7
| 6
| 27
| 3
| 7
|
| 1966
| MIN
| A
| 137
| 543
| 73
| 135
| 7
| 36
| .249
| .307
| .346
| 20
| 6
| 40
| 85
| 7
| 3
| 10
| 2
| 11
|
| 1967
| MIN
| A
| 160
| 581
| 63
| 116
| 6
| 50
| .200
| .249
| .282
| 16
| 7
| 33
| 113
| 6
| 3
| 5
| 2
| 15
|
| 1968
| LA
| N
| 122
| 403
| 29
| 79
| 2
| 24
| .196
| .244
| .266
| 16
| 3
| 26
| 84
| 0
| 6
| 6
| 4
| 7
|
| 1969
| WAS
| A
| 31
| 75
| 9
| 20
| 0
| 6
| .267
| .304
| .320
| 2
| 1
| 3
| 13
| 1
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 1
|
| 1969
| CLE
| A
| 72
| 217
| 21
| 49
| 1
| 13
| .226
| .298
| .300
| 11
| 1
| 21
| 47
| 2
| 0
| 3
| 1
| 7
|
| 1969
| TOT
| A
| 103
| 292
| 30
| 69
| 1
| 19
| .236
| .299
| .305
| 13
| 2
| 24
| 60
| 3
| 0
| 4
| 1
| 8
|
| 1971
| ATL
| N
| 66
| 194
| 21
| 37
| 5
| 22
| .191
| .233
| .325
| 11
| 0
| 11
| 40
| 0
| 4
| 2
| 1
| 7
|
| Total
| NL
|
| 188
| 597
| 50
| 116
| 7
| 46
| .194
| .241
| .285
| 27
| 3
| 37
| 124
| 0
| 10
| 8
| 5
| 14
|
| Total
| AL
|
| 1212
| 4544
| 600
| 1130
| 88
| 425
| .249
| .297
| .378
| 203
| 60
| 281
| 686
| 40
| 40
| 89
| 21
| 78
|
| Total
|
|
| 1400
| 5141
| 650
| 1246
| 95
| 471
| .242
| .290
| .367
| 230
| 63
| 318
| 810
| 40
| 50
| 97
| 26
| 92
|
[edit] Fielding Stats
| 1959
| WAS
| A
| SS
| 29
| 19
| 161.1
| 41
| 59
| 6
| 13
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .943
|
| 1960
| WAS
| A
| SS
| 15
| 15
| 117
| 30
| 42
| 5
| 6
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .935
|
| 1961
| MIN
| A
| SS
| 129
| 126
| 1091.2
| 229
| 371
| 30
| 74
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .952
|
| 1962
| MIN
| A
| SS
| 160
| 157
| 1400.1
| 335
| 501
| 26
| 127
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .970
|
| 1963
| MIN
| A
| SS
| 159
| 157
| 1410.1
| 301
| 448
| 30
| 87
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .961
|
| 1964
| MIN
| A
| SS
| 160
| 158
| 1424
| 271
| 427
| 31
| 89
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .957
|
| 1965
| MIN
| A
| SS
| 160
| 158
| 1406.1
| 248
| 487
| 39
| 105
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .950
|
| 1966
| MIN
| A
| SS
| 135
| 135
| 1176.2
| 195
| 377
| 35
| 69
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .942
|
| 1967
| MIN
| A
| SS
| 159
| 152
| 1348
| 229
| 454
| 30
| 81
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .958
|
| 1968
| LA
| N
| SS
| 119
| 116
| 1008.2
| 204
| 380
| 28
| 62
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .954
|
| 1969
| WAS
| A
| 2B
| 6
| 4
| 32
| 9
| 11
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 1.000
|
| 1969
| WAS
| A
| 3B
| 5
| 2
| 32.1
| 1
| 10
| 2
| 1
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .846
|
| 1969
| WAS
| A
| SS
| 13
| 9
| 87
| 10
| 33
| 3
| 2
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .935
|
| 1969
| CLE
| A
| SS
| 3
| 2
| 22.2
| 1
| 6
| 0
| 1
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 1.000
|
| 1969
| CLE
| A
| 2B
| 47
| 37
| 309
| 72
| 83
| 4
| 16
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .975
|
| 1969
| CLE
| A
| 3B
| 30
| 20
| 194.1
| 28
| 42
| 2
| 8
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .972
|
| 1969
| TOT
| A
| 3B
| 35
| 22
| 226.2
| 29
| 52
| 4
| 9
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .953
|
| 1969
| TOT
| A
| SS
| 16
| 11
| 109.2
| 11
| 39
| 3
| 3
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .943
|
| 1969
| TOT
| A
| 2B
| 53
| 41
| 341
| 81
| 94
| 4
| 17
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .978
|
| 1971
| ATL
| N
| SS
| 24
| 23
| 198.2
| 32
| 60
| 5
| 11
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .948
|
| 1971
| ATL
| N
| 2B
| 1
| 1
| 9
| 2
| 2
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 1.000
|
| 1971
| ATL
| N
| 3B
| 30
| 29
| 248.1
| 29
| 45
| 8
| 2
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .902
|
| Total
|
|
| 3B
| 65
| 51
| 475
| 58
| 97
| 12
| 11
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .928
|
| Total
|
|
| SS
| 1265
| 1227
| 10852.2
| 2126
| 3645
| 268
| 727
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .956
|
| Total
|
|
| 2B
| 54
| 42
| 350
| 83
| 96
| 4
| 17
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| 0
| .978
|
[edit] Transactions
- Signed as an amateur free agent by Washington Senators (1958).
- Traded by Minnesota Twins with Mudcat Grant to Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for John Roseboro, Ron Perranoski and Bob Miller (November 28, 1967).
- Selected by San Diego Padres from Los Angeles Dodgers (20th pick overall) in the expansion draft (October 14, 1968).
- Traded by San Diego Padres to Cleveland Indians (December 2, 1968) completing trade in which Cleveland Indians traded Bill Davis to San Diego Padres in exchange for a player to be named later (October 21, 1968).
- Sold by Cleveland Indians to Washington Senators (July 26, 1969).
- Released by Washington Senators (April 6, 1970).
- Released by Atlanta Braves (December 21, 1971).
[edit] Trivia
[edit] Video Gallery
Add Videos
[edit] Picture Gallery
Add Pictures
[edit] See Also
[edit] Categories