Former Twins outfielder Sandy Valdespino dies at age 84

Hilario "Sandy" Valdespino, whose best major league baseball season came when the Twins went to the World Series in 1965, died Sunday in Moultrie, Ga. He was 84.

A native of Cuba, Valdespino signed with the Washington Senators in 1957 and played in the Senators — and then Twins — farm system until 1965. He won the International League batting title in 1964 with the Atlanta Crackers, earning a promotion to the big leagues the following season.

With the American League champions, he hit .261 in 108 games as a reserve outfielder and went 3-for-11 in the World Series as the Twins lost in seven games to the Dodgers.

Valdespino and Twins outfielder Tony Oliva were the same age, but Sandy grew up near Havana and started in the minors at age 18. Oliva lived way out in the country and was 22 when he came to the States and was given a chance in the Twins' low minors in 1961.

"We wound up as road roommates in Triple-A with Dallas-Fort Worth in 1963,'' Oliva said. "That was a lot of fun. The Minnesota fans loved Sandy because they thought he was so happy playing baseball, and they were right.

"The guy people watched in the outfield, at the plate, running the bases, with the smile and the energy, that was Sandy.''

Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Kaat and Valdespino were both in a second pro season in Class C ball in Missoula, Mont., in 1958.

"We rented a room in a house … I think it was 16 bucks a week,'' Kaat said. "I was 6-foot-5 and white as snow, and Sandy was 5-foot-6 and a black guy in Montana 65 years ago. We made quite the pair strolling down the streets of Missoula.

"We were joined at the hip that summer. I never saw Sandy have a bad moment, personality-wise.''

Kaat laughed as he told stories over the phone:

"They had prizes for the home players at the ballpark. Sandy was our leadoff hitter, and if you scored the first run in a game, you'd get a Stockman's pizza. And if a pitcher a struck out 10, you'd get two sundaes at the Dairy Queen.

"Both free pizza and a trip to the Dairy Queen on the same night … that was the goal for Sandy and me that summer.''

Valdespino was nicknamed "Sandy" by a minor-league manager who thought he resembled Dodgers star Sandy Amorós.

In an interview with the Society for American Baseball research, Valdespino said he went to work in an iron pipe factory in his hometown of San José de las Lajas, Cuba, at age 9 after his father died.

"My brother worked as a shoemaker. My mother did washing. I went to school in the morning, worked in the afternoon, and played baseball after work," he told SABR. "But I never felt bad about having to work. And my mother was always happy."

Valdespino also played for Atlanta, Houston, Milwaukee, Kansas City and the Seattle Pilots in his 382-game major-league career. He played 1,446 minor league games before finishing his career in the Mexican League in 1974.

He is survived by his wife, Esperanza, and a daughter.