Francisco Manuel Carlos Guzmán (born September 17, 1940), best known as Cisco Carlos, is an American former professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
. He played from 1967 through 1970 for the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
and
Washington Senators of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB). Listed at 6' 3", 205 lb., Carlos batted and threw right handed. He was born in
Monrovia, California
Monrovia is a city in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Monrovia is the fourth-oldest General-law municipality, general-law city in Los Angeles County and the L ...
, of Mexican American descent.
Amateur career
Carlos was a pitcher for the
University of Northern Colorado
The University of Northern Colorado (UNCO or UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado, United States. It was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education.
The institution has offi ...
team that participated in the
1960 College World Series
The 1960 NCAA University Division baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1960 NCAA University Division baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the C ...
. He was signed by the White Sox as an amateur free agent in 1961 and spent the next six seasons in their
farm system
In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...
. After posting a 15–8 record in Double-A in and an 11–8 record with a 2.63
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
in Triple A in , Carlos was called up to the Majors in late August.
Professional career
That year, the White Sox were involved in a four-way
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
pennant race with the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
,
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
and
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...
. The White Sox were eliminated from the race in the final days of the season, but not before Carlos won two games to keep them in contention. On September 10 he defeated the Tigers 4–0 in the second game of a
doubleheader at
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was a ballpark in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-south side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Built by Wh ...
, allowing four hits in six innings; the game came hours after
Joe Horlen
Joel Edward Horlen (August 14, 1937 – April 10, 2022) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1961 to 1972 for the Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. In references, he is called Joe Ho ...
's
no-hitter
In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...
over the Tigers in the first game. Four days later, Carlos
shut out Shut Out may refer to:
* Shutout
In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable ...
the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...
4–0 in ten innings, the ChiSox winning the game on
Don Buford
Donald Alvin Buford (born February 2, 1937) is an American former professional baseball player scout, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from through , most notably as the leadoff hitter for the Baltimore Orio ...
's
grand slam
Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games
Athletics
* Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league
Auto racing
* ...
in the bottom of the tenth.
Carlos was featured along with future
Hall-of-Famer Johnny Bench
Johnny Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from to , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of the ...
on the front cover of
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
as one of "The Best Rookies of .
However, in this, the "
1968 Major League Baseball season, Year of the Pitcher", he posted a 4–14 record with a 3.90 earned run average—almost a full run above the league average of 2.98. Carlos pitched mostly in relief in and, after posting a 4–3 record with a 5.66 ERA, was purchased by the Washington Senators on August 25, two years to the day of his Major League debut.
After pitching in five games in , Carlos was sent to the minors and spent the rest of his professional career there. He posted a 13–9 record with the Senators' Triple A club, the
Denver Bears
Denver ( ) is a consolidated city and county, the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains east of th ...
of the
American Association. He posted a 14–20 record over the next two years and retired after pitching in the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
farm system in (the Bears, for whom Carlos pitched at the beginning of the season, were now the Astros' Triple A affiliate).
In his MLB career, Carlos posted an 11–18 record with 119 strikeouts and a 3.72 ERA in 237 innings.
Personal
Following his baseball retirement, Carlos founded Cabinets by Design, a family owned kitchen, bath and storage design and renovation firm located at
Phoenix and
Scottsdale in
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, which has provided its services for more than 25 years.
Cabinets by Design
/ref>
References
External links
, o
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlos, Cisco
1940 births
Living people
American baseball players of Mexican descent
American expatriate baseball players in Mexico
American interior designers
Baseball players from Monrovia, California
Chicago White Sox players
Citrus Owls baseball players
Clinton C-Sox players
Colorado State Rams baseball players
Columbus Astros players
Denver Bears players
Eugene Emeralds players
Evansville White Sox players
Harlan Smokies players
Idaho Falls Russets players
Indianapolis Indians players
Lynchburg White Sox players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Mexican League baseball pitchers
Navegantes del Magallanes players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Northern Colorado Bears baseball players
Sultanes de Monterrey players
Tucson Toros players
Visalia White Sox players
Washington Senators (1961–1971) players
20th-century American sportsmen