Luis Enrique "Tite" Arroyo, (February 18, 1927 – January 13, 2016) was a Puerto Rican

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 ...

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, ...

from 1955 to 1963. Arroyo was the first Puerto Rican player to appear for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

and was a key part of their pennant winning seasons in and .Staff Writer (January 17, 2016
"Star reliever during Yankees magical 1961 season"
''The Washington Post'', page C7.

Baseball career

Arroyo, from Peñuelas, Puerto Rico, made his

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debut on April 20, 1955. A stocky left-hander, he spent one season primarily as a starter with the

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. Though he was a member of the

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team that year, he was traded to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

the next spring, where he was moved to the bullpen. Struggling to establish himself in the role, he went from the Pirates to the

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, then the

. Arroyo was the first to play for the Yankees, and despite his earlier struggles, he quickly became an important contributor to the club.

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hitters had little success against Arroyo's

screwball A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known ...

, and after a solid contribution at the back of their bullpen in 1960, he enjoyed the best season of his career in 1961. That year, Arroyo pitched 119 innings with a 2.19

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, while winning 15 games as the team's relief ace. His totals of 65 games pitched and 29 saves both led the league; he surrendered only five

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s in a season where league-wide offensive totals were very high by historical standards and was named to his second All-Star team while finishing sixth in AL

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voting.''Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero''; by David Maraniss; page 316; Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group; . He was named the Sporting News Reliever of the Year in 1961, for the American League. Arroyo's glory was, however, short-lived. He injured his arm the following spring; while he pitched for two more seasons, he never regained his prior effectiveness. Arroyo retired after appearing in only six innings in the 1963 season. Over the course of his MLB career, he pitched 531 innings with a 3.93 ERA, collecting 40 wins, 32 losses, and 44 saves. Following his retirement as a player, Arroyo became a

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and pitching coach for the Yankees.

Later life and death

On July 16, 2010, Arroyo was hospitalized after suffering a "mild heart attack"; he fell ill at an event leading up to the Yankees' July 17

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celebration, an annual event where Arroyo was a popular figure. Arroyo died on January 13, 2016, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The Yankees announced his death saying that Arroyo's daughter said he had been diagnosed with cancer in December 2015.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arroyo, Luis 1927 births 2016 deaths American League All-Stars Cincinnati Redlegs players Columbus Jets players Columbus Red Birds players Criollos de Caguas players Deaths from cancer in Puerto Rico Greensboro Patriots players Greenville Greenies players Havana Sugar Kings players Hollywood Stars players Houston Buffaloes players Jersey City Jerseys players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente pitchers Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Minor league baseball managers National League All-Stars New York Yankees players New York Yankees scouts Omaha Cardinals players People from Peñuelas, Puerto Rico Pittsburgh Pirates players Richmond Virginians (minor league) players Rochester Red Wings players St. Louis Cardinals players Senadores de San Juan players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Cuba

Baseball career

Later life and death

See also

References

External links