Osvaldo José Virgil Pichardo (May 17, 1932 – September 29, 2024) was a Dominican professional baseball player and coach. He was the first person from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

to play in

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) post-integration, appearing in 324 MLB games between 1956 and 1969 as a

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, basketball, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water ...

for the New York / San Francisco Giants,

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 ...

Kansas City Athletics The Kansas City Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1955 to 1967, having previously played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Athletics. After moving in 1967, the team became the ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

, and 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 ...

. Frequently a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

, Virgil played every position except

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, ...

and center field. He batted and threw right-handed, was tall and weighed .

Early life

Virgil was born in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic on May 17, 1932. His family emigrated to the United States when he was 13 and settled in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, where Virgil graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School. He served in the

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

from 1950 to 1952.

Career

Virgil began his 17-season professional playing career in 1953. He made his MLB debut for the New York Giants on September 23, 1956; he became the first person born in the Dominican Republic to play in

(though

Negro league The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

pitcher Pedro San is now recognized as the first Dominican to play in any major league).. He batted 5-for-12 (.417) in three games for the Giants in 1956. On January 28, 1958, the Giants traded Virgil and Gail Harris to the

for Jim Finigan and $25,000. In 1960, Virgil played at third base,

second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...

and the outfield under manager Charlie Metro with the Denver Bears in Triple-A. He was batting .381 with 55

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBIs) in 59 games when he was promoted to Detroit. "I was crazy about him. He did everything well", said Metro. Virgil made his debut with Detroit on June 6, 1958. He was called the first black player for the Tigers, one of the last teams to break the color barrier, though in reality he was their first Latino. Later, in his

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

debut, he batted second in the lineup and went 5-for-5. The Briggs Stadium crowd gave him a standing ovation that he said he never forgot. After moving to the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

, Metro wanted to draft Virgil as a player-coach out of the Giants organization, where he was playing in Triple-A. According to Metro, after Giant scout Tom Sheehan overheard his interest, the team promoted Virgil to the major leagues to protect him. Virgil played in one game for the Giants in June 1969, ending his career. In a nine-season big-league career, he posted a .231 batting average with 174 hits, 14 home runs and 73 RBI. After his playing career, Virgil spent 19 seasons as a coach for the Giants (1969–1972; 1974–1975);

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

(1976–1981);

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

(1982–1985); and

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

(1986–1988). From 1977 to 1988, he served as the third-base coach on the staff of Baseball Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams. They won the NL pennant with the Padres in 1984, and Virgil was the NL third-base coach at the 1985 All-Star Game.

Personal life

Virgil's son, Ozzie Jr., played as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

in all or parts of 11 MLB seasons and was a two-time NL All-Star. He played with his father in the 1985 All-Star Game, when he had a two-run single in the NL's win. Osvaldo Virgil National Airport opened in 2006 in the Monte Cristi Province. Virgil died from

pancreatitis Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormone A hormone (from the Ancient Greek, Greek participle , "se ...

at his home in Monte Cristi on September 29, 2024. He was 92.

Notes

References

External links