Camilo Pascual
| Camilo Pascual | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | |||
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Born: January 20, 1934 Havana, Cuba |
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 15, 1954, for the Washington Senators | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| May 5, 1971, for the Cleveland Indians | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 174–170 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.63 | ||
| Strikeouts | 2,167 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
Camilo Alberto Pascual Lus (born January 20, 1934) is a Cuban former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. During an 18-year baseball career (1954–71), he played for the Washington Senators (which became the Minnesota Twins in 1961), the second Washington Senators franchise, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Cleveland Indians. He was also known by the nicknames "Camile" and "Little Potato."
Pascual's best pitches were his fastball and devastating overhand curveball, described by Ted Williams as the "most feared curveball in the American League for 18 years". His curveball has been rated in the top 10 of all-time. Over his career, he compiled 174 wins, 2,167 strikeouts, and a 3.63 earned run average. He was elected to the American League All-Star team 5 times (from 1959 to 1962, and in 1964). In the second 1961 All-Star Game, he pitched three hitless innings and struck out four.
As a 17-year-old, Pascual left Havana and spent the 1951 season as a minor league free agent pitching for the Class-D Chickasha Chiefs in the Oklahoma Sooner State League and two Class-C teams, the Big Spring Broncs in the Longhorn League and Geneva Robins in the New York Border League. The latter team was made up largely of Cuban players signed by Washington Senator's scout Joe Cambria including future Minnesota Twins teammate Julio Becquer. Pascual would finish the season with a combined record of 5–4 with a 4.64 ERA and 46 walks in 64 innings. Despite his less than overwhelming stats, the 18-year-old Pascual was signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent prior to the start of the 1952 season. Pascual would spend the 1952 season in Class-B pitching for the Havana Cubans and the Tampa Smokers in the Florida International League, improving to an 8–6 record with a 2.88 ERA and only 66 walks in 122 innings over 24 games. He would be back at Havana for the entire 1953 season and would compile similar stats as the year before (10-6, 3.00 ERA, 68 walks, 141 Inn in 25 games). Following the season, he would play for his hometown Elefantes de Cienfuegos competing for the Caribbean World Series. He would continue to play for Cienfuegos or Tigres de Marianao until Fidel Castro closed the country in 1961.
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