Vic Davalillo [da-va-LEEL-lyo], born Víctor José Davalillo Romero (July 31, 1936 in Cabimas, Zulia State, Venezuela), is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians (1963-1968), California Angels (1968-69), St. Louis Cardinals (1969-70), Pittsburgh Pirates (1971-73), Oakland Athletics (1973-74) and Los Angeles Dodgers (1977-80). Davalillo batted and threw left-handed. He is the eldest brother of former bigleaguer Pompeyo Davalillo.

In a 16-season career, Davalillo was a .279 hitter (1122-for-4017) with 36 home runs, 329 RBI, 509 runs, 160 doubles, 37 triples, and 125 stolen bases in 1,458 games.

Davalillo was noted for his ability to get on base and his speed in centerfield. He was a fan favorite during his years with the Indians, and became a valuable role player later in his career.

Highlights

• All-Star (1965)
• Gold Glove (1964)
• One of only three American League hitters that reached the .300 plateau in 1965 (Tony Oliva, .321 - Carl Yastrzemski, .312 - Davalillo .301).
• Four-time oldest player in MLB (1977-80; 40-43)

Facts

• Davalillo won the first batting title in the Double-A Jacksonville Suns history (.346, 1962).

• A lifetime .300 hitter in the Mexican League, Davalillo was the league's top hitter at .384 in 1977.

• Between 1957 and 1987, Davalillo played in the Venezuelan Winter League for the Leones del Caracas (1957-74, 1987), Portuguesa (1975) and Tigres de Aragua (1976-85). He set lifetime league records that still stand in batting average (.325), hits (1505), games played (1280), at-bat (4633), runs (668), doubles (196) and career seasons (30). Beside this, he won four batting titles and set record in hits (100) in a season. Davalillo retired at 50 years of age.

See also

• Players from Venezuela in MLB

External links

• Vic Davalillo at:
  • Baseball Library
  • Baseball Reference