Putsy Caballero was born on Saturday, November 5, 1927, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Caballero was 16 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 14, 1944, with the Philadelphia Phillies. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Putsy Caballero baseball stats page.
"Throwing at hitters was part of the game. It you hit a home run, you knew the next time up, you'd be brushed back or the next batter would be, but not to be hit. That was baseball. Everybody brushed somebody back. I've seen guys lean over the plate, and the next pitch was at his chin. I remember Puddin' Head Jones hitting a home run against Pittsburgh and the pitcher saying to the next batter, (Granny) Hamner, 'All right, let's see you hit a home run. I'm going to stick it in your year.' And that's what he did. The bat went one way and Hamner hit the ground. The umpire said nothing. Now if you do that, they want to start a free-for-all." - Putsy Caballero in They Played the Game: Memories from 47 Major Leaguers (Norman L. Macht, University of Nebraska Press, 04/01/2019, Ralph "Putsy" Caballero, Page 49)
Putsy CaballeroPutsy Caballero Autograph on a 2009 Diamond Signatures Baseball Card |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Putsy CaballeroPutsy Caballero Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
- | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
Putsy CaballeroPutsy Caballero Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1944 | 17 | Phillies | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1945 | 18 | Phillies | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
1947 | 20 | Phillies | 2 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .143 | .250 | .143 |
1948 | 21 | Phillies | 113 | 351 | 33 | 86 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 24 | 0 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 9 | .245 | .292 | .285 |
1949 | 22 | Phillies | 29 | 68 | 8 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .279 | .279 | .324 |
1950 | 23 | Phillies | 46 | 24 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .231 | .167 |
1951 | 24 | Phillies | 84 | 161 | 15 | 30 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 12 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | .186 | .241 | .248 |
1952 | 25 | Phillies | 35 | 42 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .238 | .273 | .310 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
8 Years | 322 | 658 | 81 | 150 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 41 | 0 | 34 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 22 | .228 | .272 | .274 |
Putsy CaballeroPutsy Caballero Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1944 Phillies | 3B | 2 | 0 | 12 | 9 | 4.5 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .889 | 18.00 |
1945 Phillies | 3B | 5 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 1.4 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .857 | 13.50 |
1947 Phillies | 2B | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 4.0 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 24.00 |
1947 Phillies | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 0.00 |
1948 Phillies | 2B | 23 | 19 | 471 | 101 | 4.4 | 93 | 40 | 53 | 8 | 9 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .921 | 5.33 |
1948 Phillies | 3B | 79 | 73 | 1,668 | 262 | 3.3 | 252 | 105 | 147 | 10 | 14 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .962 | 4.08 |
1949 Phillies | 2B | 21 | 15 | 341 | 104 | 5.0 | 102 | 58 | 44 | 2 | 12 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .981 | 8.08 |
1949 Phillies | SS | 1 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 6.0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 27.00 |
1950 Phillies | 2B | 5 | 3 | 81 | 20 | 4.0 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .950 | 6.33 |
1950 Phillies | 3B | 4 | 0 | 36 | 2 | 0.5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.50 |
1950 Phillies | SS | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 3.00 |
1951 Phillies | 2B | 54 | 43 | 1,198 | 261 | 4.8 | 257 | 133 | 124 | 4 | 37 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .985 | 5.79 |
1951 Phillies | 3B | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1951 Phillies | SS | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1952 Phillies | 2B | 7 | 0 | 59 | 13 | 1.9 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .923 | 5.49 |
1952 Phillies | 3B | 7 | 4 | 144 | 17 | 2.4 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 3.19 |
1952 Phillies | SS | 8 | 3 | 138 | 21 | 2.6 | 18 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .857 | 3.52 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
2B Totals | 112 | 82 | 2,159 | 507 | 4.5 | 491 | 255 | 236 | 16 | 63 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .968 | 6.14 | |
3B Totals | 101 | 77 | 1,884 | 298 | 3.0 | 286 | 122 | 164 | 12 | 15 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .960 | 4.10 | |
SS Totals | 12 | 3 | 159 | 28 | 2.3 | 25 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .893 | 4.25 | |
8 Years | 225 | 162 | 4,202 | 833 | 3.7 | 802 | 387 | 415 | 31 | 82 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .963 | 5.15 |
Putsy CaballeroPutsy Caballero Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1944 Phillies | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 2 | n/a | 0.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | - | - | - |
1945 Phillies | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 4 | n/a | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | - | - | - |
1947 Phillies | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | - | - | - |
1948 Phillies | 7 | 3 | .700 | 11 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 19.5 | 18.5 | - | - | - |
1949 Phillies | 0 | 0 | .000 | 4 | 6 | n/a | 0.0 | 22.7 | 22.7 | - | - | - |
1950 Phillies | 1 | 1 | .500 | 7 | 30 | n/a | 0.0 | 12.0 | 0.0 | - | - | - |
1951 Phillies | 1 | 2 | .333 | 3 | 26 | n/a | 161.0 | 23.0 | 14.6 | - | - | - |
1952 Phillies | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 13 | n/a | 0.0 | 14.0 | 7.0 | - | - | - |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
8 Years | 10 | 6 | .625 | 26 | 81 | n/a | 658.0 | 19.4 | 16.5 | - | - | - |
Putsy CaballeroPutsy Caballero Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1944 Philadelphia Phillies | 20 | $3,000.00 | - | - |
1945 Philadelphia Phillies | 28 | $3,000.00 | n/a | - |
1947 Philadelphia Phillies | 27 | $3,000.00 | - | - |
1948 Philadelphia Phillies | 27, 2 | $4,200.00 | - | - |
1949 Philadelphia Phillies | 9 | $4,200.00 | - | - |
1950 Philadelphia Phillies | 3 | $5,750.00 | - | Stats |
1951 Philadelphia Phillies | 3 | $6,500.00 | - | - |
1952 Philadelphia Phillies | 3 | $7,000.00 | - | - |
Putsy Caballero Stats by Baseball Almanac |
Ralph Joseph Caballero was a Major League Baseball player with the Philadelphia Phillies (1944-1945, 1947-1952), during the Whiz Kids era. Putsy, his nickname, is the youngest person in big league history to take the field in a regular season game at third base!
Putsy Caballero Photograph | Brace PhotoBaseball Almanac Research Library
When Putsy Caballero made his Major League debut with the Philadelphia Phillies on September 14, 1944, he was the thirty-second teenager (16 through 19) to play one-or-more games for the Phils. Besides Putsy, only two others from that set were just sixteen when they made it to the show, Piggy Ward (1883) and Roger McKee (1943).
Baseball Almanac asked him (January 2008), "Can you let us know how you got your nickname?" He wrote back, "I really can't tell you where it specifically came from. I grew up in New Orleans, and every kid had a nickname. I mean every kid. My brothers were nicknamed Rainbow and Money, mine was Putsy."
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