Highlighted Year: Jose “Coco” Laboy, 1969

Third Baseman, Montreal Expos

Age:  29 (July 4)

1^st season with Expos

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’10” Weight: 165 

Prior to 1969:

A native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Jose Laboy (who was nicknamed “Coco” in his youth) began playing baseball professionally with the Ponce Leones (Lions) at age 18 during the 1958-59 winter season. Signed by the San Francisco Giants in 1959, the young shortstop played for teams at the Class D and C levels in ’59 and batted a combined .280 with 23 doubles, 12 home runs, 61 RBIs, and a .358 on-base percentage. Following another winter season with Ponce, he returned to Fresno of the Class C California League (his second stop the previous year) and now playing regularly at second base hit .305 with 26 doubles, 6 triples, 10 home runs, 83 RBIs, and a .411 OBP in 1960. In 1961 Laboy advanced to Springfield of the Class A Eastern League and batted .311 with 15 doubles, 7 home runs, 46 RBIs, and a .369 OBP. A back injury during the 1962 season while playing for the El Paso Sun Kings of the Class AA Texas League limited him to 13 games and nearly ended his career. Released by the Giants after doctors advised him to quit baseball, Laboy instead signed a minor league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1963. He started the season with Tulsa in the Texas League but was soon sent down to the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the Class A Northern League where he hit .292 with 21 home runs, 77 RBIs, a .343 OBP, and a .508 slugging percentage. Another abortive stint with Tulsa in 1964 caused him to be sent back to Class A and Raleigh of the Carolina League where he hit .340 with 29 doubles, 24 home runs, 74 RBIs, a .443 OBP, and a .630 slugging percentage while displaying good strike zone recognition and the ability to hit to both left and right fields. An unfortunate situation occurred in August when, believing an opposing pitcher was throwing at him, he bunted down the first base line and when the pitcher came over to field the ball, Laboy chased after him with his bat, igniting an extended brawl. Arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, he pled guilty and was fined by a city judge. He was also suspended and fined by the league but was soon promoted to the Jacksonville Suns of the Class AAA International League where he finished the season. Despite the bat-wielding incident, Laboy still received several Carolina League honors and he was named as third baseman on the Class A All-Star team. After failing to make the Cardinals during the spring of 1965, Laboy returned to Jacksonville where he hit .278 with 21 doubles, 5 triples, 8 home runs, 44 RBIs, and a .320 OBP. Unable to stick with the Cardinals once again in 1966, he was assigned to Tulsa, now in the Class AAA Pacific Coast League where he batted .308 with 25 doubles, 16 home runs, 56 RBIs, a .388 OBP, and a .518 slugging percentage. Laboy spent 1967 and ’68 with Tulsa, batting .298 and .292 respectively, with 12 and 15 home runs, 54 and 100 RBIs, and OBPs of .352 and .343. With expansion in 1969, Laboy was selected by the Expos and became the starting third baseman following his long minor league trek.

1969 Season Summary

Appeared in 157 games

3B – 156, PH – 4

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 616

At Bats – 562

Runs – 53

Hits – 145

Doubles – 29 [11, tied with Joe Torre & Johnny Callison]

Triples – 1

Home Runs – 18

RBI – 83 [19, tied with Doug Rader]

Bases on Balls – 40

Int. BB – 2

Strikeouts – 96 [18]

Stolen Bases – 0

Caught Stealing – 2

Average - .258

OBP - .308

Slugging Pct. - .409

Total Bases – 230

GDP – 13

Hit by Pitches – 4

Sac Hits – 2

Sac Flies – 8 [5]

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 21, HR – 13, RBI – 49, AVG – .275, OBP - .322

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) at Philadelphia 4/17

Longest hitting streak – 11 games

Most HR, game – 1 on eighteen occasions

HR at home – 12

HR on road – 6

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 3 on six occasions

Pinch-hitting – 2 for 4 (.500) with 2 R, 2 2B & 3 RBI

Fielding

Chances – 447

Put Outs – 115

Assists – 307

Errors – 25

DP – 28

Pct. - .944

Awards & Honors:

2^nd in NL Rookie of the Year voting, tied with Al Oliver, Pitt. (3 votes, 13% share)

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In their inaugural season, the Expos went 52-110 to finish sixth (last) in the NL Eastern Division, 48 games behind the division-winning New York Mets while drawing 1,212,608 fans to little Jarry Park (Parc Jarry). The Expos were 7-13 at the end of April, despite a no-hitter by RHP Bill Stoneman. Typically, they were pitching challenged, unable to make the most of the power displayed by outfielders Rusty Staub and Mack Jones, plus the surprising rookie Laboy. They settled into the NL East cellar and were at their best during an 11-15 September.

Aftermath of 1969:

Laboy got off to a slow start in 1970 and was benched for a time before reclaiming his spot in the lineup. He remained streaky for the remainder of the season, batting a lowly .199 with 26 doubles, 5 home runs, 53 RBIs, and a .254 OBP. In 1971 he lost his starting job to Bob Bailey and hit .252 in a backup role. Laboy played two more seasons for the Expos with increasingly diminishing returns and spent part of 1973 back in the minors. For his major league career which was spent entirely with Montreal, he batted .233 with 291 hits that included 62 doubles, 2 triples, and 28 home runs. He scored 108 runs and compiled 166 RBIs, a .289 OBP, and a .354 slugging percentage. Following his major league career, he continued to play winter ball in Puerto Rico until 1975. He had routinely played in the Puerto Rican Winter League throughout his professional career and went on to coach and manage in the league. His long minor league apprenticeship led to one good major league season with the expansion Expos.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.