Highlighted Year: Camilo Pascual, 1961

Pitcher, Minnesota Twins

Age:  27

8^th season with Senators/Twins

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’11” Weight: 170 

Prior to 1961:

A native of Havana, Cuba, Pascual and his brother played sandlot baseball in his youth until joining the amateur Club Ferroviario as a teenager. At 18 he went professional in the Cuban winter league with Mariano for the 1952-53 season until traded to the Cienfuegos Elephants in a much-maligned deal because Pascual proved to be an outstanding pitching talent with his excellent curve. He became the ace of the Cienfuegos staff and would continue to pitch there over the coming winters with outstanding results, especially in combination with RHP Pedro Ramos, who also was a teammate in America. Having already seen action in the Border and Sooner State Leagues in 1951 due to having signed with the Washington Senators, he also pitched with Tampa and Havana in the Class B Florida International League in 1952 and ’53. Moving up to the Senators in 1954, the 20-year-old was primarily utilized out of the bullpen and posted a 4-7 record with a 4.22 ERA, 3 saves, and 60 strikeouts over 119.1 innings pitched for the sixth-place club. Used more as a starter in 1955 (16 starts in 43 appearances), his tally slipped to 2-12 with a miserable 6.14 ERA and 82 strikeouts over 129 innings. With his command of his fastball and formidable curve improving in 1956 Pascual started in 27 of his 39 appearances and went 6-18 for the lowly Senators with a 5.87 ERA, 6 complete games, and 162 strikeouts over 188.2 innings. He also surrendered a league-leading 33 home runs. Suffering from lack of run support in 1957, Pascual finished at 8-17 with a 4.10 ERA, 8 complete games, and 113 strikeouts over 175.2 innings. He also wore down during the season’s second half, causing him to forego winter league pitching in the offseason. Pascual continued his development in 1958 with an 8-12 tally, 3.15 ERA, and 146 strikeouts over 177.1 innings. Pascual enjoyed a breakout season in 1959, posting a 17-10 record while leading the AL in complete games (17) and shutouts (6). His ERA was 2.64 and he recorded 185 strikeouts while accumulating 238.2 innings. In addition to being an All-Star for the first time, he placed nineteenth in league MVP voting and was also the circuit’s best hitting pitcher as he batted .302. In 1960, a midseason shoulder injury cost him about a month of action, but he still was an All-Star who managed a 12-8 tally and 3.03 ERA with 143 strikeouts over 151.2 innings. The franchise moved and became the Minnesota Twins in 1961.

1961 Season Summary

Appeared in 35 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 35

Games Started – 33 [12, tied with Jack Kralick]

Complete Games – 15 [2]

Wins – 15 [6, tied with five others]

Losses – 16 [6, tied with Gary Bell]

PCT - .484

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 8 [1, tied with Steve Barber]

Innings Pitched – 252.1 [5]

Hits – 205 [18, tied with Jack Fisher]

Runs – 114 [11, tied with Ken McBride]

Earned Runs – 97 [13, tied with Jack Kralick]

Home Runs – 26 [9, tied with Eli Grba]

Bases on Balls – 100 [7, tied with Gary Bell & Bill Monbouquette]

Strikeouts – 221 [1]

ERA – 3.46 [16]

Hit Batters – 3

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 7 [14, tied with Milt Pappas, Ryne Duren & John Gabler]

League-leading strikeouts were +12 ahead of runner-up Whitey Ford

Midseason Snapshot: 7-11, ERA – 3.75, SO – 108 in 132 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 15 (in 9 IP) at LA Angels 7/19

10+ strikeout games – 5

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 2 (in 9 IP) at Chi. White Sox 8/23, (in 9 IP) vs. Washington 9/23

Batting

PA – 95, AB – 85, R – 4, H – 14, 2B – 3, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 4, BB – 5, SO – 15, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .165, GDP – 5, HBP – 0, SH – 5, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances - 55

Put Outs – 14

Assists – 40

Errors – 1

DP – 0

Pct. - .982

Awards & Honors:

All-Star 

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The relocated and renamed Twins went 70-90 to finish seventh in the AL, 38 games behind the pennant-winning New York Yankees. The Twins got off to a promising start with a 9-6 April but slumped thereafter and were 23-36 in June when manager Cookie Lavagetto was replaced by Sam Mele. Following a brief summer lift, the club dropped down and moved into seventh place to stay on September 17. They drew 1,256,723 fans to Metropolitan Stadium, an increase of over 513,000 from their last season in Washington. Dealing with a sore shoulder during the first half of the season, Pascual was 8-12 in August before going 7-4 the rest of the way.

Aftermath of 1961:

1962 was a much better season for Pascual and the Twins as his record rose to 20-11 and he topped the league in complete games (18), shutouts (5), and strikeouts (206) while also posting a 3.32 ERA. In 1963 he led the AL in strikeouts for the third straight season with 202 while again topping the circuit in complete games (18) as he compiled a 21-9 tally and 2.46 ERA despite missing 35 days due to a shoulder ailment. He placed twelfth in league MVP voting. In 1964, Pascual’s record slipped to 15-12 but with a still-respectable 3.30 ERA,14 complete games, and 213 strikeouts over 267.1 innings. The Twins won the AL pennant in 1965 but, after winning his first eight decisions, Pascual’s performance began to drop off due to shoulder soreness that resulted in minor surgery in August. He returned to finish with a 9-3 tally and 3.35 ERA over 27 starts and 156 innings. His strikeout total was 96. He lost his only start in the World Series against the Dodgers. Pascual’s performance in 1966 dropped to 8-6 and a 4.89 ERA with only two complete games and 56 strikeouts over 103 innings pitched. In the offseason he was traded to the expansion Washington Senators. Back in the city where his major league career began, he topped the mediocre club in wins with his 12-10 record while posting a 3.28 ERA and 106 strikeouts over 164.2 innings until he suffered a broken leg while baserunning in a September game, thus ending his season. Pascual again topped the lowly Senators in wins in 1968 with his 13-12 tally to go with a 2.69 ERA, 8 complete games, and 111 strikeouts over 201 innings. A poor start in 1969 led to his being dealt to the Cincinnati Reds in July, where he did nothing to help that club’s pitching issues, and he ended up with a combined record of 2-5 with a 7.04 ERA. Released by the Reds in 1970, he caught on with the Dodgers for ten relief outings with no decisions and was let go in August. His career finally came to an end in 1971 when he was released by the Cleveland Indians after nine appearances that included one start. For his major league career, Pascual posted a 174-170 record with a 3.63 ERA, 132 complete games, 36 shutouts, 10 saves, and 2167 strikeouts over 2930.2 innings pitched. With the Senators/Twins his record was 145-141 with a 3.66 ERA, 119 complete games, 31 shutouts, and 1885 strikeouts over 2465 innings. In his lone World Series appearance, he was 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA and no strikeouts in 5 innings of work. A seven-time All-Star, he was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. Following his playing career he acted as a pitching coach and scout. His brother Carlos briefly pitched for the Senators in 1950. The two are often incorrectly referenced with the nicknames “Potato” for Carlos and “Little Potato” for Camilo which was the result of a poor translation of colloquial Spanish.  

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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.