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Otto
Velez		  
Nickname: The Swatto
 
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Height: 6' 0''
Weight: 210
 
Born: November 29, 1950 in P.R., , PONCE
 
Awards & Accomplishments
World Championships Won 1987   
All-Star Selections 1984   
Ratings - Batting     Help
                                             
  Contact Power Gap Eye Ks
Year Age Tm Lg Salary   vL vR OA vL vR OA vL vR OA vL vR OA vL vR OA
1973 22 SDP NL     4 4 4 7 7 7 6 6 6 10 9 10 5 4 4
1974 23 SDP NL $ 300,000   4 4 5 7 7 7 8 7 7 10 10 10 5 4 5
1975 24 SDP NL $ 300,000   4 4 5 7 7 7 8 7 7 10 10 10 5 4 5
1976 25 CLE AL $ 300,000   4 4 5 7 7 7 8 7 7 10 10 10 5 4 5
1977 26 CLE AL $ 300,000   4 4 5 7 7 7 8 7 7 10 10 10 6 5 5
1978 27 CLE AL $ 2,321,429   5 5 6 7 7 7 8 7 7 10 10 10 6 5 5
1979 28 CLE AL $ 2,600,000   6 6 6 7 7 7 8 7 7 10 10 10 6 5 5
1980 29 CLE AL $ 2,600,000   6 6 6 7 7 7 8 7 7 10 10 10 6 5 5
1981 30 CLE AL $ 11,000,000   6 6 7 8 7 7 8 7 7 10 10 10 6 5 5
1982 31 CLE AL $ 11,000,000   6 6 6 7 7 7 7 6 6 10 10 10 5 5 5
1983 32 CLE AL $ 11,000,000   6 6 6 7 7 7 7 6 6 10 10 10 5 5 5
1984 33 CLE AL $ 11,000,000   6 6 6 7 6 7 7 6 7 10 10 10 6 5 5
1985 34 BAL AL $ 4,004,004   6 6 6 7 6 6 7 6 6 10 10 10 6 5 5
1986 35 BOS AL $ 4,004,004   6 6 6 7 6 6 7 6 7 10 10 10 6 5 5
1987 36 BOS AL $ 4,004,004   6 6 6 7 6 6 7 6 6 10 10 10 6 5 5
1988 37 DET AL $ 3,025,500   5 5 6 6 5 5 7 6 6 10 10 10 5 5 5
1989 38 KCR AL $ 3,025,500   5 5 5 6 5 5 6 6 6 10 9 9 5 4 4
OOTP6 Min Ratings     4 4 4 6 5 5 6 6 6 10 9 9 5 4 4
OOTP6 Max Ratings $ 11,000,000   6 6 7 8 7 7 8 7 7 10 10 10 6 5 5
Batting Stats     Help
Bold lines indicate player won Silver Slugger or Bronze Rookie.
Year Age Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS XR OWS
1973 22 AA   31 104 10 26 11 0 4 15 1 3 28 21 .250 .409 .471 .880 20.4  
    A   106 354 65 102 16 0 38 88 2 4 97 63 .288 .441 .655 1.097 98.1  
1974 23 SDP NL 61 194 22 42 8 0 9 31 2 1 31 43 .216 .329 .397 .726 26.6 4.1
    AAA   55 203 37 51 10 2 14 25 4 1 43 46 .251 .382 .527 .909 42.4  
    AA   25 93 18 26 5 0 6 16 2 3 26 24 .280 .437 .527 .964 21.5  
1975 24 SDP NL 92 278 41 49 7 2 9 31 2 1 39 68 .176 .274 .313 .587 25.1 0.7
1976 25 CLE AL 58 167 20 35 12 0 3 18 0 0 30 47 .210 .330 .335 .665 19.8 2.3
1977 26 CLE AL 127 369 59 84 25 3 15 50 1 4 49 79 .228 .320 .434 .754 51.0 7.2
1978 27 CLE AL 126 350 45 79 19 3 9 45 0 0 59 74 .226 .337 .374 .712 44.5 6.8
1979 28 CLE AL 115 270 52 63 15 0 9 37 0 0 50 44 .233 .352 .389 .741 37.2 6.2
1980 29 CLE AL 119 316 53 85 19 0 11 57 1 0 50 72 .269 .364 .434 .797 51.7 10.7
1981 30 CLE AL 148 482 70 129 29 2 14 65 1 1 98 110 .268 .391 .423 .814 79.8 15.2
1982 31 CLE AL 147 489 87 130 35 5 25 83 0 0 91 102 .266 .381 .511 .892 89.9 20.8
1983 32 CLE AL 148 511 85 137 22 6 21 87 0 0 102 104 .268 .389 .458 .847 88.8 20.2
1984 33 CLE AL 145 508 87 136 37 4 15 98 0 1 82 101 .268 .365 .445 .810 84.0 18.7
1985 34 BAL AL 105 204 38 52 10 0 12 48 1 1 41 57 .255 .378 .480 .858 37.3 8.0
1986 35 BOS AL 152 545 69 130 25 1 12 77 1 1 81 114 .239 .335 .354 .690 64.9 8.9
1987 36 BOS AL 141 399 51 93 22 2 15 50 0 1 67 85 .233 .341 .411 .752 57.5 10.7
1988 37 DET AL 103 316 45 84 21 1 4 44 0 0 43 75 .266 .353 .377 .729 42.2 6.7
1989 38 DET AL 56 121 14 26 3 1 2 16 0 0 22 32 .215 .336 .306 .641 13.4 1.5
  KCR AL 38 128 18 23 6 1 2 11 0 0 24 40 .180 .307 .289 .596 12.7 0.9
  TOT   94 249 32 49 9 2 4 27 0 0 46 72 .197 .321 .297 .618 26.2 2.5
16 Years Sim 1881 5647 856 1377 315 31 187 848 9 11 959 1247 .244 .352 .410 .762 826.6 149.7
1 Years AAA 55 203 37 51 10 2 14 25 4 1 43 46 .251 .390 .527 .918 42.4  
2 Years AA 56 197 28 52 16 0 10 31 3 6 54 45 .264 .425 .497 .922 42.0  
1 Years A 106 354 65 102 16 0 38 88 2 4 97 63 .288 .442 .655 1.098 98.1  
4 Years Minors 217 754 130 205 42 2 62 144 9 11 194 154 .272 .424 .580 1.004 182.5  
162 Game Average 486 73 118 27 2 16 73 0 0 82 107 .244 .352 .410 .762 71.2  
Career Highs 152 545 87 137 37 6 25 98 2 4 102 114 .269 .391 .511 .892 89.9  
Career Batting Splits     Help
Click on a Category to view yearly stats.
Category G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS XR
vs RH   3620 520 835 178 23 112 508 5 8 542 829 .231 .330 .385 .715 489.6
vs LH   2027 336 542 137 8 75 340 4 3 417 418 .267 .390 .454 .844 374.9
Home 938 2793 426 688 148 17 95 419 4 4 448 612 .246 .349 .414 .763 424.7
Away 943 2854 430 689 167 14 92 429 5 7 511 635 .241 .355 .406 .762 439.8
RISP   1529 0 382 92 9 61 629 0 0 286 340 .250 .360 .441 .801 260.6
Pinch Hitting   277 35 67 14 0 7 53 1 1 58 57 .242 .372 .368 .740 42.6
Close/Late   719 95 170 37 2 27 112 0 0 149 171 .236 .368 .406 .774 117.6
Mar/Apr 305 958 144 232 47 5 31 149 3 5 149 206 .242 .343 .399 .742 138.1
May 336 1045 157 256 79 4 32 181 0 2 189 253 .245 .359 .420 .779 165.5
June 312 938 139 221 46 3 15 100 2 3 169 197 .236 .350 .339 .689 124.4
July 314 979 148 244 52 7 44 156 1 0 130 211 .249 .336 .451 .787 152.4
August 336 979 147 224 50 7 33 142 3 1 182 227 .229 .349 .395 .744 147.4
Sep/Oct 278 748 121 200 41 5 32 120 0 0 140 153 .267 .383 .464 .847 136.8
Fielding Stats     Help
Bold lines indicate player won Gold Glove.
Year Age Tm Lg Pos G GS IP PO A E DP FPct RF RSA RTO RTO% PB DWS
1974 23 SDP NL RF 55 55 447.0 94 3 0 1 1.000 1.95 0 0 .000 0 1.2
    LF 3 0 7.0 2 0 1 0 .667 2.57 0 0 .000 0  
1975 24 SDP NL RF 91 91 755.3 194 4 2 2 .990 2.36 0 0 .000 0 1.3
    LF 3 0 5.0 0 0 0 0 .000 0.00 0 0 .000 0  
1976 25 CLE AL RF 49 46 384.0 89 2 0 1 1.000 2.13 0 0 .000 0 1.0
    LF 6 3 30.0 4 0 1 0 .800 1.20 0 0 .000 0  
1977 26 CLE AL RF 107 83 775.7 162 5 2 2 .988 1.94 0 0 .000 0 2.6
    LF 7 7 58.0 13 0 0 0 1.000 2.02 0 0 .000 0  
    1B 1 0 8.0 9 0 0 1 1.000 10.13 0 0 .000 0 0.0
1978 27 CLE AL RF 84 76 675.3 165 4 3 2 .983 2.25 0 0 .000 0 2.8
    LF 18 5 77.0 14 0 1 0 .933 1.64 0 0 .000 0  
    CF 1 0 3.0 1 0 0 0 1.000 3.00 0 0 .000 0  
1979 28 CLE AL RF 58 42 403.0 92 2 2 1 .979 2.10 0 0 .000 0 1.7
    LF 15 11 105.0 25 0 1 0 .962 2.14 0 0 .000 0  
    2B 1 1 8.0 2 2 0 1 1.000 4.50 0 0 .000 0 0.0
    SS 1 0 1.3 0 0 0 0 .000 0.00 0 0 .000 0 0.0
1980 29 CLE AL RF 77 50 495.3 107 1 2 0 .982 1.96 0 0 .000 0 1.5
    LF 22 17 162.0 28 0 1 0 .966 1.56 0 0 .000 0  
1981 30 CLE AL RF 130 124 1105.0 238 5 6 3 .976 1.98 0 0 .000 0 2.4
    3B 11 11 95.7 6 17 3 1 .885 2.16 0 0 .000 0 0.0
    LF 3 0 5.0 2 1 0 1 1.000 5.40 0 0 .000 0  
1982 31 CLE AL LF 10 2 36.7 10 0 0 0 1.000 2.45 0 0 .000 0 0.1
    RF 9 1 26.0 2 0 0 0 1.000 0.69 0 0 .000 0  
1983 32 CLE AL LF 33 32 276.3 36 2 1 0 .974 1.24 0 0 .000 0 0.5
    RF 10 4 47.0 8 0 0 0 1.000 1.53 0 0 .000 0  
1984 33 CLE AL RF 57 51 443.7 106 2 3 1 .973 2.19 0 0 .000 0 1.9
    LF 42 36 331.3 77 2 7 1 .919 2.15 0 0 .000 0  
1985 34 BAL AL LF 57 0 118.3 21 0 1 0 .955 1.60 0 0 .000 0 0.3
    RF 5 3 31.0 9 0 0 0 1.000 2.61 0 0 .000 0  
1986 35 BOS AL RF 8 7 64.0 8 1 0 1 1.000 1.27 0 0 .000 0 0.2
    LF 1 0 1.0 1 0 0 0 1.000 9.00 0 0 .000 0  
1987 36 BOS AL RF 21 0 39.3 7 0 1 0 .875 1.60 0 0 .000 0 0.1
    CF 1 0 2.0 3 0 0 0 1.000 13.50 0 0 .000 0  
    LF 1 0 1.0 1 0 0 0 1.000 9.00 0 0 .000 0  
1988 37 DET AL RF 18 17 150.7 28 1 0 1 1.000 1.73 0 0 .000 0 0.4
    LF 8 5 49.3 11 0 3 0 .786 2.01 0 0 .000 0  
    1B 4 4 33.0 41 5 0 3 1.000 12.55 0 0 .000 0 0.1
    2B 2 2 17.0 5 3 1 2 .889 4.24 0 0 .000 0 0.0
    C 1 0 2.0 4 0 0 0 1.000 18.00 0 0 .000 0 0.0
1989 38 DET AL LF 23 10 93.0 18 0 2 0 .900 1.74 0 0 .000 0 0.4
    RF 8 8 52.5 13 0 0 0 1.000 2.23 0 0 .000 0 0.0
  KCR AL LF 15 6 100.0 19 0 2 0 .905 1.71 0 0 .000 0 0.3
    RF 6 5 56.5 14 1 0 0 1.000 2.39 0 0 .000 0 0.0
  RF 793 663 5951.3 1336 31 21 15 .985 2.07 0 0 .000 0 17.0
  LF 267 134 1456.0 282 5 21 2 .932 1.77 0 0 .000 0 1.6
  3B 11 11 95.7 6 17 3 1 .885 2.16 0 0 .000 0 0.0
  1B 5 4 41.0 50 5 0 4 1.000 12.07 0 0 .000 0 0.1
  2B 3 3 25.0 7 5 1 3 .923 4.32 0 0 .000 0 0.1
  CF 2 0 5.0 4 0 0 0 1.000 7.20 0 0 .000 0  
  C 1 0 2.0 4 0 0 0 1.000 18.00 0 0 .000 0 0.0
  SS 1 0 1.3 0 0 0 0 .000 0.00 0 0 .000 0 0.0
Career Totals   1083 815 7577.3 1689 63 46 25 .974 2.08 0 0 .000 0 18.8
Career Highs   144 135 1205.7 246 23 10 6 1.000 3.50 0 0 .000 0  
Post-Season Batting Stats     Help
Bold lines indicate player won Post Season MVP Award.
Year Age Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
1974 23 SDP NL 7 28 5 6 4 0 0 2 0 0 5 2 .214 .333 .357 .690
1979 28 CLE AL 3 5 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400 .400 .400 .800
1980 29 CLE AL 5 19 2 5 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 4 .263 .364 .316 .679
1982 31 CLE AL 19 68 7 15 5 0 1 8 0 0 11 12 .221 .325 .338 .663
1983 32 CLE AL 14 51 7 15 7 1 2 12 0 0 13 11 .294 .438 .588 1.026
1984 33 CLE AL 5 19 3 3 2 0 0 3 0 0 2 1 .158 .238 .263 .501
1986 35 BOS AL 6 19 2 3 1 0 1 1 0 0 2 3 .158 .238 .368 .607
1987 36 BOS AL 14 23 5 4 1 0 0 5 0 0 8 6 .174 .375 .217 .592
1988 37 DET AL 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 .000 .333 .000 .333
Career Post-Season Batting 76 234 32 53 21 1 4 34 0 0 45 40 .226 .349 .376 .725
Batting Leaderboards     Help
Top 10 finishes. Stats are Year-Rank-Value. League leaders are in bold.
(*) indicates hit-less at-bats added to meet minimum plate appearances.
Season Rankings are League Based.
On-Base Pct
1981-4-.391
1982-8-.381
1983-7-.389
 Slugging Pct
1982-2-.511
 OPS
1981-9-.814
1982-2-.892
1983-9-.847
 XR
1982-9-89.9
 Runs
1982-9-87
 Homeruns
1982-8-25
RBIs
1984-6-98
 Walks
1981-2-98
1982-5-91
1983-3-102
1984-8-82
1986-6-81
 Strikeouts
1981-8-110
      
 
   Black Ink Test: 0    (Avg Batter in HOF ~ 42)
   Gray Ink Test: 24    (Avg Batter in HOF ~ 203)
   Hall of Fame Standards: 25    (Avg Batter in HOF ~ 64)
 
Similar Batters     What are Similarity Scores?

  1. Ron Swoboda (929)
  2. Bobby Del Greco (923)
  3. Kirk Gibson (907)
  4. Tony Solaita (898)
  5. Dave Winfield (893)
  6. Pete Ward (893)
  7. Bobby Estalella (892)
  8. Bob Watson (888)
  9. Davey Johnson (886)
  10. Bob Johnson (886)
History
Drafted in 1st round, 6th overall pick, by San Diego in 1973
Injured on 5/27/1973 with a Strained Back, out for 1-2 weeks
Had first career hit on 7/7/1974, off Ed Halicki (KCR)
Hit first career homerun on 7/10/1974, off Dan Schneider (TAM)
Injured on 7/22/1975 with a Broken Foot, out for 6-7 weeks
Traded from San Diego to Kansas City on 2/1/1976 (Going to KCR: RF Otto Velez. Going to SDP: P Jim Palmer, P Alan Foster)
Traded from Kansas City to Cleveland (A) on 3/3/1976 (Going to CLE: 3B Tucker Ashford, P Ron Guidry, RF Otto Velez. Going to KCR: C Bill Sudakis)
Injured on 8/13/1976 with a Bruised Ribs, out for one week
2/2/1978: Gets a new one-year contract worth $2,321,429 through salary arbitration
2/2/1979: Gets a new one-year contract worth $2,600,000 through salary arbitration
2/2/1980: Gets a new one-year contract worth $2,600,000 through salary arbitration
10/1/1980: Signed a contract extension with Cleveland (A), $11,000,000 per year, for 4 years
Was selected to the 1984 Allstar game
Signed as a free agent by Baltimore on 2/17/1985 to a 3-year deal worth $4,004,004 per year
Traded from Baltimore to Boston (A) on 4/3/1986 (Going to BAL: 1B Pete Lacock. Going to BOS: RF Otto Velez, 2B Bump Wills, P Bill Caudill)
Won World Championship with Boston (A) in 1987
Signed as a free agent by Detroit on 2/5/1988 to a 4-year deal worth $3,025,500 per year
Injured on 5/5/1988 with a Pulled Hamstring Muscle, out for one week
Drove in 6 runs against Toronto on 7/13/1988
Traded from Detroit to Kansas City on 7/31/1989 (Going to DET: RF Jack Clark. Going to KCR: P Mike Harkey, P Tom Gordon, 2B Jack Perconte, RF Otto Velez)
 
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