finalyear death_date debutyear statvalue finalteam birth_date death_place image_size finalleague image statlabel debutteam name throws debutleague birth_place bats position article_title
1956 23 may 2013 1946 86 24 -- 14 3.94 162 358 2/3 leones del caracas 31 december 1922 caracas , venezuela 175px vpbl luis zuloaga.jpg games strikeouts innings pitched pitched win -- loss record earned run average cervecería caracas luis zuloaga left vpbl valencia , carabobo , venezuela left pitcher luis zuloaga

luis zuloaga

luis zuloaga -lrb- december 31 , 1922 -- may 23 , 2013 -rrb- was a venezuelan professional baseball pitcher .
born in valencia , carabobo , zuloaga was a left-handed curveball specialist .
he started to be known as el mono when he entered the venezuelan professional baseball league in its inaugural season of 1946 .
it was a moniker that he proudly used throughout his life .
previously , zuloaga pitched for the cervecería caracas of the first division from 1942 through 1945 , then moved with the team when it relocated to the new circuit in 1946 .
he spent his entire career with the franchise , including when it was christened as the leones del caracas , pitching in the league until the 1955 -- 1956 season .
in addition , zuloaga represented the venezuelan national team in the baseball world cup in 1944 and 1945 , leading his team to win gold medal at both championships .
in 1944 he led all pitchers with a 3 -- 0 record and a 0.94 earned run average , and went 4 -- 0 in 1945 to set a tournament all-time record for the most wins , also setting an all-time mark for most consecutive win decisions with his 7 -- 0 undefeated streak at the event .
zuloaga started slowly with cervecería in his two first seasons , going 0-2 with a 4.37 era -lrb- 1946 -rrb- and 5-2 , 1.91 -lrb- 1946 -- 1947 -rrb- .
his most productive season came in 1947 -- 1948 , when he posted a 10-4 record and a 2.51 era in 118 innings of work , leading the league in starts -lrb- 16 -rrb- while tying with vargas ' don newcombe for the most wins and shutouts -lrb- 3 -rrb- , and ending third in era .
on the day after christmas , zuloaga hurled the first important single game in venezuelan league history , a one-hit 5 -- 0 masterpiece for cervecería against max surkont and the patriotas de venezuela club , during which he permitted a leadoff single , struck out 10 , walked two , and did not allowed a runner to reach second base .
after that he was plagued by an assortment of shoulder and elbow injuries and never recovered his old form .
he was used sparingly during the next eight seasons , mostly in relief duty , and retired in 1956 .
he finished with a 24-14 record and a 3.94 era in 358 2/3 innings pitched during his 11 seasons in the league .
previously , he went 7-3 with a 3.35 era in 21 pitching appearances for cervecería while playing in first division .
zuloaga also was a member of three caracas champion teams .
as the league champions , cervecería represented venezuela in the inaugural caribbean series played in cuba in 1949 .
in game 5 , zuloaga won a complete-game pitching duel against puerto rico 's alonzo perry and the indios de mayagüez by a score of 5 -- 3 .
he returned to the series in 1952 and 1953 , basically as a reliever for cervecería and the leones , respectively .
in 1952 he blanked panama 's carta vieja yankees in one inning of work .
then , in 1953 he hurled six innings of shutout ball against puerto rico 's cangrejeros de santurce -lrb- two -rrb- and cuba 's leones de la habana -lrb- four -rrb- .
in four series appearances , zuloaga went 1 -- 0 with 11 strikeouts and a 1.69 era in 16 innings of work .
following his playing retirement , zuloaga joined forces with fellow venezuelan shortstop chico carrasquel and opened `` deportes carrasquel zuloaga '' , which became one of the most successful sporting goods retail store in venezuela .
besides baseball , zuloaga participated in numerous activities including soccer , volleyball , softball , track and field , basketball , golf and was a member of various multi-cultural clubs and mission groups .
thanked with the sport that allowed him to have a healthy sporting life , in 1962 zuloaga founded along with josé del vecchio and some friends the `` criollitos de venezuela '' , a local little league corporation that operates not only as a baseball academy but as a means of integral formation of children and adolescents through sport .
former `` criollitos '' ballplayers have played in professional baseball , including big leaguers bobby abreu , cris colón , bo díaz , andrés galarraga , freddy garcía , carlos hernández , pablo sandoval , luis sojo and omar vizquel .
in 2009 , zuloaga gained induction into the venezuelan baseball hall of fame and museum as part of their 7th class .
then , in 2011 the `` criollitos de venezuela '' organization was inducted in the venezuelan sports hall of fame .
luis zuloaga died in 2013 in caracas , venezuela , at the age of 90 .
