Luis Salazar

“I never have fear of the ball.”1 It’s a sentiment that Luis Salazar has been known to iterate about his love of baseball and it’s also a good way to sum up his playing career. He was willing and had the skill to take the field as needed. In his 13 years as a major-league utilityman he manned nine positions (including designated hitter), lacking only time as a catcher. In the minor leagues he played every position except pitcher.

Over time Salazar’s versatility as a platoon fielder would prove invaluable; as was his throwing arm. Together they allowed him a 13-year career in major-league baseball. He spent the first five years with the San Diego Padres (1980-1984) before being traded to the Chicago White Sox, where he spent two years (1985-1986). This was followed by a second stint with the Padres (1987). Salazar then signed as a free agent and played a year for the Detroit Tigers (1988). He returned for yet a third stint with the Padres, which lasted three-quarters of a season (1989) before he was traded to the Chicago Cubs at the trade deadline. He played with the Cubs the remainder of his career (1989-1992). 

Luis Ernesto Salazar Garcia was born on May 19, 1956, in Barcelona, Venezuela. He grew up in Lecheria, a coastal city 200 miles east of Caracas, the nation’s capital. As a boy he would often come home from school and immediately head out to play baseball. He recalled, “My family would be looking for me … and I’d be down the block playing street ball with the other kids.”2 It was a common occurrence. Eventually scouts began to notice him. He was originally signed by the Kansas City Royals as an amateur free agent on November 29, 1973, at age 17. At 5-feet-9 and 180 pounds he was not a physically imposing presence. It was his fielding and arm that grabbed the attention of scouts. His hitting was more hit-or-miss.   

The Royals sent the 18-year-old Salazar to the rookie-ball Gulf Coast League Royals for the 1974 season. He played two games before heading home. He was homesick and did not speak English.3 The Royals released him. Back in Venezuela, Salazar played winter ball at the behest of a coach who felt he might have the ability to make a career out of baseball if he kept at it.4 Salazar eventually signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in November 1975. He began the 1976 season in Low Class A with the Niagara Falls Pirates of the New York-Pennsylvania League. In 42 games he batted .238 with one home run and 17 RBIs. It was not a particularly sterling start to a professional career. The next two seasons were spent with the Salem Pirates of the Advanced Class-A Carolina League. Over the two seasons, Salazar batted .270 and .292, with 14 home runs, 37 doubles, and 9 triples. Showing decent speed, he swiped 22 bases on 29 attempts in 1978. 

In 1979 Salazar was promoted to Double A, the Buffalo Bisons of the Eastern League. Starting the season as an extra outfielder, he became part of the starting lineup when left fielder Larry Littleton was called up to the Triple-A Portland Beavers. Salazar became an everyday outfielder for the Bisons and had his best offensive season in professional baseball, batting .323 with 27 home runs, 86 RBIs, and a .515 slugging percentage, the only time in his career he had a slugging average over .500 (and, with 119 strikeouts the only time he had more than 100 whiffs in a season). His offensive surge that season was in stark contrast to his previous year, when he hit only three home runs with 49 RBIs. Explaining the change, Salazar said, “[In] the past, I always tried to pull the ball and hit home runs. Now I’ve learned to hit to right.”5 It also did not hurt that he played in the friendly offensive confines of War Memorial Park, known unlovingly as “The Rockpile” for its dilapidated look.6 Reflecting on Salazar’s approach at the plate, Bisons manager Steve Demeter commented, “Luis is not a picture-book hitter. He will look terrible on one swing and then hit the next pitch out of the park.”7 Preston Gómez, a former major-league manager, offered a similar observation while scouting at the Caribbean Series in February 1985. He said of Salazar that he “swings at too many bad pitches. I’d like to see him be more selective. I think he swings too hard. He should realize he’s not a home run hitter.”8

After his breakout season with Buffalo, Salazar was promoted to the Triple-A Portland Beavers (Pacific Coast League) for 1980. On August 4 of that season he was traded, along with teammate Rick Lancellotti, to the San Diego Padres for Kurt Bevacqua and a player to be named later (Mark Lee). The trade was made as Portland was hosting Hawaii, the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate. Salazar merely walked to the other clubhouse and suited up for his new team, the Islanders. The next day, August 5, he delivered a two-out single in the 12th inning that put the Islanders up 7-6 and secured their victory. After spending some time with the Islanders, Salazar was called up by the Padres.

Salazar, 24 years old, made his major-league debut on August 15 at San Diego Stadium with the Padres hosting the Houston Astros. He ran for Broderick Perkins in the eighth inning of a 20-inning, 6-hour and 17-minute marathon that the Astros won, 3-1.

During that season, playing in 44 games for the Padres, Salazar made a good first impression by batting .337 in 169 at-bats with 7 triples (a career high), 25 RBIs, and a career-high .372 on-base percentage. His speed was on display again as he stole 11 bases in 13 attempts.  

Over the next 12 seasons, Salazar put together a solid, if unspectacular, journeyman career. He was never named to an All-Star team, but often received the praise of those he played with or under. Padres general manager Jack “Trader Jack” McKeon traded for him three times. To which McKeon said, “that’s a compliment to a player … when you keep getting them back.”9 Tony La Russa, Salazar’s manager on the White Sox, said, “He’s just a good-natured, good-hearted man who has a way of bringing people together.”10 Salazar was no offensive juggernaut, nor did he ever win a Gold Glove. But he was a valuable piece; a tradeable commodity for his versatility in the field, and a good guy to have in the clubhouse. 

Flexibility in the field was Salazar’s calling-card. He was a super utility-player. Nearly two-thirds of his time on the field (863 games) was spent playing third base. He also played over 100 games at left field, shortstop, and center field. For his career he accumulated a .956 fielding percentage. In 1982, his first season as the starting third baseman for the Padres, he had a career-high 29 errors. It was also a season in which he tied Mike Schmidt in leading National League third basemen by turning 28 double plays. 

Eight seasons in Salazar’s career he played in over 100 games. His season high for games played was 145 in 1982. That year he also set season highs with 127 hits and 62 RBIs. (He matched the RBI figure in 1988 while with the Tigers.) In three other seasons Salazar had hits in the 120s (121 in 1981 and 124 in 1983 with the Padres, 122 in 1988 with the Tigers). A fifth season of over 100 hits was 1990, when he had 104 hits with the Cubs. His season-high home-run total was 14, in 1983 and 1991. 

Salazar was the Opening Day third baseman for the Padres in 1982 and 1983. The 1982 season was his high-water mark for walks and stolen bases: 23 walks and 32 stolen bases in 41 attempts. Team-wise, the 1984 season, Salazar recalled, “was a great year. You can never forget it. The best time of our lives.”11 The Padres won the National League West Division title with a record of 92-70, 12 games ahead of the Atlanta Braves and the Houston Astros. They went on to win the pennant, three games to two against the Chicago Cubs. In the World Series he went 1-for-3 as the Padres lost to the Detroit Tigers in five games.

Individually, though, the 1984 season was a struggle. Salazar lost his position as the regular third baseman with the Padres’ acquisition of Graig Nettles. He battled injury for the first time in his career: a muscle injury in his rib cage. In 93 games, Salazar batted .241, the lowest of his career, with 3 home runs and 17 RBIs in 228 at-bats. And he was moved into a part-time role. During the 1984 winter meetings, Salazar was traded with Ozzie Guillén, Tim Lollar, and Bill Long to the White Sox for LaMarr Hoyt and minor leaguers Kevin Kristan and Todd Simmons. Salazar welcomed the trade. “I was beaten down last year and I must get my confidence back,” he said. “Last year, the Padres pinch-hit for me in the third and fourth innings and it hurt. I went to Jack McKeon at the end of the season and asked him to trade me somewhere to get the pitcher he needed. I’m not a part-time player.”12

Salazar’s 1985 season was better in terms of offensive output. The change to the American League seemingly suited him well. In 122 games with the White Sox, he hit 10 home runs with 45 RBIs, 18 doubles, and 14 stolen bases. His batting average was .245. But he lost the starting third baseman’s job to Tim Hulett, and after the season he had knee surgery. Team physician Richard Corzatt hoped that “with the combination of surgery and rehabilitation,” Salazar could play at some point in 1986.13 He did return briefly during the 1986 season, but only for four games in August.

After the season Salazar was released by the White Sox. The Padres signed him again. Getting 189 at-bats over 84 games, Salazar batted .254. Again, his offense caused concern. Only 8 of his 48 hits went for extra bases (three home runs and five doubles). Despite his flexibility in the field, his offensive struggles continued and he was released after the season. 

Signing with the Tigers in February 1988 meant a return to the American League. In September Tigers manager Sparky Anderson commented to Baseball Digest, “I never thought we’d get this much out of him. We wouldn’t even be a .500 club without him.” Personally it was an offensive resurgence for Salazar as he hit 12 home runs and tied his single-season high for RBIs with 62. He batted .270 in 452 at-bats, his most since 481 in 1983.

Barely 13 months after signing, Salazar was traded back to the Padres for Mike Brumley. It would be his third stint with the team. Salazar commented, “I know that third base is the weakest part of this team. … That is where I play the best. But even if I don’t play, I will not complain. I’m just glad to be back home.” His old-now-new teammate Tim Flannery recalled how Salazar (in the early 1980s) used to walk from his house to Jack Murphy Stadium where the Padres played their home games. It was about a two-mile walk. “I remember driving down the highway and seeing this figure on the side of the road and – zoom –as soon as I’d pass him I’d realize, ‘I know that guy,’ … I’d stop the car, turn around, drive back, open the door and shout, ‘Get in the car, Louie.’”14 Salazar echoed a similar sentiment, noting, “This is my team. These are my people.”15 It was nice to be back in San Diego.

The return home, however, was short-lived. At the trade deadline in 1989, Salazar was sent with Marvell Wynne to the Cubs for Calvin Schiraldi, Darrin Jackson, and Phil Stephenson (the player to be named later). Cubs manager Don Zimmer commented on the acquisition of Salazar, by then known as a versatile infielder with a streaky bat: “He’s the type of guy, when he gets a hot bat, he can do some damage.”16 In his three-plus seasons with the Cubs, it was a thought often proved true.

After the trade in 1989, Salazar batted .325 in 26 games. In the National League Championship Series against the San Francisco Giants he batted .368 (7-for-19). He smashed a triple and a home run, and had the only two RBIs of his postseason career. For his career, Salazar batted .333 in postseason play (9-for-27). Over his last three-plus seasons he put together solid personal offensive numbers (.293, .292, .237, with 32 home runs). Then in his mid-30s, Salazar did not have the same speed of his youth, and was caught stealing six times in 10 attempts. On June 11, 1991, he had the only multi-home-run game of his career. Both home runs came off Bud Black of the San Francisco Giants. He played his last major-league game on October 4, 1992. He went 0-for-3 as the Cubs defeated the Montreal Expos, 3-2. After the season the Cubs granted him free agency, effectively serving as his retirement from playing baseball. 

Salazar’s major-league statistics were 1,302 games played, 4,101 at-bats, 1,070 hits, 94 home runs, 438 runs scored, 455 RBIs, 117 stolen bases, 33 triples, a .261 batting average, a .293 on-base percentage, and a .381 slugging percentage. He was known for his defensive ability and flexibility in the field. And on occasion he flashed offensive skills. He also played several seasons of winter league ball in Venezuela. 

Salazar coached or managed in the minor leagues in a variety of different levels after retiring as a player. He spent two years in the Brewers farm system managing the Class-A Beloit Snappers in 1996-1997, and was the hitting coach for Triple-A Louisville in 1998-1999 and for Triple-A Indianapolis in 2000. He spent the 2001 season as a coach for the Brewers. After the 2001 season he began an eight-year association with the Dodgers. He managed the Gulf Coast League Dodgers in 2002-2005 and the Vero Beach Dodgers in 2006. In 2007-2008 Salazar was the hitting coach for the Double-A Jacksonville Suns, and in 2009 he served in the same capacity for the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts.  

Salazar was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame on August 14, 2010. 

After a year out of baseball, Salazar sent his résumé to five major-league teams with the hope of getting back into coaching. The Atlanta Braves were the first to respond with a job offer for the 2011 season. Kurt Kemp, the Braves farm director, noted Salazar’s strong love of baseball as part of the reason he offered Salazar a managing position 30 minutes after their interview.17 During spring training in 2011, Salazar, who was to manage the Class-A Lynchburg Hillcats, was coaching with the Braves before the minor leaguers reported for camp to help familiarize himself with the big-league club. On March 9 he was standing on the top step of the first-base dugout directing comments to Nate McLouth about fielding and positioning when he was hit in the face by a Brian McCann line drive. He fell back and landed face-first on the concrete floor of the dugout. It was a five-foot drop.18

The game was delayed 14 minutes as Salazar lay unconscious bleeding from his mouth, nose, and face. Some thought he might be dead. He did not regain consciousness until after he was taken in a helicopter to Orlando Regional Medical Center. Players Chipper Jones and Rodrigo López and Braves first-base coach Terry Pendleton said it was the worst baseball accident they had ever seen.19 Catcher David Ross commented, “It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever witnessed on a baseball field. For a minute, it entered my mind that he was dead.”20 Former Braves manager Bobby Cox said, “I thought he was dead. I was in a booth upstairs, and I saw him go down and he wasn’t moving. There was blood everywhere.”21

Salazar suffered no brain damage in the fall. But he suffered several facial fractures, and after several surgeries and the removal of his left eye, Salazar made his managerial debut for the Hillcats on April 15, barely a month after the accident. He commented that his debut with the Hillcats “was my biggest thrill in baseball … bigger than my big-league debut as a player. It was so important to me to get back in the uniform. And now, I wake up every day and thank God I’m still alive, and for giving me another chance to do this job. I feel lucky.”22 To another journalist he said, “They’re not going to take baseball away from me.”23

Reflecting on the incident, which could have very well been much worse, Salazar commented, “I’m very fortunate to be alive. … God gave me a second chance in this life, and I’m going to take advantage of it.”24 After four years as manager of the Hillcats, he moved to the Carolina Mudcats for the 2015 season. The stint was followed by two years as manager of the Mississippi Braves in 2016-2017. During the 2017 Arizona Fall League, Salazar managed the Peoria Javelinas to the championship. After the 2018 season as manager of the Florida Fire Frogs of the Florida State League, Salazar was dismissed from his position. It was his last coaching position in professional baseball.

 Sources

In addition to the source material cited in Notes, the author used information from the National Baseball Hall of Fame clippings file for Luis Salazar, and consulted baseball-almanac.com, baseball-reference.com, retrosheet.org, mlb.com, and thebaseballcube.com.

 Notes

1 Tyler Kepner, “A Manager Turns Misfortune Into a Lesson,” New York Times, May 4, 2011. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/sports/baseball/05kepner.html.

2 Anna Katherine Clemmons, “‘I’m Lucky to Be Alive,’” espn.com, April 28, 2011. Retrieved from https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=6442017.

3 “‘I’m Lucky to Be Alive.’”

4 “‘I’m Lucky to Be Alive.’”

5 Tony Violanti, “Salazar Leads Rampaging Bisons,” Buffalo News, July 14, 1979. 

6 The ballpark was also the one in which field scenes for The Natural were filmed in 1983.

7 “Salazar Leads Rampaging Bisons.”

8 “Salazar Leads Rampaging Bisons.”

9 Bill Plaschke, “For McKeon, Salazar, Baseball’s Lovelier the Third Time Around,” Los Angeles Times, March 26, 1989. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-26-sp-1065-story.html.

10 Dave Sheinin, “Looking on the Bright Side,” Washington Post, June 29, 2011: D1, D7.

11 Barry M. Bloom, “After Tough Road, Salazar Gets to Feel Joy of Title,” MLB News, November 19, 2017. Retrieved from https://www.mlb.com/news/luis-salazar-gets-to-feel-joy-of-afl-title-c262180504.

12 Mike Kiley, “Salazar Feels Confident Sox Got Best of Trade,” Chicago Tribune, February 8, 1985. Retrieved from https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-02-08-8501080240-story.html.

13 “Saturday’s Notebook,” Orlando Sentinel, October 13, 1985.

14 “For McKeon, Salazar, Baseball’s Lovelier the Third Time Around.”

15 “For McKeon, Salazar, Baseball’s Lovelier the Third Time Around.”

16 Andrew Bagnato, “Cubs’ Salazar Warms Up with Weather,” Chicago Tribune, July 4, 1990: 1.

17 “A Manager Turns Misfortune Into a Lesson.”

18 Scott Miller, “Near-Fatal Swing Haunts Brian McCann but Made Accidental Victim an Inspiration,” Bleacher Report, September 16, 2016. Retrieved from https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2658292-near-fatal-swing-scarred-brian-mccann-but-made-unintended-victim-an-inspiration.

19 David O’Brien, “With Salazar Hospitalized, McCann Playing with Heavy Heart,” Atlanta Journal Constitution, March 11, 2011.

20 “‘I’m Lucky to Be Alive.’”

21 “Near-Fatal Swing Haunts Brian McCann but Made Accidental Victim an Inspiration.”

22 “Looking on the Bright Side.”

23 Associated Press, “Home Opener ‘Emotional’ for Luis Salazar,” CBC.ca, April 15, 2011. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/home-opener-emotional-for-luis-salazar-1.1060127.

24 Associated Press, “Luis Salazar Returns to Braves Camp,” espn.com, March 23, 2011. Retrieved from http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=6250099&type=story.