Cam Carreon

Camilo Carreón
Camilo Carreón
	Catcher
	Born: August 6, 1937; Colton, California, U.S.
	Died: September 2, 1987 (aged 50); Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
	Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
	September 27, 1959, for the Chicago White Sox
Last MLB appearance
	June 8, 1966, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
Batting average	.264
Home runs	11
Runs batted in	114
Teams
	Chicago White Sox (1959–1964); Cleveland Indians (1965); Baltimore Orioles (1966);

Camilo Carreón (August 6, 1937 – September 2, 1987) was an American professional baseball player. The catcher appeared in 354 games over all or parts of eight Major League Baseball seasons between 1959 and 1966 for the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles. His son Mark was also a major league player. Born in Colton, California, Camilo Carreón threw and batted right-handed, and was listed as 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and 190 pounds (86 kg).

Playing career[edit]

White Sox[edit]

Signed by the White Sox in 1956, Carreón rose steadily through their farm system, hitting over .300 at three different levels, including .311 in 1959 with Indianapolis in the Triple-A American Association, with 165 hits and 91 runs batted in. He was named the Association's All-Star catcher. Carreón made his major league debut on September 27, 1959, the closing day of Chicago's pennant-winning season. He hit a fly ball out against Pete Burnside of the Detroit Tigers in his only at bat. He was late reporting to Sarasota, Florida, for spring training in 1960 because of service in the U.S. Army,^[1] then spent the bulk of the 1960 campaign back in Triple-A, this time with San Diego of the Pacific Coast League,^[2] and hit .279 in 109 games. He then received his second consecutive September call-up, batting .235 in eight games, including seven starts as catcher.

Carreón made the White Sox for good in 1961, getting into 78 games, with 63 starts at catcher in relief of 37-year-old veteran star Sherm Lollar. He hit a two-run single off Whitey Ford to give Juan Pizarro a 2–1 victory over the New York Yankees on August 15, 1961. The second-inning hit enabled the White Sox to break Ford's 14-game winning streak.^[3] Overall, he hit .271 in his first full MLB season. The next year, 1962, he supplanted Lollar as the White Sox' regular catcher, starting 85 games and hitting .256. His best big-league season came in 1963, when he played in 101 games and hit .274, starting 81 games behind the plate. It was his last full and healthy season in the majors.

Indians and Orioles[edit]

The White Sox placed Carreón on the disabled list on July 3, 1964, after he tore tendons in his right arm.^[4] During the 1964–65 offseason, Chicago traded him to the Cleveland Indians as part of a blockbuster three-way trade involving the Kansas City Athletics that also included Rocky Colavito, Tommy John and Tommie Agee. Going into the 1965 campaign, Carreón was listed as the Indians' second-string catcher, behind Joe Azcue.^[5] But he played only 19 games with the Tribe, spent 45 games back in Triple-A with Portland of the Pacific Coast League, and was one of five players assigned outright to Portland in October 1965.^[6]

Cleveland then traded Carreón to the Orioles during spring training of 1966 in a one-for-one deal for Lou Piniella, then a 22-year-old, minor league outfielder in the Baltimore organization. The Orioles were en route to their first-ever American League pennant that season, but Carreón got into only four games for Baltimore (his last on June 8, when he hit a double in his final MLB at bat), and spent the latter half of the year with Triple-A Rochester. He played two more minor league seasons before retiring from baseball.

As a major leaguer, Carreón collected 260 hits, including 43 doubles, four triples, and 11 home runs, with 114 runs batted in. He batted .264 lifetime. Defensively, he recorded a .993 fielding percentage as a catcher, committing only 13 errors in 1,776 total chances. He died in Tucson, Arizona, at the age of 50, and is buried in the Hermosa Memorial Cemetery in Colton.^[7]

References[edit]

^ Donovan Pitches In His First Drill, The New York Times, March 8, 1960, Page 39.
^ Yankees Now Dismiss White Sox As Contenders in Pennant Race, The New York Times, June 21, 1960, Page 40.
^ Pizarro Wins, 2-1, On Carreon's Hit, The New York Times, August 16, 1961, Page 23.
^ Injury Sidelines Carreon, The New York Times, July 4, 1964, Page 17.
^ American League, The New York Times, February 21, 1965, Page S2.
^ Indians Drop Five Men, The New York Times, October 17, 1965, Page S6.
^ Baseball Necrology

External links[edit]

Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet, or SABR Biography Project

[1] Donovan Pitches In His First Drill, The New York Times, March 8, 1960, Page 39.

[2] Yankees Now Dismiss White Sox As Contenders in Pennant Race, The New York Times, June 21, 1960, Page 40.

[3] Pizarro Wins, 2-1, On Carreon's Hit, The New York Times, August 16, 1961, Page 23.

[4] Injury Sidelines Carreon, The New York Times, July 4, 1964, Page 17.

[5] American League, The New York Times, February 21, 1965, Page S2.

[6] Indians Drop Five Men, The New York Times, October 17, 1965, Page S6.

[7] Baseball Necrology

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Playing career[edit]

White Sox[edit]

Indians and Orioles[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]