Vic Power

[Al from SoDak]

Victor Felipe Pellot Pové (Power) was born November 1, 1927, in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Power graduated high school and was soon playing ball in the Puerto Rican league and soon after on to the independent Provincial League in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada.

A New York Yankees scout had seen Power play in Puerto Rico and checked on him again in Drummondville. In 1949, the Yankees signed the six-foot, 186-pound Power but soon traded him to the Philadelphia Athletics. He debuted in MLB on April 13, 1954, and was one of the first Puerto Ricans in Major League Baseball. When the Athletics moved to Kansas City for 1955, Power’s bat got going. In 1955 and 1956, Power would play in his first two All-Star Games and he garnered MVP votes. He earned four straight Gold Glove Awards from 1958-1961 with KC and Cleveland. Prior to the 1962 season the Twins acquired Power by trade from Cleveland along with Dick Stigman for Pedro Ramos.

Power would play for the Twins in 1962, 1963, and part of 1964. He won three more Gold Gloves in those seasons, making it seven years in a row. During the Twins portion of Power’s career, he hit .278/.305/.398. His OBP was never good; he rarely walked. His career walk rate was 4.3 percent, roughly half the MLB average of 8.7. Vic’s OPS+ in his time with Minnesota was a substandard 89.

In 1962 and 1963, it was becoming apparent that the Twins would need to make room for Tony Oliva. Thus, in early 1964, Power was traded with Lenny Green to the Angels in a three-team trade which included Cleveland. The Twins received Jerry Kindall and Frank Kostro. Moving Power allowed the Twins to shift Harmon Killebrew from the outfield to first base, opening an outfield spot for Oliva. It’s hard to argue with this logic. Tony Oliva would go on to a Hall of Fame career and Power was out of baseball after 1965.

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[Seth Stohs]

My mom's favorite player growing up.