Aurelio Monteagudo

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Aurelio Monteagudo

|image=Aurelio Monteagudo Royals.jpg

|caption=Monteagudo in 1970

|position=Pitcher

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date|1943|11|19|mf=y}}

|birth_place=Caibarién, Cuba

|death_date={{death date and age|1990|11|10|1943|11|19}}

|death_place=Ramos Arizpe, Mexico

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=September 1

|debutyear=1963

|debutteam=Kansas City Athletics

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=September 28

|finalyear=1973

|finalteam=California Angels

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Win–loss record

|stat1value=3-7

|stat2label=Earned run average

|stat2value=5.05

|stat3label=Strikeouts

|stat3value=58

|teams=

Kansas City Athletics ({{mlby|1963}}–{{mlby|1966}})
Houston Astros ({{mlby|1966}})
Chicago White Sox ({{mlby|1967}})
Kansas City Royals ({{mlby|1970}})
California Angels ({{mlby|1973}})

|hofcolor = #ffd700

|hoflink = Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

|hoftype = Venezuelan

|hofdate = 2009

|hofvote =

|hofmethod =

}}

Aurelio Faustino Monteagudo Cintra ({{IPAc-en|aʊ|ˈ|r|eɪ|l|i|.|oʊ|_|m|ɒ|n|t|eɪ|ˈ|ɡ|uː|d|oʊ}}; November 19, 1943 – November 10, 1990), nicknamed "Monty", was a right-handed screwball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball. He was the son of former big-leaguer René Monteagudo.

Career

Monteagudo was born in Caibarién, Villa Clara Province, Cuba. He moved to Venezuela after Fidel Castro's rise to power in his homeland.

As a 19-year-old rookie, Monteagudo made his majors debut with the Kansas City Athletics on September 1, 1963. After three-plus seasons with Kansas City, he was dealt to the Houston Astros on May 17, 1966. At the end of the season, he received Venezuelan citizenship. Then, he joined the Chicago White Sox on July 16, 1967, with a new nationality. After a season in Chicago, he played with the Kansas City Royals (1970) and California Angels (1973).

Monteagudo was traded along with Chris Coletta from the Angels to the Phillies for Denny Doyle at the Winter Meetings on December 6, 1973, completing a transaction from four months earlier on August 14 when Philadelphia purchased Billy Grabarkewitz's contract from California.[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1988&dat=19731207&id=uk0iAAAAIBAJ&sjid=k6wFAAAAIBAJ&pg=998,3299850 Rappoport, Ken. "National League Tentatively Agrees to Move Padres to Washington, D.C." The Associated Press (AP), Friday, December 7, 1973.] Retrieved December 23, 2022.

In seven seasons, Monteagudo compiled a 3–7 record with 58 strikeouts, a 5.05 ERA, four saves, and 132 innings pitched in 72 games (65 as a reliever). He played his final majors game on September 28, 1973.

Monteagudo also played 20 seasons in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League with five teams: Caracas (1963–68), Magallanes (1968), La Guaira (1968–74, 1976–82) and Portuguesa (1975), compiling a 79–81 record with 897 strikeouts and a 3.37 ERA. On December 20, 1973, Monteagudo kept the Cardenales de Lara hitless for {{frac|8|2|3}} innings until Faustino Zabala ruined the no-hitter with a single to center field.

At the same time, Monteagudo played in the Mexican League with the Puebla, Coahuila, Aguascalientes and Veracruz clubs. He pitched a no-hitter game against Nuevo Laredo (March 19, 1979) and led the league in strikeouts once (222, in 1978). After retiring in 1981, he started a successful managerial career in the league.

Aurelio Monteagudo was killed in a car accident in Saltillo, Mexico nine days before his 47th birthday.