Hank Aguirre Stats & Facts

Player

 

VINTAGE BASEBALL MEMORABILIA

Vintage Baseball Memorabilia

Hank Aguirre

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Left
6-4, 205lb (193cm, 92kg)
Born: January 31, 1931 in Azusa, CA
Died: September 5, 1994  in Bloomfield Hills, MI
Buried: San Gabriel Mission Cemetery, San Gabriel, CA
High School: Mark Keppel HS (Alhambra, CA)
Debut: September 10, 1955 (11,306th in major league history)
vs. BOS 1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER, W
Last Game: June 24, 1970
vs. NYM 0.0 IP, 0 H, 0 SO, 1 BB, 0 ER
Full Name: Henry John Aguirre
Pronunciation: \ah-GEAR-ee\
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen

 

Notable Events and Chronology for Hank Aquirre Career

Herb Score and Hank Aguirre of the Indians sweep Baltimore, 3 - 0 and 4 - 0.

Herb Score and Hank Aguirre of the Indians sweep Baltimore, 3 – 0 and 4 – 0.

Cleveland sends veteran C Jim Hegan and P Hank Aguirre to Detroit for C-OF Jay Porter and P Hal Woodeshick. Aguirre will pitch 10 years for Detroit.

Cleveland sends veteran C Jim Hegan and P Hank Aguirre to Detroit for C-OF Jay Porter and P Hal Woodeshick. Aguirre will pitch 10 years for Detroit.

With Rocky Colavito on the bench because of poor hitting, the Tigers sweep the visiting Red Sox, 6 - 2 and 5 - 2. Boston has now lost nine straight and will extend that to 10 games before winning. Jim Bunning and Hank Aguirre notch the wins, as the Hubmen strand 15 runners in the nitecap.

With Rocky Colavito on the bench because of poor hitting, the Tigers sweep the visiting Red Sox, 6 – 2 and 5 – 2. Boston has now lost nine straight and will extend that to 10 games before winning. Jim Bunning and Hank Aguirre notch the wins, as the Hubmen strand 15 runners in the nitecap.

Against Hank Aguirre, Mickey Mantle clouts a 4th-inning home run, the 400th of his career, to tie the game, 1 - 1. The Yanks score two in the 9th off Aguirre to beat Detroit, 3 - 1. The victory, combined with a Minnesota loss, gives the Yanks a 3 1/2 game lead over the Twins. The surprising Angels are in 3rd place, four games back.

Against Hank Aguirre, Mickey Mantle clouts a 4th-inning home run, the 400th of his career, to tie the game, 1 – 1. The Yanks score two in the 9th off Aguirre to beat Detroit, 3 – 1. The victory, combined with a Minnesota loss, gives the Yanks a 3 1/2 game lead over the Twins. The surprising Angels are in 3rd place, four games back.

6/12/1964: Lou Clinton of the Angels hit a three run shot off of Hank Aguirre in the top of the first in Detroit. The game was called off after a 50 minute delay in the top of the second with the Angels still ahead 3-0.

6/12/1964: Lou Clinton of the Angels hit a three run shot off of Hank Aguirre in the top of the first in Detroit. The game was called off after a 50 minute delay in the top of the second with the Angels still ahead 3-0.

1964 - Hank Aguirre gives up five runs on three homers to New York in the first four innings, but the Tigers overcome a 5 - 2 deficit to win, 10 - 5.

1964 – Hank Aguirre gives up five runs on three homers to New York in the first four innings, but the Tigers overcome a 5 – 2 deficit to win, 10 – 5.

Mickey Mantle pinch hit clout delivers a walk off win for Yankees

Mickey Mantle pinch hit clout delivers a walk off win for Yankees

The Tigers trade left-hander Hank Aguirre to the Dodgers for a player to be named later, minor leaguer Fred Moulder

The Tigers trade left-hander Hank Aguirre to the Dodgers for a player to be named later, minor leaguer Fred Moulder

Biography

 
Equally adept at delivering screwballs and one-liners, Aguirre was switched from the bullpen to the starting rotation by the Tigers in 1962 and responded by leading the AL in ERA (2.21) while posting a 16-8 mark. A notoriously poor hitter, he hit below .040 in seven seasons and had a career BA of .085.

Youth in Azusa, California

Nicknamed “Mex” because he was of Mexican descent, Aguirre was born on January 31, 1931, in Azusa, California to Jenny Alva and Joseph Aguirre. Joseph was born in Jalisco, Mexico in 1902 and emigrated with his family during the time of the Mexican Revolution. Joseph and Jenny had seven children. Henry or Hank Aguirre worked in his youth, making, packaging and delivering tortillas for his father’s business, the “Aguirre Tortillas Factory” in San Gabriel, California. At 4 a.m., the young Aguirre would make deliveries—mostly running -— before school. Hank attended and graduated from Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra in 1949 but his “goofy feet” (his words) prevented him from being selected to be part of the baseball team. Hank graduated from East Los Angeles Junior College in 1951.

Pitching career

As a rookie for the Cleveland Indians in 1956, Aguirre struck out Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams the first time he faced him. After the game, Aguirre asked Williams to autograph the ball. Reluctantly, Williams complied. A couple of weeks later Aguirre faced Williams again. This time the “Splendid Splinter” smashed Aguirre’s first offering for a home run. While circling the bases, Williams yelled to Aguirre, “Get that ball, and I’ll sign it, too.”

He pitched in the big leagues for 16 years for four different teams. Before the 1958 season began, Aguirre was traded to the Detroit Tigers, where he remained for 10 years from 1958-1967. Aguirre was principally a relief pitcher until 1962. During a 1962 game at Yankee Stadium, Tigers manager Bob Scheffing used him as a starter when Don Mossi had arm trouble. Scheffing wanted a left-hander to pitch against the Yankees, and he chose Aguirre. Aguirre joined the Tigers starting rotation and finished the 1962 season with a 2.21 earned run average in 42 games (22 as a starter), the best in Detroit since Hal Newhouser in 1946. Having pitched over 100 innings (216 in total) for the first time in his career, Aguirre led the major leagues in ERA (0.33 points lower than Sandy Koufax who was second best), won 16 games, and was selected to the American League All-Star team. He also led the American League in WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) with a 1.051 average. Aguirre also finished 17th in the 1962 American League Most Valuable Player voting.

Aguirre lost his spot in the Tigers starting rotation in 1966, and returned to the bullpen. Before the start of the 1968 season, Aguirre was traded by the Tigers to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a player to be named later. In one season with the Dodgers, Aguirre allowed only three runs in 39-1/3 innings for a 0.69 ERA. Despite the good season, Aguirre was released by the Dodgers and spent the final two seasons of his big league career pitching for Leo Durocher’s Chicago Cubs where he was 4-0 in two seasons from 1969-1970.

In 16 Major League seasons, Aguirre finished with a record of 75-72 in 1,375-2/3 innings pitched, with 856 strikeouts and an earned run average of 3.24.

Aguirre was considered one of the worst hitters of his day. Loving fans would cheer, and in some cases give him a standing ovation, if he was able to make contact fouling off a ball.

Aguirre was born on the same date as Hall-of-Famer Ernie Banks. In addition to being Cubs teammates in 1969 and 1970, both were also Cubs coaches in 1972 and 1973@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@

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