César Dario Gutiérrez [goo-te-er'-rez] (January 26, 1943 – January 22, 2005), also nicknamed "Cocoa", was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball for the San Francisco Giants in the 1967 and 1969 seasons, and for the Detroit Tigers from 1969 to 1971. Listed at 5'9" and 155 lbs, he batted and threw right handed. Gutiérrez is notable for being the second player in Major League history to record seven hits in a game without making an out.

Career

Born in Coro, Falcón, Gutiérrez was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1960. He was released in 1962, then was signed by the Giants before the 1963 season.

On June 21, 1970 in the second game of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians, Gutiérrez collected seven hits in seven at bats including a double, to become the second player in Major League history, after Wilbert Robinson, to record seven hits in a game without making an out. The Tigers won 9–8 in twelve innings, as his batting average went up 31 points that day, from .218 to .249.

Nevertheless, in 1971, Gutiérrez lost his regular shortstop position to Ed Brinkman, who had been acquired in a blockbuster six-player trade with the Washington Senators in the off-season. He played 40 games as a utility infielder for Detroit, batting only .189. Gutiérrez was sold to the Montreal Expos prior to the start of the next season, being assigned to their Triple-A affiliate, the Peninsula Whips, where after playing in only 12 games he was then released and picked up by the San Diego Padres, who assigned him to their Triple-A Hawaii Islanders affiliate club. Gutiérrez played the rest of the 1972 season in Hawaii, and retired at the end of the year.

Gutiérrez died in Cabimas, Zulia State, Venezuela, four days short of his 62nd birthday.

See also

  • List of Major League Baseball players from Venezuela
  • List of Major League Baseball hit records
  • List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders

References

  • Retrosheet