Ramón Fernández (minors01)

Ramón Fernández
(Dumbo)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 205 lb.

• Born July 5, 1920 in Maracaibo, Zulia Venezuela
• Died April 13, 1979

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Outfielder-pitcher Ramón Fernández was an early star in Venezuelan baseball.

Fernández was on the Venezuelan national team in the 1940 Amateur World Series. He was part of the Héroes del 41 that won the 1941 Amateur World Series; the group later was inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame. He was with Venezuela when they won the 1944 Amateur World Series. He helped Venezuela to another title at the 1945 Amateur World Series, which he led with 21 hits. He broke the Amateur World Series record for hits, held at 19 by Stanley Cayasso and Antonio Briñez; his mark stood 7 years before Bert Bradford passed him.

When the Venezuelan League played its second season in 1946-1947, Dumbo turned pro for the Navegantes del Magallanes. He hit .336/?/.500 but was only 1-4 with a 7.47 ERA on the hill. He tied Marvin Williams for second in the LVBP in home runs (5, one behind Vidal López). He was also 3rd in hits (behind Parnell Woods and Williams, leading all native Venezuelans), 8th in runs (24 in 36 games, between Luis Aparicio Sr. and Carlos Ascanio), tied Pepe Lucas and Guillermo Vento for 4th in doubles (8), tied López for 4th with 25 RBI, was 5th in average for players with 100+ AB and was 4th in slugging for players with 100+ AB, between Woods and Francisco Contreras.

The Maracaibo native moved to Cervecería Caracas in 1947-1948 and helped them to their first title. He was 7-3 with a 3.47 ERA while also hitting .283 and slugging .465. He tied for 4th in the league with four homers (behind Americans Luke Easter, Henry McHenry and Roy Campanella), tied Frank Austin for 5th with 24 RBI, was 4th in wins (between John Wright and McHenry, 4th in ERA for pitchers with 30+ IP (between Luis Zuloaga and Verdel Mathis), was 3rd with 7 complete games (trailing Don Newcombe and Zuloaga) and tied Saul Rogovin for 7th with 26 whiffs. He was second to Valentín Arévalo in WHIP (1.16), beating out Newcombe among others.

Despite pitching so well in the regular season, Fernández was used solely on offense in the 1949 Caribbean Series. He hit .350 and slugged .450 as Caracas's first baseman; only Vento hit better for the team. His four runs tied for second on the team (behind Dalmiro Finol) and his four RBI tied Vento and Finol for first. Caracas placed second in the first Caribbean Series. He got his only appearance in Organized Baseball that summer, signing with the Havana Cubans. He batted .272/?/.413 as their #4 outfielder behind Frank Campos, Jose Zardon and Hiram Gonzalez. Despite being a back-up, he tied Gil Torres for 3rd on the team with four home runs. He was also 3-1 with a 3.52 ERA in 11 games on the hill; most of the pitchers who saw more action had been in the majors at one point.

Ramón had his best two-way season in 1949-1950: he hit .305/?/.517 with 7 home runs and 26 RBI in 36 games for Caracas while going 7-2 with a 3.19 ERA on the hill. He tied Finol, Jim Pendleton and Ray Brown for 3rd in the league in home runs, was 8th in RBI, 4th in slugging for players with 100+ at-bats (after López, Pendleton and Howard Easterling), was 3rd in wins (one behind Theolic Smith and Sandy Ullrich) and was 4th in ERA for pitchers with 50+ innings. In the 1950 Caribbean Series, he pitched one inning and was 1 for 13 at the plate.

For Caracas in 1950-1951, he hit .265 and slugged .359 but pitched poorly (9 H, 4 BB, 7 ER in 3 2/3 IP). He would not pitch regularly or well again. In 1951-1952, he slumped to .169 with a .203 slugging for the Sabios de Vargas. He wound down his career in 1952-1953 by hitting .259 and slugging .296 for Magallanes. He had hit .278/?/.417 with 30 doubles, 19 homers and 118 RBI in 239 LVBP games and was 15-12 with a 4.67 ERA in 47 games pitched. Despite struggling on the hill his final three years and seeing little mound action, he retired as #8 in LVBP annals in wins and was 5th in career home runs (between Chico Carrasquel and Luis Garcia.