Pedro

On April 3rd, 1974, the Dodgers traded pitcher Bruce Ellingsen to the Cleveland Indians for 17-year-old Pedro Guerrero. The Indians were desperate for pitching. It would turn out to be one of the most lopsided one-for-one trades ever.

Guerrero went to Orangeburg in the Western Carolina League to start and played 19 games there before moving on to low A Bellingham where in 82 games he hit .316. Over the next 3 years, he played at Danville, Waterbury, and Albuquerque. Never hitting below .305.

He was mainly a 3rd baseman, but also played 1B and the outfield. At Albuquerque in 1978, he hit .337 in 132 games with 14 HR’s and 116 RBI’s. He was called up to the Dodgers in September of 1978, and got his first hit, a pinch-hit single in a blowout loss against Randy Jones and the Padres. He pinch-hit for Rick Sutcliffe.

Pedro was born on June 29th, 1956 in San Pedro de Macoris, in the Dominican Republic. He was barely in his teens when he left school to help support his family cutting cane for the island’s rum industry. His salary was barely 3 dollars a week.

He helped support his divorced mother and siblings by day, and at night he would play drums, and on the weekends he would play organized baseball. By age 16 the hard-hitting Guerrero stood out among his peers in a local youth league, primarily playing 3rd base.

Latin scouting pioneer, Reggie Otero, representing the Cleveland Indians, traveled there to scout Guerrero. Guerrero, who was 5’11” 157 Lbs. at the time, and Otero looked at the width of his shoulders back and front and knew he would get stronger and bigger. He was living on rice and beans.

In late 1972, Otero offered Guerrero a pro contract which had a 2500 dollar bonus to be paid on New Years Day, 1973. Guerrero went to rookie ball in the Gulf Coast League. When the Indians needed pitching, the lefty Ellingsen was traded for Guerrero on the recommendation of Otero who had recently been hired by Al Campanis.

In 1979, Pedro got into 25 games. He hit his first MLB HR off of Bob Owchinco of the Padres and finished with 2. In 1980, he played an important role with the team, filling in for Davey Lopes when he was ailing and taking over in CF for Rudy Law who was slumping. Overall he played 6 positions and hit .322 in 75 games with 7 HRs and 31 RBI’s. 1981 it was more of the same. He appeared in 98 games, hitting .300 with 12 HRs and 48 RBI’s. Getting selected for his first All-Star team. He hit .333 in the World Series against the Yankees and was tri MVP with Yeager and Cey.

1982, he finally became a regular. He played 137 games in the outfield and 24 at 3rd base. He hit .304 with 32 HR’s, and 100 RBIs. He was 3rd in the MVP vote and won a silver slugger award. Amazingly, unlike the year before, he was not on the All-Star team. 1983, more of the same. He hit .298, with 32 long balls and 103 RBI’s He earned another All-Star berth, and was 4th in the MVP vote. He hit .250 with no HRs in a losing effort against the Phillies in the NLCS. He also struck out over 100 times for the first time in his career.

In 1984, his batting average again went over .300 with a .303 mark. But his power and RBI’s numbers dipped. 16 and 72. He rebounded in 85 with a .320 avg, 33 HRs, and 87 RBI’s. Again named to the All-Star team. He was 3rd in the MVP vote. He again struggled in the NLCS against the Cardinals, hitting .250 with no homers and 4 RBI’s. The Jack Clark series.

Pedro had become the first Dodger to hit 30 HR’s and steal 20 bases in 82. He repeated that in 83. In 1985 he hit 15 HR’s in June, a record, and tied the LA mark for the most HR’s in a season, 33. Pedro was an aggressive baserunner, but not a real good slider. In spring training in 1986, he ruptured a tendon sliding and missed most of the 1986 season. He got into only 31 games and hit .246.

In 1987, he rebounded again, this time hitting .338, the highest BA by any Dodger since Tommy Davis hit .346 in 1962. He made the All-Star team again and had 27 HRs and 89 RBI’s. He walked almost as much as he struck out, and his OPS was .955. In 1988, he started out pretty good and was hitting .298 after 59 games. But his slugging pct was way down and he only had 5 HRs. The Dodgers, needing starting pitching traded him to the Cardinals on August 16 for John Tudor.

Over his 11 years with the team, Pedro hit .309 with 171 HRs and 585 RBIs. He won 1 silver slugger award and made the All-Star team 4 times. He would play 5 years in St. Louis, never quite being the power source he was in LA again. But he did have an excellent year in 1989, hitting .311 with 17 HRs and 117 RBI’s. Making the All-Star team again and finishing 3rd once more in the MVP vote. He was released after the 1992 season, a year he only played in 43 games.

In 93, 94, and 95, he played in an Independent league, the Mexican league, and the minors with the Midland Angels before finally hanging it up after the 95 season. He finished his career with a .300 Avg, 215 HRs, and 898 RBI’s. He also had 96 stolen bases. His 171 HR’s are 10th on the Dodgers all-time list.

Pedro was out of baseball for quite a while. He was arrested in September of 1999 for allegedly trying to buy 33 POUNDS of cocaine from an undercover agent. He was acquitted of drug conspiracy charges when his attorney argued that his client’s intellect prevented him from understanding the implications of the alleged drug deal. Hirsch detailed a portrait of a former MLB All-Star, referencing his lack of education and inability to perform simple everyday tasks.

From 2011 to 2014, Pedro managed in some foreign leagues. He had been introduced to managing by a former teammate, Mike Marshall, who was the commissioner of the Arizona Winter League. Mike hired him to be a hitting coach. In September of 2017, Pedro suffered what was considered a serious stroke while in New York City. Doctors thought he was brain dead, but he was only in a coma. The next morning he made what was considered a miracle recovery. And he was moved out of the ICU and was talking to friends and family.

Pedro returned to Dodger Stadium when the team celebrated the 1981 team and took a photo with his co MVP’s, Steve Yeager and Ron Cey. I always liked Pedro. He played hard and when he connected, the ball went a long way. I always believed that when he went down in spring training in 1986, and it was close to the end of spring, the Dodger’s chances of doing anything that season went down the tubes. He was always fun to watch.