Bert Campaneris

Dagoberto "Bert" Campaneris Blanco (born March 9, 1942), nicknamed "Campy", is a Cuban American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for four American League teams, primarily the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics. One of the mainstays of the Athletics' championship teams of 1972 to 1974, he holds the A's franchise records for career games played (1795), hits (1882) and at bats (7180). He led the AL in stolen bases six times from 1965 to 1972 and retired with the seventh most steals in history (649). He led the league in putouts three times, and ended his career among the major league leaders in games (5th, 2097) and double plays (7th, 1186) at his position.

Professional career

A small, skinny player at 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) and 160 pounds (73 kg), the Cuban-born Campaneris was a key figure on the A's of the 1960s and 1970s. In his debut with Kansas City on July 23, 1964, Campaneris hit two home runs, the first coming on the first pitch thrown to him by Jim Kaat. He is one of five players in major league history to hit two home runs in his first game; Bob Nieman (1951), Mark Quinn (1999), J.P. Arencibia (2010), and Yasmani Grandal (2012) are the only others to accomplish this feat.