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Former Whiz Kid Caballero passes away at 89
- Updated: December 21, 2016
Ralph “Putsy” Caballero, an infielder on the Phillies’ 1950 pennant-winning Whiz Kids, passed away Dec. 8 in New Orleans, where he spent his entire life. He was 89.
Caballero was signed by the Phillies as a 16-year-old on Sept. 9, 1944, for $10,000. Five days later, he became the youngest third baseman ever in the Major Leagues when he entered in the seventh inning against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. That ballpark was also the place where he got his first hit on April 26, 1948, and his last hit on Sept. 27, 1952. That hit — a two-run single — came in his final at-bat.
A utility infielder, pinch-runner and pinch-hitter, Caballero played for the Phillies in the Majors in 1944-45 and ’47-52, plus seven seasons in their Minor …