Cookie Rojas
Born: 3/6/1939 in Havana, La Habana, Cuba
MLB Debut: 1962-04-10 | Final Game: 1977-10-01
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 160 lbs
Full name: Octavio Victor Rojas
Biography
Cookie Rojas, born in 1939, was a prominent figure in Major League Baseball from 1962 until his retirement in 1977. Over the course of his career, Rojas played in 1,822 games, establishing himself as a reliable position player known for his versatility and consistency. He recorded 1,660 hits, contributing to a respectable career batting average of .263. Rojas was not only a skilled hitter but also demonstrated power with 54 home runs and the ability to drive in runs, finishing with 593 RBIs. His speed on the basepaths was evident in his 74 stolen bases, showcasing his all-around ability to impact the game.
Rojas was selected as an All-Star five times, a testament to his talent and dedication during an era marked by fierce competition and evolving playing styles. He was particularly known for his defensive prowess and ability to play multiple infield positions, which made him a valuable asset to the teams he played for, including the Philadelphia Phillies and the Kansas City Royals. Rojas's contributions to the game extended beyond his statistics; he was well-respected by his peers and remains a beloved figure in baseball history. His career encapsulated the transition of the game through the 1960s and 1970s, bridging the gap between the traditional styles of the past and the more dynamic approaches of the modern game.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1822 | 6309 | 713 | 1660 | 254 | 25 | 54 | 593 | 74 | 396 | 489 | 0.263 | 0.306 | 0.337 | 0.643 | -7491.2 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | CIN | NL | 39 | 86 | 9 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 0.221 | -318.4 |
| 1963 | PHI | NL | 64 | 77 | 18 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 0.221 | -258.2 |
| 1964 | PHI | NL | 109 | 340 | 58 | 99 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 31 | 1 | 22 | 17 | 0.291 | 286.6 |
| 1965 | PHI | NL | 142 | 521 | 78 | 158 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 42 | 5 | 42 | 33 | 0.303 | 856.4 |
| 1966 | PHI | NL | 156 | 626 | 77 | 168 | 18 | 1 | 6 | 55 | 4 | 35 | 46 | 0.268 | -749.6 |
| 1967 | PHI | NL | 147 | 528 | 60 | 137 | 21 | 2 | 4 | 45 | 8 | 30 | 58 | 0.259 | -616.0 |
| 1968 | PHI | NL | 152 | 621 | 53 | 144 | 19 | 0 | 9 | 48 | 4 | 16 | 55 | 0.232 | -1720.2 |
| 1969 | PHI | NL | 110 | 391 | 35 | 89 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 30 | 1 | 23 | 28 | 0.228 | -1420.5 |
| 1970 | KCR | AL | 98 | 384 | 36 | 100 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 3 | 20 | 29 | 0.260 | -935.9 |
| 1970 | STL | NL | 23 | 47 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0.106 | -935.9 |
| 1971 | KCR | AL | 115 | 414 | 56 | 124 | 22 | 2 | 6 | 59 | 8 | 39 | 35 | 0.300 | 896.9 |
| 1972 | KCR | AL | 137 | 487 | 49 | 127 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 53 | 2 | 41 | 35 | 0.261 | -266.5 |
| 1973 | KCR | AL | 139 | 551 | 77 | 152 | 29 | 3 | 6 | 69 | 18 | 37 | 38 | 0.276 | -282.6 |
| 1974 | KCR | AL | 144 | 542 | 52 | 147 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 60 | 8 | 30 | 43 | 0.271 | -754.8 |
| 1975 | KCR | AL | 120 | 406 | 34 | 103 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 37 | 4 | 30 | 24 | 0.254 | -851.5 |
| 1976 | KCR | AL | 63 | 132 | 11 | 32 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 0.242 | -399.6 |
| 1977 | KCR | AL | 64 | 156 | 8 | 39 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 17 | 0.250 | -499.8 |
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | PHI | NL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.308 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | ALCS | KCA | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.250 |
| 1976 | ALCS | KCA | 4 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.333 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2B | 1446 | 1332 | 3100 | 3819 | 115 | 953 |
| 3B | 46 | 35 | 27 | 75 | 6 | 9 |
| C | 7 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| OF | 197 | 161 | 299 | 16 | 10 | 2 |
| P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SS | 39 | 14 | 32 | 52 | 3 | 7 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | CIN | 2B | 30 | 24 | 60 | 52 | 6 | 13 |
| 1962 | CIN | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963 | PHI | 2B | 25 | 15 | 42 | 68 | 1 | 13 |
| 1963 | PHI | OF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1964 | PHI | C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1964 | PHI | 2B | 20 | 14 | 33 | 39 | 2 | 5 |
| 1964 | PHI | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1964 | PHI | SS | 18 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 1 | 5 |
| 1964 | PHI | OF | 70 | 56 | 110 | 7 | 4 | 1 |
| 1965 | PHI | C | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | PHI | 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | PHI | 2B | 84 | 78 | 189 | 230 | 6 | 57 |
| 1965 | PHI | SS | 11 | 1 | 6 | 17 | 2 | 2 |
| 1965 | PHI | OF | 55 | 42 | 75 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 1966 | PHI | 2B | 106 | 98 | 218 | 288 | 9 | 68 |
| 1966 | PHI | SS | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966 | PHI | OF | 56 | 53 | 98 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 1967 | PHI | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967 | PHI | C | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967 | PHI | 2B | 137 | 127 | 282 | 360 | 15 | 92 |
| 1967 | PHI | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967 | PHI | SS | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1967 | PHI | OF | 9 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968 | PHI | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968 | PHI | 2B | 150 | 149 | 365 | 424 | 10 | 110 |
| 1969 | PHI | 2B | 95 | 94 | 259 | 229 | 10 | 68 |
| 1969 | PHI | OF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1970 | KCA | 2B | 97 | 95 | 217 | 283 | 9 | 69 |
| 1970 | SLN | 2B | 10 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 0 | 9 |
| 1970 | SLN | SS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1970 | SLN | OF | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971 | KCA | 2B | 111 | 111 | 252 | 293 | 5 | 76 |
| 1971 | KCA | SS | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971 | KCA | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972 | KCA | 2B | 131 | 127 | 265 | 360 | 9 | 82 |
| 1972 | KCA | 3B | 6 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| 1972 | KCA | SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973 | KCA | 2B | 137 | 136 | 297 | 429 | 13 | 114 |
| 1974 | KCA | 2B | 141 | 133 | 292 | 368 | 9 | 94 |
| 1975 | KCA | 2B | 116 | 105 | 233 | 303 | 11 | 65 |
| 1976 | KCA | 1B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976 | KCA | 2B | 40 | 14 | 48 | 45 | 0 | 11 |
| 1976 | KCA | 3B | 6 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| 1977 | KCA | 2B | 16 | 4 | 26 | 18 | 0 | 7 |
| 1977 | KCA | 3B | 31 | 27 | 23 | 62 | 5 | 6 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 1 |
| Catcher | 7 |
| First Base | 2 |
| Second Base | 1444 |
| Third Base | 47 |
| Shortstop | 39 |
| Left Field | 79 |
| Center Field | 124 |
| Right Field | 10 |
| Designated Hitter | 16 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | TSN All-Star | 2B |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 25th | 5.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1971 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 14th | 15.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1965 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 26th | 5.0 | 280 | 0 |