Miguel Hoz Obituary, Death – Miguel Angel de la Hoz Piloto was a Cuban Major League Baseball infielder who played from 1938 to 2023. De la Hoz was signed as an amateur free agency by the Cleveland Indians prior to the 1958 season, and he played for the Indians from 1960 to 1963, the Milwaukee Braves / Atlanta Braves from 1964 to 1967, and the Cincinnati Reds in 1969. He primarily served as a utility player. On July 22, 1960, at the age of 21, De la Hoz made his major league debut with the Indians in a 6-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. He got his first career hit, a fourth-inning single off Ike Delock, while starting at shortstop and hitting sixth.
On April 1, 1964, he was transferred to the Milwaukee Braves after four seasons with the Indians. He spent four seasons with the Braves, the final two of which were after the team relocated to Atlanta. He did not play in the majors in 1968 and retired in 1969 after only one game with the Cincinnati Reds. De la Hoz started 43 games in his debut season in 1960, and 214 in all, with 83 at third base, 70 at second base, 60 at shortstop, and one in left field. He was most effective at second base, where he fielded.972 in 119 appearances. Throughout his career, he was frequently employed as a pinch hitter.
De la Hoz hit a pinch home run off Dave Giusti in the bottom of the eighth inning on July 8, 1965, tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with an RBI single off Jim Owens, and singled and scored against Ron Taylor in the bottom of the 12th on a Frank Bolling single as the Braves won, 9-8. De la Hoz’s 494-game career batting totals are 280 hits, 25 home runs, 115 runs batted in, 116 runs scored, a.251 batting average, and a.365 slugging percentage. De la Hoz was inducted into Cuba’s Sports Hall of Fame (El Salón de la Fama del Deporte Cubano) in 2010. De la Hoz died on May 28, 2023, in Miami, Florida, at the age of 84.