RetroSimba

(Updated Feb. 2, 2023)

Cookie Rojas was supposed to be a 1970s version of Jose Oquendo for the Cardinals, but it didn’t work out.

On June 13, 1970, the Cardinals traded Rojas to the Royals for outfielder Fred Rico. The deal brought an unsatisfactory end to an unexpectedly short stint with the Cardinals for Rojas.

After acquiring Rojas from the Phillies in the October 1969 trade involving Dick Allen, Curt Flood and Tim McCarver, the Cardinals envisioned him as a valuable role player in 1970.

Like Oquendo did with the Cardinals in the 1980s and 1990s, Rojas played all nine positions for the Phillies in the 1960s. Unlike Oquendo, Rojas said he used the same glove to play each position. He donated it to the Baseball Hall of Fame. “I believe that glove represents what I was as a ballplayer and what kind of fielder I was,” Rojas told Bill Francis of the Hall of Fame. “I even used the glove when I caught.” (Rojas caught in seven games for the Phillies.)

Phillies manager Gene Mauch called Rojas the National League’s most versatile athlete since the Cardinals’ Red Schoendienst _ “and I never heard of Schoendienst catching,” Mauch said to the Wilmington (Delaware) News Journal.

The Cardinals projected Rojas to back up second baseman Julian Javier and shortstop Dal Maxvill, and to help out at third base after Mike Shannon was sidelined because of a kidney ailment.

Instead of being a Secret Weapon, as Oquendo was nicknamed, Rojas was more like a lost secret, who didn’t play much for the Cardinals and who rarely reached base when he did.

Cuban cutie

Octavio Victor Rojas was born in Havana, Cuba. His father was a pharmacist at the University of Havana hospital, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

When Octavio was a boy, his mother called him Cuqui, a common Cuban term of endearment loosely translated to mean cute, and the nickname morphed into Cookie when he came to the United States at 17 to begin his baseball career with a Reds farm club, the West Palm Beach Sun Chiefs.

After six years (1956-61) in the minors, Rojas debuted in the majors with the Reds in 1962 as the backup to second baseman Don Blasingame, the former Cardinal. Rojas’ first big-league hit was a single against Sandy Koufax and his first RBI came against the Cardinals’ Curt Simmons. Boxscore

To make room for their rookie second baseman, Pete Rose, in 1963, the Reds traded Rojas to the Phillies.

Rojas spent seven seasons (1963-69) with the Phillies. His first two years were as a utility player before he became their second baseman in 1965.

“Cookie Rojas is a remarkable individual, indefatigable, willing and able to play any position on the field,” syndicated columnist Red Smith wrote.

Rojas told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “I’m not a great ballplayer. I don’t have the ability some players have, but I can help my team win ballgames. Give me a chance, I’ll do it.”

Multiple skills

On June 30, 1967, Rojas pitched an inning against the Giants. With two on and two outs, Willie Mays came to the plate. “The only thing I could think of was I didn’t care how far Willie hit the ball as long as it didn’t come back through the middle,” Rojas said to the Philadelphia Daily News.

After Mays was retired on a soft fly to right, Rojas said, “I think Willie was more afraid of me than I was of Willie. He was probably worried I’d throw one wild and bean him.”

Said Mays: “He pitches good for a second baseman.”

Rojas was a good second baseman. He was a National League all-star in 1965, when he led the Phillies in hitting (.303), and he was tops among the league’s second basemen in fielding percentage, putouts and double plays turned in 1968. When the Phillies had a keystone combination of Rojas at second and Bobby Wine at shortstop, the plays of Wine and Rojas became a fan favorite.

Mauch told the Wilmington (Delaware) News Journal, “There are only three second basemen in the league who compare with Cookie as a glove man _ Tony Taylor, Bill Mazeroski, Julian Javier.”

Tough times

With rookie Denny Doyle projected to take over at second base in 1970, the Phillies deemed Rojas expendable. The Padres, managed by Rojas’ friend and winter-league manager, Preston Gomez, made offers for Rojas, The Sporting News reported, but the Phillies sent him to the Cardinals.

Though Rojas preferred to be a starter, he welcomed the trade to the Cardinals. “This club can win and, even more than playing regularly, I want to play on a championship team,” Rojas told the Post-Dispatch.

The union got off to an awkward start. On Feb. 23, Rojas phoned manager Red Schoendienst at the club’s spring training site in St. Petersburg, Fla., and said, “I think I’ve got chicken pox. What should I do?” Schoendienst replied, “Stay home until you’re sure you’re not contagious.”

Rojas didn’t report to camp until the day before the first exhibition game.

When the regular season began, Rojas, wearing the uniform No. 11 that Oquendo later wore with the Cardinals, struggled to hit. One of his few Cardinals highlights came on April 14, 1970, when he drove in the winning run with a scratch hit against the Expos. Batting for pitcher Sal Campisi in the bottom of the 10th with the bases loaded, one out and the score tied at 5-5. Rojas hit a squibber off the end of his bat down the third-base line.

“The ball was foul, but hit something and bounced over third baseman Angel Hermoso’s glove and over the bag,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

Said Cardinals third-base coach George Kissell: “It looked like the ball hit a cleat mark.”

Julian Javier scored from third on the single for a 6-5 Cardinals victory. Boxscore

Rojas played in 23 games for the Cardinals and hit .106. He made eight starts at second base and three in left field.

Reflecting on his short St. Louis stay, Rojas told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “I sat and I sat. I gained 10 pounds. Everybody said, ‘Rojas is done. Rojas is too slow.’ ”

Revival with Royals

When the Cardinals informed Rojas he was traded to the Royals, an American League team in its second season of existence, “I was going to quit,” Rojas said. “I thought, ‘I’m 31. What does an expansion ball club want with me?’ ”

Before declaring his intentions, Rojas consulted with Preston Gomez, whose Padres, like the Royals, were in their second season as a big-league franchise. Gomez told Rojas, “I think you’re wrong,” and urged him to play for the Royals.

When Rojas reported to the Royals, manager Bob Lemon put him in the starting lineup at second base, replacing Luis Alcaraz.

Out of shape from his limited playing time with the Cardinals, Rojas said, “I couldn’t run. My range was terrible. I got by on experience.”

Rojas played in 98 games for the 1970 Royals and hit .260. He had two four-hit games and a pair of four-RBI games, and stabilized the Royals’ infield. “I knew Rojas would help us defensively,” Lemon told the Kansas City Star. “He makes the right moves all the time.”

In 1971, with the help of hitting instructor Charlie Lau, Rojas batted .300. He went on to play eight seasons (1970-77) with the Royals and was named to the American League all-star team four times. In the 1972 All-Star Game in Atlanta, Rojas batted for Rod Carew and hit a two-run home run versus Bill Stoneman. Boxscore

In 16 big-league seasons, Rojas produced 1,660 hits.

Rojas went on to manage the Angels in 1988, replacing Mauch, who abruptly retired and recommended Rojas for the job. Rojas also was a coach for the Cubs (1978-81), Marlins (1993-96), Mets (1997-2000) and Blue Jays (2001-2002) before becoming a broadcaster on Marlins Spanish radio (2003-12).