Gus Polidor

Who was Gus Polidor?

Gustavo Adolfo Polidor González [poh-lee-DOR], was a shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for the California Angels, Milwaukee Brewers and Florida Marlins. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela.

His best year was 1987 with the Angels, when he hit for a .263 batting average, with 2 homers and 15 RBI in 137 at bats. After dropping off to .148 in 1988 he was traded to the Brewers. Polidor played in a career-high 79 games in 1989 and was later a member of the Marlins in their 1993 inaugural season.

In his major league career, Polidor batted .207, with 2 home runs, 35 runs batted in, 33 runs scored, 15 doubles and 3 stolen bases.

Polidor made a brief comeback attempt as a replacement player with the Montreal Expos in spring training of 1995. Less than a month later, he was murdered in Caracas as he tried to protect his son from two men who were trying to steal his car. He was only 33 years old.