Cookie Rojas: From Utility Man to Fan Favorite

In November of 1962 the Phillies made what appeared to be an insignificant trade when they sent disgruntled pitcher Jim Owens to the Cincinnati Reds for a little known utility infielder named Octavio "Cookie" Rojas. Phillies manager Gene Mauch said of the trade of the problem-child Owens, "Sometimes you add by subtracting." A Cuban, Rojas had worked his way through the Cincinnati system and made his major league debut in 1962 appearing in 39 games for the Reds and hitting .221. In 1963, Rojas appeared in 64 games for the Phillies , but got only 82 at bats, again hitting just .221. Despite the low batting average, Mauch liked Rojas' versatility and willingness to play anywhere. In 1964 Cookie was used as a "super-sub" and he responded to the increased playing time with a banner year. 

Used primarily as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement in the fist month of the 1964 season, Rojas played every outfield position and second base. Inserted into the starting line up on May 27, Rojas responded with 14 hits in the next seven games, playing mostly at second base and center field. In the May 27 game Rojas had 2 hits, a run scored and an RBI, almost single-handedly leading the Phillies offense to a 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Art Mahaffey pitched the shutout. On May 29, however, against the Houston Colt .45s before 13, 000+ fans at Connie Mack Stadium, Rojas won the hearts of even the crustiest of Phillies fans with his inspired play.

The Phillies awoke on May 29, one game behind the San Francisco Giants in the National League pennant race. Pennant fever was just beginning to build in Philadelphia, where the Phillies had been a bad team for nearly a decade. Young stars like Johnny Callison, Dick Allen, Tony Gonzalez and Chris Short, were joined by veterans Jim Bunning, Ed Roebuck, and Wes Covington to make the Phillies a pennant contender. Rojas was about to add his name to the list of leaders on the Phillies team.

In this game, Phillies ace Jim Bunning faced off against Houston ace Bob Bruce. Batting leadoff, Rojas greeted Bruce with a single in the bottom of the first. The Phillies eventually scored two runs in the inning on a Gonzalez two out triple. In the third inning, Rojas again led off and this time reached Bruce for a double, but was stranded there as Allen, Covington, and Gonzalez all made outs. In the fifth, Rojas reached when Colt .45 shortstop, Eddie Kasko, made an error. Allen, Callison, and Covington followed with consecutive singles and the Phillies led 4-0. Don Larsen replaced Bruce on the mound for the Colt .45s.

Rojas helped the Phillies build the lead to 5-0 in the sixth inning when he singled off Larsen, scoring Clay Dalrymple, who had singled and moved up on a couple of ground outs. In the seventh, the Colt .45s got one run back when Mike White doubled on a misjudged fly ball to Covington and scored on a Walt Bond single. Phillies 5, Colt .45s 1. 

In the eighth inning the Phillies almost gave the game away. After Rusty Staub walked and Dave Roberts singled, Ruben Amaro, playing at first base, dropped John Bateman's pop-up. Right fielder Callison recovered the ball in time to easily throw out Roberts at second, but threw wildly allowing Staub to score and Roberts and Bateman to move to third and second respectively. Kasko then singled scoring two runs. After two were out, Nellie Fox tripled in Kasko with the tying run and then scored the go-ahead run on another White double. That was it for Bunning, as Dennis Bennett replaced him to get the final out of the inning.

Suddenly down 6-5, the Phillies rallied behind Rojas. Danny Cater pinch hit for John Hernnstein and singled off new Colt .45 pitcher, Hal Woodeshick. Tony Taylor batted for Dalrymple and laid down a sacrifice bunt. Gus Triandos hit for Bennett and doubled to left scoring Cater with the tying run. That brought up Rojas, who promptly tripled for his fourth hit of the game, bringing home Triandos with the lead run.

Leading by one run, the Phillies turned the game over to Roebuck, who set the Colt .45s down on order in the ninth to record his fifth save of the season. The Phillies moved into first place in the standings. Rojas, with four hits, including a double and triple,  2 RBIs, and a run scored was the hero. He would be a regular in the Phillies line up and a fan favorite for the next five years.

Over his time with the Phillies, Rojas' versatility was on full display. He played every position on the field at some point, including catching in seven games. He even pitched one shut out inning in a blow out against the San Francisco Giants in 1967. In 1969, Rojas was a part of the famous Phillies/St. Louis Cardinal Dick Allen/Curt Flood trade that was the beginning of free agency in baseball. Unsuccessful in St. Louis, he was traded that same year to the Kansas City Royals. With the Royals, Rojas established himself as the starting second baseman and a perennial All-Star. After his playing days he spent many years as a major league coach. Today at 82, he is the Spanish language color commentator for the Miami Marlins.