Caracas, December 8 (PL) - Baseball fans and all of Venezuela mourn the death last night at the age of 84 of Víctor Davalillo, considered the best hitter of all time and a national sports glory.

The sports supplement Líder, of the newspaper Últimas Noticias, dedicated its front page to the Great Vitico with a photo of his youth and titled: "Víctor Davalillo, farewell to a legend".

A figure of Los Leones del Caracas and in the Major Leagues, he is the owner of the hits record in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP), accumulating 1,505 connections, it indicated.

During his prolific 30-season career, the Venezuelan left-handed hitter also stood out as a pitcher, closing with a balance of 14 wins and 13 losses and a 3.35 ERA, reported the LVBP.

His best season as a pitcher was in 1961-1962 when he averaged 2.46 and finished with 10-4, besides winning six titles with the capital team.

Davalillo also left his mark during the 16 years that he played for the Big League, becoming the first Venezuelan to bat over 300 in 1965 (he hit 301) and in 1970 he led as a leadoff hitter with 24 hits, with the St. Louis team, according to the source.

The exceptional player won a Gold Glove in the Majors in 1964 with the Cleveland Indians and when he retired from the Major Leagues he left with 1,122 hits in 4,296 appearances.

In the Mexican Baseball League he also made history by winning a batting title in 1977 with an average of 384.

A compilation of his participation in all the leagues in which he played revealed that Davalillo accumulated 4,158 hits in 13,209 at-bats and played in 4,291 games, for an average of 315, in addition to scoring 1,970 times, driving in 1,484 runs and stealing 401 bases.

For his meritorious sports life, in 2003 he was exalted to the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame.

In his X account, formerly Twitter, President Nicolás Maduro wrote "honor and glory to one of the greats of our baseball, the unforgettable Víctor Davalillo, who leaves this plane as a legend of Venezuelan sports and of the MLB (Major League Baseball)".

The head of state considered him "an example" for many generations of baseball players and conveyed his "condolences to his family, friends and the great baseball fans, a great 'Vitico'", he added.