Julián Ladera

Julián Ladera (July 15, 1928 – September 14, 1973) was a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher. Listed at , , he batted and threw right-handed.

A reliable and durable pitcher, Ladera spent 16 years in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League from 1949 through 1965. Although a starter for most of his career, he also filled significant relief roles coming out from the bullpen, serving as a closer, middle reliever, or set-up man as well. His repertoire of pitches included a heavy fastball, a changeup, and a curve which he threw from a sidearm angle.

Early life Ladera was born in Carmen de Uria, a ghost village of the State of Vargas located in the north coastal region of Venezuela. He grew up and was raised in Catia La Mar, one of the most important cities located in Vargas state and a strong fan base of the Tiburones de La Guaira baseball club. As a teenager, he played sandlot ball and later joined a local amateur team. He then heard about Venezuelan league tryouts in Caracas and went with about 50 other players. Only a few of them made the cut to keep, including him. Ladera had no baseball position, but the league was urged for hard-throwing pitchers, so he seemed like a good candidate for the mound. It took a few years to take his raw talent and turn him into a genuine pitcher.

Professional career

Venezuelan baseball Ladera moved around for a while, as the Venezuelan league shifted players as needed to help teams stay afloat. He made his professional debut during the winter of 1949–1950 with the Cervecería Caracas club. He played for them in two seasons, before joining the Navegantes del Magallanes in 1951–1952 and then found himself on the move again, this time to the Patriotas de Venezuela during the midseason. He emerged with the Patriotas in 1952–1953, leading the league in shutouts (3) and complete games (8), while recording a solid 3.35 earned run average in 22 games. He finished with a win–loss record of 6–9, even though he suffered from lack of run support. He then moved to the Santa Marta BBC in 1954–1955.

In his first season for Valencia, Ladera led the league in ERA (2.41) and relief appearances (23), pitching also a complete game in four starts, while compiling a 6–2 record with 22 strikeouts in 71.0 innings pitched. He led the team in games pitched (27) and tied his pal Jim Pearce for the most wins, being surpassed only by Ron Mrozinski (8) and Emilio Cueche (7). Managed by Regino Otero, the Industriales won the title with a 33–21 record in its debuting season and advanced to the 1956 Caribbean Series. Ladera made three relief appearances in the Series and did not have a decision.

He was used sparingly in the next four seasons, appearing in 41 games for the rest of career, which included stints with Magallanes and Estrellas Orientales from 1964 through 1965.

Between the Venezuelan and Mexican leagues, he worked more than 310 innings in each of these three years, a very heavy workload for any pitcher.

Pitching statistics Some statistics are incomplete because there are no records available at the time of the request. Regular season YearsLeagueWLW-L%ERAGPGSCGSHOSVIPHARAERHRBBIBBSOHBPBKWPRef 1949–1965 Venezuela 60 63 .488 3.65 258 127 42 1113.0 1060 452 539 542 1952–1953 Class B 21 24 .467 3.42 56 42 321.0 316 158 122 6 172 1953 Class A 1 5 .167 3.63 17 7 62.0 58 41 25 3 37 1955–1956 Class AAA 7 6 .538 4.07 45 16 4 2 126.0 127 66 57 10 69 65 1 3 1952–1953;1955–1956 Mexico (AA) 61 65 .484 3.86 177 120 63 968.0 967 482 411 524

Postseason YearsLeagueWLW-L%ERAGPGSCGSHOSVIPHARAERHRBBIBBSOHBPBKWPRef 1957–1959; 1961; 1963–1964 Venezuela(six times) 3 5 .375 2.90 14 10 6 87.0 88 28 32 44 1956–1958; 1960 Caribbean Series (four times) 1 0 1.000 3.86 8 1 1 0 0 30 17 14 0 14 0 21 0 0 0