Monday, September 29, 2014

Jose Altuve Joins Rarefied Air

Jose Altuve put together one of the most impressive seasons with his 2014 American League batting and hits titles. Altuve finished with a .341 batting average with 225 hits. Now consider this, Altuve's 225 hits places him in 3rd place All-Time for Hits by a Latino Ballplayer.

Now keeping in mind of such sluggers that have recently played the game as Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, Adrian Beltran, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Nelson Cruz, Alex Rodriguez, Vladimir Guerrero and Latino legends such as Roberto Clemente, Vic Power (Victor Pellot), Tony Oliva and Pedro Guerrero, Altuve had more hits in his 2014 season than all those players ever did in an individual season. Now consider that the record most hits in one season is 262 hits, which is held by Ichiro Suzuki, here are the two Latinos to have more hits that Jose Altuve

Rod Carew
At the age of 31, Panamanian Rod Carew put up a career high 239 hits during the 1977 season in which he won the American League Most Valuable Player Award while a member of the Minnesota Twins. 1977 was also a career year for Carew in terms of batting average. Carew hit .388 that season with 38 doubles, 16 triples and 14 home runs while driving in 100 runs and scoring 128 runs.


Matteo Alou
One of the famed trio of Alou Brothers from the Dominican Republic, Matteo Alou racked up a career high 231 hits for the 1969 Pittsburgh Pirates. Alou batted .331 with a league leading 41 doubles, 6 triples and 1 home run while driving in 48 runs and scoring 105 runs.

Jose Altuve
What's impressive about Altuve's 2014 season is that he was able to do so at the young age of 24. Altuve batted a career high .341 with a career high 225 hits. He raked 47 doubles, 3 triples and 7 home runs with 59 Runs batted in and 85 runs scored. Add to that, the league leading 56 stolen bases that Altuve swiped.

Will Altuve get much AL MVP consideration outside of Houston? The front runners are currently Mike Trout, Nelson Cruz, Adam Jones and Victor Martinez. I think it will be hard for Altuve to win the AL MVP though if I had a vote, he'd be my pick. What do you think, does he have a chance to win AL MVP?

Hasta la próxima, no dejamos de jugar el Beisbol,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

For Further Reading:
- Click here to access Jose Altuve's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click here to access Rod Carew's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click here to access Matteo Alou's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click here to access the Single-Season Leaders & Records for Hits from Baseball Reference.com


Monday, September 22, 2014

Fernando Valenzuela Becomes the First Mexican-Born Pitcher to Win 20-Games September 22, 1986

On this day in Baseball History September 22, 1986: Native of Etchohuaquila, Mexico by the name of Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea nicknamed "El Toro" became the first Mexican-born pitcher to win 20-games. Pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Houston Astros at the Astrodome, Fernando threw the 19th of his league leading 20 complete games for his 20th victory. Valenzuela was en-route to a 21-11 record and his only career 20-win season. Valenzuela would come in second in the National League Cy Young vote behind Mike Scott of the Houston Astros.

The 1986 season would be special for Mexican-born pitchers with Teddy Higuera of the Milwaukee Brewers joining Valenzuela in the Mexican-born 20-game winner club. Higuera would win his 20th game on October 1, 1986 against the Detroit Tigers. As with Valenzuela, Higuera would finish second in the American League Cy Young vote. His 20-11 1986 campaign would be his only 20-win season in his career.

Will we ever see another 20-win pitcher from Mexico? There are currently a couple of pitchers who can do so. Jaime Garcia of the St. Louis Cardinals has won 13 games twice (2010 and 2011). Injuries have seemed to have slowed him down. Jaime de la Rosa of the Colorado Rockies has won 16 games twice (2009 and 2013) and currently has 14 wins this season. Marco Estrada of the Milwaukee Brewers is also another pitcher that has the potential if he can become a fixture in the Brewers rotation. Miguel Gonzalez of the Baltimore Orioles is also another potential pitcher for the Mexican- born 20-win game. My prediction is Yovani Gallardo of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Gallardo has put up 13, 14, 17, and 16-win seasons with the Brewers. I believe that if anyone of the Mexican pitchers that I mention that are currently playing in MLB can reach 20-wins, its Gallardo. What do you think. Agree? Disagree? Anyone else that I failed to mention? We'll have to wait and see if any of these pitchers step up next season.

Hasta la próxima, no dejamos de jugar el Beisbol,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle






Friday, May 9, 2014

Latinos Making History May 9, 2014

As I wrote on my Baseball Sisco blogpage on May 8, 2014 in the post Five Players to Hit 100 Homers With Three Different Teams, Adrian Beltre became the fifth player to hit 100 homeruns for three different teams. In doing so he joined Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, Darrell Evans, Alex Rodriguez and Jim Thome in that exclusive club.

The Cuban Beisbol renaissance continues in MLB with Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox being selected the American League player and American League Rookie of the month of April. He is the first American League player to do so and second overall. His fellow countryman Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers is the first winning the equivalent National League honors last June.

Courtesy of Von's Card Blog
There was an interesting article on the Cuban Beisbol renaissance in the Majors entitled White Sox, Furthering Legacy, Provide Warm Home For Cubans, Amid Chill by Tyler Kepner from the NYTimes website dated April 19, 2014. The article states:
For the second time this season, it included four players from Cuba: (Alexei) Ramirez at shortstop, Dayan Viciedo in right field, Adrian Nieto catching and Jose Abreu, who signed for six years and $68 million last October, at first base. No team since the 1969 Cleveland Indians had started four Cuban-born players in a game.
That is a forty-five year gap where players from The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela stepped in to fill the gap left by the decreasing number of Cubans in the Majors due to the closing of the Cuban market. Add to this mix players like the aforementioned Yasiel Puig, Jose Fernandez of the Miami Marlins, Yoenis Cespedes of the Oakland Athletics and Aroldis Chapman of the Cincinnati Reds to name a few. The future of Cuban Beisbol is definitely growing bright in the MLB. Here are Jose Abreu's statistics up to May 8, 2014.

Courtesy of CBS Sports
Speaking of a renaissance, Venezuelan closer Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez seemed to have put all his personal issues behind him this season. Through the month of April, Rodriguez went 13-for-13 in save chances tying Kaz Sasaki of the Seattle Mariners who had recorded 13 saves before May 1st in 2001.

I didn't realize that Rodriguez is only 32 years old. It seems like he's been around forever. The first time I noticed K-Rod was when he was the set-up man for the then Anaheim Angels closer Troy Percival. He was signed as a free agent in 1998 and made his debut for the Angels on September 18, 2002 at the age of 20 during the Angels run to an eventual World Series Title. It's good to see that he's been able to rebuild his career after a few tumultuous seasons with the Mets and seemingly unfocused seasons from 2011-2013. Here are Francisco Rodriguez's statistics up to May 8, 2014.


Well, that's it for now. If I missed any Latino achievements in the Major Leagues, please feel free to contact me at baseballsiscokidstyle@gmail.com, at my Twitter @Baseballsisco, My Google+ +Francisco Hilario (BaseballSisco) and at my Facebook page Baseball Sisco Kid Style

Hasta la próxima, no dejamos de jugar el Beisbol,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

Monday, April 28, 2014

Latinos Making History Week Ending Sunday April 27

This past week was a historical one for Latinos in the Major Leagues. Let's not waste time and jump right in.

- Albert Pujols Reaches the 500 Homerun plateau
Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim slugger Albert Pujols looks like he's back to form in dealing with a couple in injury filled seasons in California. Pujols became the 26th and youngest player to reach the 500 homerun club. At age 34, Pujols hit both homerun 499 and 500 against Washington Nationals starter Taylor Jordan on April 22. He is the first player to hit both homers 499 and 500 in the same game. El Hombre is back!!!


- Jose Abreu sets the rookie RBI record for the month of April
Cuban slugger Jose Abreu is certainly making his mark on the Majors in his first month with the Chicago White Sox. Abreu has set the major league rookie record for RBIs with 31 through April 27. Abreu is batting .262 with a league leading 10 homeruns and 31 RBIs. He still has three games to add to his rookie record for RBIs in the month of April with one game against the Tampa Bay Rays and two against the Detroit Tigers. Let's see where he ends up. Jose Abreu courtesy of the blogpage White Sox Cards. Check them out.


- Blue Jays Set Record with 6 Dominicans in the Starting Lineup
I'm not sure when Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons filled out his lineup card on April 27 against the Boston Red Sox he realized that he was making history. By slotting Jose Reyes (SS), Melky Cabrera (CF), Jose Bautista (LF), Juan Encarnacion (1B), Juan Francisco (DH) and Moises Sierra (RF) into the starting lineup, this would mark the first time that six players from the Dominican Republic were in the starting lineup at the same time.


Hearing about this brought back memories of a post I wrote concerning the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 1, 1971. In my post The First All Black-Latino MLB Starting Lineup from September 1, 2011, Pirates manager Danny Murtagh filled out his lineup card with all players of color including pitcher Dock Ellis. Now can we ever get a lineup entirely made up of Dominicans on a Major League diamond? Only time will tell. =)

Hasta la próxima, no dejamos de jugar el Beisbol,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Conrado Marrero 1911-2014

The oldest living Major League, Conrado "Connie" Eugenio (Ramos) Marrero passed away on April 22, 2014, just two days shy of this 103rd Birthday. Born on April 25, 1911 in Sagua La Grande, Villa Clara, Cuba, Marrero would become one of the most successful Baseball players as an amateur in Cuba before reaching the majors at the almost ancient age (for a ballplayer to be a rookie in the pros) of 39.

Peter Bjarkman wrote an article on Marrero for the New York Times entitled Bridge to Cuba’s Baseball Past on August 13, 2011, a few months after Marrero's 100th birthday where Marrero states that his road to the pros started in the following manner:
In those days, the all-white Cuban amateur circuit was much more popular than the racially integrated professional winter league based in Havana. The amateurs played games only on weekends, and they received well-paying token employment from enterprises that sponsored their clubs.
Photo Credit Cuba Collectibles

“I earned great fame pitching for the Cienfuegos club, and they paid me good,” said Marrero, who was known in the United States as Connie. “With the national team in 1939, I was the first Cuban to beat the Americans in the amateur world series. I had no need to be with the pro clubs in Havana. I never wanted to sign a contract.

“But then on two occasions, they suspended me from the Amateur Athletic Union league. It was because I was playing in some exhibition games on the side, which was against the rules. I had won 123 and lost only 39 in seven seasons, but they threw me out. I didn’t have any choice, and then Reinaldo Cordeiro gave me a contract with the Chihuahua team in the Mexico League, and I went there in 1945 and won 28. That was how it started with the pros.”
As Bjarkman states, Marrero spent three seasons with the Havana Cubans of the Class B Florida International League, where he had 70 victories, a no-hitter and a sub-2.00 earned run average. On April 21, 1950, four days shy of his 39th birthday, Marrero would make his debut for the Washington Senators with 0.2-innings pitched against the New York Yankees in Old Yankees Stadium. Marrero would give up 1-hit to the three batters he faced. This is his career line for the five seasons he played for the Senators (Courtesy of Baseball Reference.com):

The Cold War era politics between the United States and the Fidel Castro led Cuba caused many a former major league to stay behind in Cuba when Castro closed the borders to the United States. This was no different for Marrero. In wouldn't be until 1999 when Marrero would be heard from again by Baseball Fans here in the United States.

During the first game of the 1999 exhibition series at Estadio Latinoamericano in Havana between the Baltimore Orioles and the Cuban National team on March 28, 1999, Marrero would steal the show with his throwing out of the first pitch. Richard Goldstein in his obituary for Marrero Connie Marrero, Popular Pitcher in Cuban Baseball, Dies at 102 describes the scene:
When the Baltimore Orioles played exhibitions against the Cuban national team in Havana in 1999, Marrero was selected to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. He was so enthusiastic that he could not stop. After he hurled several pitches, with the Orioles’ Brady Anderson standing at the plate, officials finally called a halt to his unofficial comeback.

At age 87, Marrero could be excused for imagining that he was back in his prime, when, in the words of Felipe Alou, the longtime major league player and manager, he confounded batters with “a windup that looked like a cross between a windmill gone berserk and a mallard duck trying to fly backwards.”


When Marrero put on his pitching performance against the Orioles, the sportscaster Bob Wolff, who had broadcast Senators games during Marrero’s time with them, remembered how “Connie was one of the Senators’ all-time popular players.”

“He was a wily, chunky guy, always with a cigar, even on the bench,” Wolff told The New York Times. “He could really make the ball do tricks. He was an excellent pitcher on a lousy team.”
Marrero would live out the rest of his life in Havana with his grandson. Now, as in June 1951, Life magazine dubbed Marrero “The Senators’ Slow-Ball Señor.”, the Slow-Ball Señor is throwing his trademark off-speed pitches in Baseball Heaven. En Paz Descanse Conrado.

Here is Conrado "Connie" Marrero celebrating his 102nd Birthday:



Hasta la próxima, no dejamos de jugar el Beisbol
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco

For Further Reading:
- Click Here to access the article A Cigar With the Oldest Living Former Major Leaguer by Tom Hawthorne from the Tyee.ca website dated March 4, 2011
- Click Here to access the article Going to bat for the Slow-Ball Señor by Tom Hawthorne from The Globe and Mail website dated April 26, 2011 and updated on September 10, 2012


Friday, April 4, 2014

Latinos at the 1965 All-Star Game Part I

I was recently looking for pictures online for the Wayback Wednesday and Throwback Thursday albums on the Facebook Baseball page: Baseball Sisco Kid Style and came across the following photo and decided to shed some light on some of the players. 
From Left to Right: Felix Mantilla (Puerto Rico), Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico)
Tony Oliva (Cuba), Cookie Rojas (Cuba), Juan Marichal (Dominican Republic),
Zoilo Versalles (Cuba), Vic Davalillo (Venezuela) and Leo Cárdenas (Cuba)
This photo was taken at the 1965 All-Star Game that was played at Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As you can see from the caption there are players representing four Latino markets: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. We all know about the two Hall of Famers in the picture: Roberto Clemente and Juan Marichal. I wanted to focus on the other six players in the photo (going from left to right).

1. Felix Mantilla
The starting second baseman for the American League was Felix Mantilla of the Boston Red Sox. Mantilla was born on July 29, 1934 in Isabella, Puerto Rico. The Boston Braves signed him as a free agent in 1952 and he would make his debut with the Milwaukee Braves on June 21, 1956. Mantilla would play for six seasons with the Braves before being drafted by the New York Mets (from the Milwaukee Braves) as the 12th pick in the 1961 expansion draft. As a member of the original 1962 Mets, Mantilla had one of his best seasons. Mantilla batted .275 with a slash line of .330/.399/.729 with 128 hits in 466 at-bats. He drove in 59 runs with 17 doubles, 4 triples and 11 homeruns. After the 1962 season, Mantilla was traded to the Boston Red Sox for Al Moran, Pumpsie Green and Tracy Stallard.

Mantilla would play a total of three seasons with the Red Sox with the 1964 and 1965 seasons being his most successful. In 1964 Mantilla hit .289 with a slash line of .357/.553/.910. He would put up 123 hits with a career high 20 doubles and 30 homeruns with 1 triple and 64 RBI's. Mantilla would follow that season with a 1965 campaign where he batted .275 with a slash line of .374/.416/.790 with 147 hits in 534 at-bats with 17 doubles, 2 triples, 18 homeruns and a career high of 92 RBI's while making his only All-Star appearance. Mantilla would be traded to the Houston Astros during spring training in 1966 and would be released by the Astros after the 1966 season. He would sign with the Chicago Cubs in 1967 and would be released later on that season after not playing for the Cubs.


2. Tony Oliva
The next player in the picture is one that many feel should be a Hall of Famer. Tony Oliva is a beloved player in the Minneapolis area and by the Twins faithful. Oliva was born on  July 20, 1938 in Pinar del Rio, Cuba and was signed by the Minnesota Twins as an amateur free agent in 1961. Oliva would make his debut on September 9, 1962. Oliva was one of the most prolific hitters in the American League. Oliva led the American League in batting three times (1964, 1965, 1971), hits five times (1964-1966, 1969-1970) and doubles four times (1964, 1967, 1969-1970).


Oliva won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 1964 with a .323 batting average and a slash line of .359/.557/.916 with 109 runs scored, a league best 217 hits with 43 doubles, 9 triples and 32 homeruns with 94 RBI's. Oliva was an eight time All-Star from 1964-1971, a Gold Glove winner in 1966 and was in the top ten of the American League MVP race five times. Oliva would retire after 15 seasons with the Minnesota Twins after the 1976 season.

3. Cookie Rojas
The next player is the only Latino in this picture that would manage in the Major Leagues. Octavio Victor (Rivas) Rojas aka Cookie Rojas was born on March 6, 1939 in La Habana, Cuba. Rojas was signed by the Cincinnati Redlegs as an amateur free agent in 1956 and would make his debut on April 10, 1962. After playing briefly for the Redlegs in 1962, Rojas was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jim Owens. Rojas was a very dependable player for the Phillies. Rojas played each outfield position, second, shortstop, third, catcher and even pitched once in his seven seasons in Philadelphia. He would be an All-Star for the Phillies in 1965 when he batted a career best .303 with a slash line of .356/.380/.736 with 158 hits, 25 doubles, 3 triples 3 homeruns and 42 RBI's.

Rojas would be traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in arguably the most important trade in Baseball history. On October 7, 1969 Rojas was traded along with Dick Allen and Jerry Johnson to the St. Louis Cardinals for Byron Browne, Curt Flood, Joe Hoerner and Tim McCarver. Flood would refuse to report to his new team. On April 8, 1970, the St. Louis Cardinals would send Willie Montañez and later Jim Browning (on August 30, 1970) to the Philadelphia Phillies to complete the trade.

If you don't know, in refusing to accept the trade to the Phillies, Flood in effect ended his career by suing Major League Baseball. The result of that lawsuit would be the end of the infamous Reserve Clause and the ushering in of free agency to Major League Baseball. For more information on Curt Flood, I recommend reading the article How Curt Flood Changed Baseball and Killed His Career in the Process by Allen Barra from The Atlantic website dated July 12, 2011. Back to Rojas.

Rojas' stay with the Cardinals would be brief. On June 13, 1970 Rojas was traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Kansas City Royals for Fred Rico. It was in Kansas City that Rojas would be the most successful. Rojas would make four consecutive All-Star appearances with the Royals from 1971-1974 averaging a .276 batting average, 138 hits with 23 doubles, 2 triples and 5 homers with 60 RBI's a season during that stretch. Rojas would play his last game for the Royals after the 1977 ALCS loss to the New York Yankees.

Rojas would later go into coaching and would manage the Calfornia Angels for one season, leading the team to a 75-79 record in 1988 before being removed from the head coach position with eight games left in the season. In doing so, Rojas became only the third Cuban-born manager in major-league history after Mike Gonzalez (1938, 1940) and Preston Gomez (1969-1972, 1974-1975, 1980).

For part II, I'm going to focus on the remaining three players in the picture Zoilo Versalles, Vic Davalillo, and Leo Cárdenas.

Until Then Play Ball,
Sisco Kid.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

¿Quien Es Leslie Anderson?

Photo Credit
Japanese Baseball Cards
Every year I try to keep an eye on the Latino players that play abroad in the Asian baseball leagues. This year a former Tampa Bay Rays farmhand and former Cuban National Team player Leslie Anderson (Stephes) caught my eye.

During the opening game between the Hanshin Tigers and the Yomiuri Giants, Leslie Anderson hit back-to-back homeruns with Jose Lopez against Tigers reliever Naoto Tsuru. Annoucer Ed Cohen stated that Anderson was a member of the Cuban National Team that represented Cuba in the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classic. In the 2006 World Baseball Classic tournament, Anderson went 0-5 with 1 strikeout. In the 2009 World Baseball Classic he performed better going 2-9 with 1 double and 3 strikeouts.

After defecting from Cuba to Mexico in 2009, Anderson would end up signing a four-year, $1.725 million contract with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2010.

Though it seems that Anderson was productive in the minors for Tampa, especially at AAA Durham, he never seemed to be able to catch the break of a call-up. This is where I'm a little confused. Tampa Bay is an amazing organization when it comes to evaluating talent. So looking at Anderson's minor league numbers, it seems that he performed decently enough to at least get a September call-up. Especially at the first base position that has seemed to be a revolving door for the Rays in recent years. Here are Anderson's offensive statistics courtesy of BaseballCube.com:


Anderson shows improvement on a yearly basis especially in AAA when his batting average rises from .277 in 2011 to .309 in 2012. Though it drops from .309 to .292 in 2013, his plate discipline improves in the form of walks. In 2013 he waked 50 times while in 2011 and 2012 combined, he walked 57 times. He remained consistent in the form of strikeouts and was steady in terms of his offensive production especially in the form of doubles and homeruns. Looking at his defensive statistics, you can see that he played first and all three outfield positions and in three seasons playing the majority at time at first he had 10 errors from 2011-2013. That doesn't seem to be too much of a negative issue.


In searching online, I found an article by Cork Gaines entitled Tailgating With The Rays: Why Didn’t The Rays Call Up Leslie Anderson Or Henry Wrigley? from the Rays Index website dated August 31, 2012 that stated the following concerning Anderson:
Leslie Anderson is 3rd in hitting in the IL, and Henry Wrigley would be in the top 15 if he had enough at bats. Clearly the Rays need offense and both can DH or play 1B. So why weren’t they called up along with Reid Brignac and the others?
The simple answer is that they are not on the 40-man roster. But MLB transaction rules are like the tax code, so let me try to explain. For those not familiar: teams have a 25-man roster (the guys we see every night) and a 40-man roster (the 25-man roster plus 15 others that are usually minor leaguers). To be in the big leagues, you have to be on the 40-man roster. There can be up to 15 guys in the minors on the 40-man roster and these guys are kinda like backups. So if somebody on the Rays gets hurt, one of those would be called up to take his place. And in September, anybody on the 40-man can be called up.
Anybody in the minors can be added to the 40-man roster. BUT, if there is already 40 guys, somebody must be taken off. And to do that, that player must be placed on waivers. This is where it gets complicated for guys like Anderson and Wrigley who are not on the 40-man roster. Calling up guys like Brignac is easy. He is already on the 40-man roster, so in September, just promote him. But for Anderson or Wrigley, the Rays would have to risk losing a player to waivers. So it is more like making a trade. And the Rays hate losing pieces if they don’t have to. So at this point, it looks like the Rays have decided that there is nobody already on the 40-man roster that is worth losing for what might end up being 50 at bats from either Anderson or Wrigley. Is that the right decision? I don’t know. But that does appear to be the decision they have made…A NUMBERS GAME AND THEY LOST
I understand that placing a player on waivers, losing them and having the call-up not perform can be a tremendous blow to an organization with limited financial resources like the Rays. But that really sucks for a prospect to feel as if they are performing adequately and won't ever get the chance at the big leagues. But so is the life of a minor league baseball player. Regardless, the Rays granted Anderson his release after the 2013 season so that he could pursue career options abroad.

On December 28, 2013, the Yakyubaka.com website posted that: 
The Yomiuri Giants announced that they finalized a deal with Leslie Anderson (31).  He has been assigned the number forty-two.  He is scheduled to arrive in Japan in late-January...According to Nikkan Sports, the two sides agreed to a one-year deal worth an estimated total sixty million yen.   
Hopefully Anderson can find success in Japan that he couldn't seem to find here in the minors. I'll look back at him a few months from now.

Until Then Play Ball
Baseball Sisco

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Rudy Hernández The First Dominican Pitcher in MLB

I was always under the impression that the first Domican pitcher in the majors was the legendary Dominican Dandy, Hall of Famer Juan Marichal. That impression was wrong. In reading Beisbol Dominicano: Origines, Evoluciones y Heroes Edicion 2006 by Hector J. Cruz, I found out that there was a Dominican pitcher who made his debut 16 days before Marichal did for the San Francisco Giants on July 19, 1960. On July 3, 1960 Rudy Hernández made his debut in relief during the first game of a doubleheader for the Washington Senators against the Cleveland Indians.

Hernández was born on December 10, 1931 in the city of Santiago de Los Caballeros to a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother. According to Cruz, the family would emigrate to New York City during the 1940's where Hernández would grow to the height of 6' 3" garnering the attention of many baseball teams including the hometown New York Giants. Hernández would sign a contract with the New York Giants before the beginning of the 1950 season. According to Malcolm Allen in his article on Rudy Hernández which was published in La Prensa del Beisbol Latino (a quarterly newsletter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)), Hernández was signed as an outfielder with some power but could never get any higher than Class A ball. (AUTHOR'S NOTE: I tried to contact the author of the referenced article to find out exactly when it was published in La Prensa del Beisbol newsletter. Up to today's date he has yet to contact me. So I am going to use his article as a reference in a second hand nature from this post: RUDY HERNANDEZ of the Washington Senators – First Major League Baseball Pitcher Born in the Dominican Republic. If and when I do hear back from Mr. Allen, I'll rewrite the post).

After a suggestion (due to his powerful arm) by Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Steve Ridzik during the Puerto Rican Winter Ball season (possibly while both played together with los Cangrejeros de Santurce), Hernández would change positions and try his hand at pitching. According to Allen, Hernandez went 15-4 for the Class C Muskogee Giants in his first season as a pitcher but his career was derailed by a two year stint in the U.S. Military. He would return to the Giants minor leagues in 1956 and would stay there through the 1958 season. He would be either traded or sold to the Washington Senators of the American League (I'm unsure which type of transaction) before the start of the 1959 season.

Hernández would spend almost a year and a half in the Senators' minor league system before finally getting his big break at the age of 28 on July 3, 1960. In his first appearance in relief, Hernandez would face eleven batters over three innings pitched allowing one hit, one walk while striking out two batters. On July 9, 1960 against the Baltimore Orioles, Hernández became the first Dominican pitcher to record a win by hurling three shoutout innings in relief allowing one hit and one walk with three strikeouts. Over the course of the 1960 season, Hernández would make 21 appearances for the Senators (all in relief) and he would compile a 4-1 record with a 4.41 ERA in 34.1 innings pitched. He gave up 34 hits, 24 runs (17 earned) with 21 walks and 22 strikeouts for a WHIP of 1.587.

The next season marked the movement of the Washington Senators to Minneapolis becoming the Minnesota Twins. As a condition of allowing the Senators to leave Washington for Minnesota, a new team also called the Senators would replace the old Senators in the nation's capital. On December 14, 1960, Hernández would be put up in the 1961 expansion draft by the Twins and would be drafted by the new Washington Senators with the 56th pick. (AUTHOR'S NOTE: The second Washington Senators would play in Washington D.C. from 1961-1971 when the team was moved to Arlington, Texas becoming the Texas Rangers.)

In his last season in the majors, Hernández went 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 7 relief appearances. He had 9.0 innings pitched, gave up 8 hits, 5 runs (3 earned) with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts for a WHIP of 1.222. According to Cruz, Hernández would play for Las Aguilas Cibaeñas and Los Leones del Escogido of the Dominican League. He would later move to Puerto Rico and worked within the Department of Sports of the Puerto Rican government.

Though his time in the majors was brief and pales in comparison to Marichal's Hall of Fame career, we should never forget who was the first Dominican pitcher in the majors though to many he is just a footnote in Latino Baseball history.

On a side note, Hernández was the owner of a bar on the corner of San Jorge and Loiza streets in San Juan, Puerto Rico by the name of Rudy’s 10th Inning Lounge. In 1971, the officers of Temple Beth Shalom decided to purchase a permanent home for the congregation. One location shown by the real estate agents was the building where Hernández's bar was located. After two years of legal proceedings, the eviction of Hernandez was complete and the temple was built. For more informations, click on the following links: TBS'S (Temple Beth Shalom) Building Beginnings and Temple Beth Shalom origins.

Sisco Kid

For Further Reading
- Click here to access Rudy Hernández's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com