<\/a>Talk baseball in Puerto Rico and one of the first names to emerge will be Hiram Gabriel \u201cHi\u201d Bithorn.\u00a0 Hi Bithorn is, in fact, such an important part of Puerto Rico\u2019s baseball history that the country\u2019s largest baseball stadium (18,000 capacity) is named after him. \u00a0Hiram Bithorn Stadium is not only home to the Santurce Crabbers of the Puerto Rico Baseball League, it also hosted the opening game of the 2001 Major League season (Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Blue Jays); 44 Montreal Expos home games in the 2003\/04 seasons; and, in 2010, a Florida Marlins\/New York Mets three-game series.<\/p>\n

So, what did Hi Bithorn do to earn this recognition? \u00a0He was the first Puerto Rican player to make it to the major leagues \u2013 becoming a hero in his country and to the Puerto Rican players who followed him to MLB.\u00a0 \u00a0BBRT would like to use this post to examine the short baseball career and life of Hi Bithorn \u2013 who died under mysterious circumstances in Mexico at the age of 35.<\/p>\n

Bithorn was born March 18, 1916 in Santurce, Puerto Rico of a Puerto Rican mother and Danish father. \u00a0As he grew up, Bithorn proved a talented athlete.\u00a0 In 1935, the 19-year-old, 6\u2019 1\u201d 200-pound Bithorn played in the Central American and Caribbean Games on Puerto Rico\u2019s Silver Medal-winning volleyball team and Bronze Medal-winning basketball team.<\/p>\n

But baseball was Bithorn\u2019s game and, in 1936, the right-handed hurler found himself pitching in the New York Yankees farm system.\u00a0 He went 16-9 in his first season (with the Norfolk Tars of the Class B Piedmont League. \u00a0He started 1937 with ten wins against just one loss at Norfolk, before being promoted to Binghampton Triplets of the Class A NY\/Penn League \u2013 where he won seven more games (against eight losses).\u00a0 He continued to advance, playing with Oakland Oaks and Hollywood Stars of the then AA Pacific Coast League, where his best season was 1941, when he went 17-15, 3.59 with 16 complete games and two shutouts for the Stars (while also hitting .286 in 77 at bats).<\/p>\n

<\/a>Unfortunately, for Bithorn, the Yankees were loaded with talent and the big leagues seemed far away \u2013 until the Cubs acquired Bithorn from the Yankees in the fall of 1941.\u00a0 On April 15, 1942, Bithorn became the first Puerto Rican to appear in a major league game, pitching two scoreless innings in relief (no-hits, one walk, no strikeouts) for the Cubs against Cardinals in Saint Louis.\u00a0 He ended the season 9-14, with two saves, a 3.68 ERA and nine completed games in sixteen starts (Bithorn also made 22 relief appearances) for the sixth-place (70-84) Cubs. \u00a0In 1942, Bithorn showed his full potential.\u00a0 With the Cubs finishing fifth (74-79), Bithorn went 18-12, 2.60, with 19 complete games (30 starts) and a league-leading seven shutouts.\u00a0 For the season, Bithorn, in fact, finished in the NL\u2019s top ten in wins, winning percentage, earned run average, WHIP, innings pitched, strikeouts, complete games and shutouts. Clearly, Bithorn was on his way \u2013 until World War II intervened and Bithorn lost two MLB seasons to military service.<\/p>\n

Bithorn was discharged from service in September of 1945 and pitched for San Juan in the Puerto Rican championships the following February, when he suffered a hand injury during a play at the plate. As a result, he reported late for Cubs\u2019 Spring Training.\u00a0 Bithorn reportedly had gained about 20 pounds, was having arm problems and didn\u2019t seem to have the same \u201cstuff\u201d as he displayed in that successful 1943 season.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The then 30-year-old finished the 1946 season 6-5, 3.84 in 26 games (seven starts). He was sold to the Pirates in January 1947 and selected on waivers (from the Pirates) by the White Sox before the 1947 season opened. He pitched just two innings in relief for the White Sox \u2013 picking up what was to be his last major league win.<\/p>\n

After his release, Bithorn underwent surgery and missed the 1948 season. He attempted a comeback in 1949, going 4-3 in 13 games at AA and Nashville and Oklahoma City. He did not make it back to the major leagues and finished with a 34-31 record, with 5 saves and a 3.16 ERA in 105 games. In his four MLB seasons, Bithorn completed 30 of 53 starts, with eight shutouts.<\/p>\n

In December of 1952, at the age of 35, Bithorn was shot to death by a police officer under mysterious circumstances in El Manta, Mexico. Various reports indicate the date of his death as anywhere from December 27, 1951 to January 1, 1952.\u00a0 They indicate Bithorn was on his way to visit his mother Mexico (some reports also say he was considering a comeback in the Mexican League).\u00a0 \u00a0Initial reports said Bithorn had been trying to sell his car when Ambrosio Castillo Cano of the El Mante police force questioned Bithorn and found him unable to produce the paperwork required of such a sale.\u00a0 \u00a0Cano reported that at some time during the questioning Bithorn became violent and he was forced to shoot him (Bithorn died a few hours later of a gunshot wound to the stomach). \u00a0\u00a0Cano also reportedly said Bithorn admitted to being part of a \u201ccommunist cell.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0The details of the incident remain mysterious, but after an investigation, Cano was indicted and sentenced to eight years in the state prison for Bithorn\u2019s homicide<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Talk baseball in Puerto Rico and one of the first names to emerge will be Hiram Gabriel \u201cHi\u201d Bithorn.\u00a0 Hi Bithorn is, in fact, such an important part of Puerto Rico\u2019s baseball history that the country\u2019s largest baseball stadium (18,000 capacity) is named after him. \u00a0Hiram Bithorn Stadium is not only home to the Santurce […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n