Sandy Alomar (Jr. & Sr.), Roberto Alomar, Carlos Baerga, Carlos Beltr\u00e1n, Jos\u00e9 Berr\u00edos, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Clemente, Carlos Correa, Carlos Delgado, Francisco Lindor, Javy L\u00f3pez, Felix Mantilla (Lamela), Edgar Mart\u00ednez, Yadier Molina, Jos\u00e9 Morales, Jos\u00e9 Pag\u00e1n, Juan Pizarro, Iv\u00e1n Rodr\u00edguez, Eddie Rosario.\u00a0\u00a0 Those are just a few of the more than 200 Puerto Ricans who have played Major League Baseball.\u00a0 BUT, BEFORE, THEM ALL CAME PUERTO RICO\u2019S FIRST MAJOR LEAGUER \u2013 HIRAM BITHORN.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, you may wonder why Baseball Roundtable is focusing this post on Hiram Bithorn<\/strong><\/span>, particularly since I have touched upon his historic MLB \u201cfirst\u201d in the past.\u00a0 A confluence of factors contributed to this decision \u2013 a perfect storm, if you will.<\/p>\n

$\"My$ <\/a>
My patio TODAY … where I should be grilling steaks and listening to the Twins on the radio. Thankfully, they are playing in Puerto Rico.<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
First, here in Minnesota, we are starving for spring weather \u2013 and for baseball.\u00a0 Hit by an historic snowstorm this weekend, we have seen the past three Twins\u2019 home games snowed out.\u00a0 Yes, an April weekend without Twins’ baseball – a shock to the system.<\/em> We look out our windows now and we see not the green grass upon which the national pastime is played, but 10+ inches of cold, white snow.<\/p>\n
Second, thankfully, our Twins are playing the Cleveland Indians in Puerto Rico \u2013 where the temperature is expected to reach the mid-80\u2019s and the passion for baseball runs even higher.<\/p>\n
Third, the Twins and Indians will be playing in sold out \u2013 standing room only –Hiram Bithorn Stadium.<\/p>\n
In anticipation of this event \u2013 and the return of baseball-watching for Minnesota fans (even if it is just on television) \u2013 BBRT would like to present an updated look at Puerto Rican hero Hiram Bithorn.<\/p>\n
THE LIFE, TIMES AND MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF HIRAM BITHORN<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
$\"Hiram_Bithorn_Stadium_2\"$ <\/a>Today and tomorrow, the Twins and Indians will be playing in Estadio Hiram Bithorn<\/strong><\/em> – Puerto Rico\u2019s largest baseball stadium (18,000 capacity – with a reported 39,000 tickets sold for the two-game set). The ballpark is home to the Santurce Crabbers of the Puerto Rico Baseball League.\u00a0 The ballpark is no stranger to major league ball.\u00a0 Hiram Bithorn Stadium 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
The ballpark is, as noted earlier, named after Hirzam Bithorn \u2013 whose major-league career has made him hero in his country and to the Puerto Rican players who followed him to the big league diamonds.\u00a0\u00a0 So, with the Twins\/Indians tilt coming up, let\u2019s take a look at the short baseball career and life of \u201cHi\u201d 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.\u00a0 As 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.\u00a0 Bithorn\u2019s game, however, was baseball \u2013 and he was already making a name for himself on the mound,\u00a0 drawing crowds wherever he unleashed his high leg kick, blazing fastball and effective curve. Note: While Latino players already had appeared in the major leagues, it has been reported that most Puerto Ricans were considered to be too \u201cdark\u201d for the still “all-white” major leagues. The Puerto-Rican born Bithorn, of mixed descent – primarily listed as Dutch and Spanish – was light-skinned and also spoke English.<\/em><\/p>\n
A rising star on the ball fields of his native country, Bithorn got a chance to show his stuff to a broader audience in 1936, when the Negro League\u2019s Newark Eagles traveled to Puerto Rico for an exhibition series against MLB\u2019s Cincinnati Reds. The Eagles prepared for the Reds\u2019 matchup by playing against local teams \u2013 and Bithorn performed well against them.\u00a0 Well enough that when one of their top moundsmen, Leon Day, went down with an illness, the Eagles recruited Bithorn to fill in on their squad.\u00a0 On March 1, 1936 \u2013 pitching for the Newark Eagles \u2013 Bithorn (then just 20-year-old) faced the National League Cincinnati Reds.\u00a0 He held the Reds to one run over the first seven frames, but had to be relieved when he ran into trouble in the eighth.\u00a0 Still, Newark won the game and Bithorn made enough of an impression that the 1937 season saw him pitching in the Yankees\u2019 farm system.<\/p>\n
He went 16-9 in his first season (with the Norfolk Tars of the Class B Piedmont League) and started 1937 with ten wins against just one loss at Norfolk, before being promoted to Binghamton Triplets of the Class A NY\/Penn League \u2013 where he won seven more games (against eight losses).<\/p>\n
Bithorn continued his move toward the major leagues, 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
During his stint in the Pacific Coast League Hiram Bithorn picked up the nickname \u201cThe Tropical Hurricane.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
$\"HIRAM$ <\/a>Unfortunately, for Bithorn, the Yankees were loaded with talent and the big leagues seemed far away \u2013 until the Cubs acquired him from the Bronx Bombers in the fall of 1941.\u00a0 On April 15, 1942, Bithorn became the first Puerto Rican to appear in a major league game<\/strong><\/span>, 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 complete games in sixteen starts (Bithorn also made 22 relief appearances) for the sixth-place Cubs.<\/p>\n
While playing professional ball in the United States, Bithorn would return to Puerto Rico to play in the Winter League for the San Juan Senators \u2013 who made the 22-year-old Bithorn the team\u2019s manager during the 1938 season.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In 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
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BASEBALL ROUNDTABLE ALL-TIME PUERTO-RICAN MLB SQUAD<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 C \u2013 Iv\u00e1n Rodr\u00edguez<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a01B \u2013 Orlando Cepeda<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02B \u2013 Roberto Alomar<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a03B \u2013 Edgar Mart\u00ednez<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0SS \u2013 Francisco Lindor<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 LF \u2013 Carlos Beltr\u00e1n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0CF \u2013 Bernie Williams<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 RF \u2013 Roberto Clemente<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 DH \u2013 Carlos Delgado<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0SP \u2013 Javier V\u00e1zquez<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 RP \u2013 Roberto Hern\u00e1ndez<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Bithorn was discharged from the service in September of 1945 and pitched for San Juan in the Puerto Rican championships the following February, where 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 \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
CATCHER COUNTRY …<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
Here are just a few of the major-league catchers from Puerto Rico: Iv\u00e1n Rodr\u00edguez; Jorge Posada; Yadier Molina; Sandy Alomar, Jr.; Benjie Molina; Geovany Soto. Mart\u00edn Maldanado; Christian Vazquez; H\u00e9ctor Ortiz; H\u00e9ctor Villaneuva; Orlando Mercado.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\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 Nashville and Oklahoma City. He did not make it back to the major leagues and finished with a MLB line of 34-31, 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
AN UNTIMELY DEATH<\/strong><\/span><\/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 Mante, 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\u00a0 Initial 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\u00a0 Cano 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\u00a0 Cano also reportedly said Bithorn admitted to being part of a \u201ccommunist cell.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The 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
In 1962, Bithorn’s status as Puerto Rico’s first major-leaguer was honored with the naming of Hiram Bithorn Stadium.<\/p>\n
Primary Resources: Society for American Baseball Research; Baseball-Reference.com; Early Latino Ballplayers in the United States, Nick Wilson, 2005).<\/p>\n
I tweet Baseball @DavidBBRT<\/h3>\nFollow\/Like the Baseball Roundtable Facebook page here.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Member: Society for American Baseball Research; The Baseball Reliquary; The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sandy Alomar (Jr. & Sr.), Roberto Alomar, Carlos Baerga, Carlos Beltr\u00e1n, Jos\u00e9 Berr\u00edos, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Clemente, Carlos Correa, Carlos Delgado, Francisco Lindor, Javy L\u00f3pez, Felix Mantilla (Lamela), Edgar Mart\u00ednez, Yadier Molina, Jos\u00e9 Morales, Jos\u00e9 Pag\u00e1n, Juan Pizarro, Iv\u00e1n Rodr\u00edguez, Eddie Rosario.\u00a0\u00a0 Those are just a few of the more than 200 Puerto Ricans who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n