Latinos, Latin Americans, and Major League Baseball
A Migration to the North: History and Prevalence
A Migration to the North:
History and Prevalence of Latinos in Major League Baseball
This section focuses on Latin Americans coming to U.S. , and how that pertains to the identity of Latinos. Parts of this section also belong with discrimination, since the history and prevalence of Latinos in baseball are both a factor and product of bigotry. For a closer look at some of the influential figures, click HERE.
Latinos are rapidly becoming not only the largest minority group in the United States , but will soon constitute a majority of the ranks of Major League Baseball.
In 2004, Latinos held 26% of Major League Baseball contracts.(1) This number has increased for the past six years (2). In 2003, foreign-born Latinos represented 40% of the minor leagues.(1) On Opening Day of the 2003 season, about 24% of the roster players of major league teams were born outside of the United States (double the percentage of 1990), and 86% of these players hailed from Latin America or the Caribbean.(3) At the start of the minor league season of 2003, 46% of the players with contracts were born outside of the United States, and an astounding 78% of those players came from Venezuela or the Dominican Republic, meaning 35% of all minor league players are from those two countries.(1) More than one-eighth of the All-Stars in the 1990s were born in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic. The likelihood of players from these two countries to become All-Stars in the decade was well above the average for American-born players.(4) There are now three big league managers born in the Dominican Republic and seven Latino managers born outside of the United States in Major League history.(5) Numerous other statistics, while too many to cite, further highlight the demographic transformation. Thus, the realization that nontraditional baseball players and stars exist has become a reality for owners and fans alike. Unfortunately, the resistance to the change in demographics has historically taken the forms of prejudice and accusation. More on the current discrimination can be found HERE.
The transportation of baseball to Latin America occurred because of the economic interests of the United States . Beginning with Cuban ports of trade in the 1860's, the game expanded because of Mexicans working on railroads in the 1880s, building the Panama Canal around the turn of the century, and the petroleum boom of Venezuela in the 1920s.(6) Judd Castro was the first Hispanic to play in the major leagues in 1902.(7) However, Esteban Bellan was the first Cuban and Latin American (of any race) to play in the precursors to Major League Baseball in 1869.(8) Sandy “Vincent” Nava was probably the first U.S. born Latino to play in major league baseball in 1882. He was born in California and spoke English, but claimed that his mother was from Mexico.(1)
The fact that Latino is an ethnicity and is composed of many different races has had major effects on the demographics of baseball. A few Latinos could play from 1902 until 1947, the beginning of integration with Jackie Robinson, as long as they had no Black traces.(1) Black Latinos resulted in confusion for players and fans, similar to Amparo Ruiz De Burton's “The Squatter and the Don.” However, this practice continues in modern times. Reggie Martinéz Jackson is one fairly recent example. The light-skinned players in the early 20 th century were usually Cuban béisbolistas .(6) Over 50 Latinos (US and foreign-born) appeared in Major League Baseball prior to 1947 while over 300 Latinos performed in the Negro Leagues and other Black-oriented systems.(1)
The game of baseball was still considered a “gringo's game…but baseball south of the border improved… [and] became Latinized.” The Dominicans, for example, developed leagues that relied on speed and intelligence, rather than the power of the United States . It was called “wild ball” and reflected the boisterous flavor of Santo Domingo . Base running was valued and shortstops would field balls with only hand.(6)
In the 1930's, both White and Black competitors from the United States played in the winter leagues in Cuba , Mexico , and the Dominican Republic . However, this ended once free agency began forty years later. Miguel Angel "Mike" Gonzalez is considered the first Latino manager in the majors. He managed St. Louis in 1938.(5) In 1942, Hiram Bithorn became the first Puerto Rican to play in the majors. Victor Pellot “Power” became the first Black Puerto Rican in the MLB in 1954. He was a first baseman for the Cleveland Indians, among many other teams.(9)
From 1871 to 1950, there were only 54 Latin Americans that played professional baseball in the United States.(9) But in the 1950s, the talent scarcity stateside prompted team owners to recruit outside the United States , notably in Latin Amercia and the Carribbean. The largest contributer to the majors was Cuba , especially the popular Havana Sugar Kings. This migration stopped when Fidel Castro assumed power in 1959. The Dominican Republic began to supply athletes in 1961 once dictator Rafael Trujillo was removed. The start of the Cuban Blockade in this same year may not be coincidental; America could use the Dominican Republic as a buffer to the Cuban regime, in terms of both Communism and baseball. Dominican baseball set up a six-team league with a winter schedule that brought many North American scouts.(6) When they came to the United States, Dominican players like Felipe Alou felt Americans had ulterior, aggressive motives that patronized the new arrivals.(10)
Darker skinned Latinos faced many of the effects of the Jim Crow South in the 1950s and 1960s. Even though most of the major league teams were in the North or West, minor league teams, training camps in Florida , and transportation through the Bible Belt provided ballplayers with appalling examples of racism. Pedro “Tony” Oliva, Juan Marichal, Roman Mejias, and Felix Mantilla all had to reside or dine in separate facilities from the rest of their teams. Felipe Alou was not given a place to sleep upon his arrival. There are countless other unpublished accounts of segregation and discrimination Latins faced in the South.(9)
The first Latino All-Stars were from the American League in 1951: Chico Carrasquel, Connie Marrero, and Minnie Minoso. Carrasquel was from Venezuela , while the others were from Cuba.(4)
The junction of national identity and group consciousness reached its height in the 1950s and 1960s. Because they could not form barrios or other neighborhood enclave like regular immigrants, they had to settle for each other. Since there were not a large amount of Latin Americans in the majors yet, they had to form one community for support. This is what separated the dynamics of Latin ballplayers from Latin immigrants; while nationalities remained important, division within the ranks would haven proven torture for Latinos who had to play in such formidable areas as Montana and Louisiana . But the players adopted a network similar to the Mexican mutualista movement of adjusting to American culture by sticking together. For example, Dominican Felipe Alou, Puerto Ricans Ruben Gomez and Orlando Cepeda, and Venezuelen Ramón Monzant created a “ Latin quarter in the clubhouse.” This sense of identity is still going on today, seen in Puerto Rican Juan González's close friendship with Dominican Sammy Sosa.(6)
Ozzie Virgil was the first Dominican to play in the major leagues in 1958 for the Detroit Tigers. Also in 1958, the L.A. Dodgers became the first team to broadcast their games in Spanish on the radio, with KWKW-AM, and the station has had an on-again, off-again relationship with the team.(11) Recently, Telemundo's KWHY affiliate announced it is starting a “Dodgers en Domingo” program weekly.(12) The host is Adrian Garcia Marquez and it is similar in format to an English sports-highlight and interview show.
The salary discrimination in the beginning of the 1970s was so pronounced that Latin players could actually make more money playing in the Caribbean than in the United States . But when free agency hit in 1976, those players increased the salaries of all major leaguers. Now the Dominicans, among other Latins, could make significantly more in the United States and did not want to risk injury by playing for the winter leagues. The Latin American leagues lost many of their good players and fans stopped caring as much. So just like other U.S. multinational companies, Major League
Baseball kicked out local business and produced cheap labor (6).
The 1980s brought expansion in both positive and negative ways. The Dodgers opened Campo las Palmas in 1987 (12). This was the first of the institutions that are commonly called “academies.” They allow teams to recruit and train very young talent in the Caribbean for very cheap prices. The academies also took away any good, young prospects left in the local leagues. Strangely enough, Richard Nixon was the first political official to propose that the “World” Series was in effect limited to just American players, and should be opened to the international community.(13)
The 1990s were a very important decade for Latinos in baseball. They passed African Americans as the largest minority in 1997.(1) They became much more prevalent in basketball and baseball. One hypothesis is that the other sports offer greater money and greater career longevity. The rise in Latino players directly correlates to the decrease of African Americans in baseball (6).
The Present and Future
There has been a fairly recent effort by team owners to court Latino viewers. Arturo Moreno is gaining popularity daily. He was listen by Forbes as the 246 th richest American in 2002, and was fifth on Sports Illustrated's 101 most influential minorities (FLORES). While he is a successful businessman, he is also known for being a generous family man. He is also well like by all fans, including Latinos. Other Latin managers include Felipe Alou of the San Francisco Giants, Tony Peña of the Kansas City Royals, and Carlos Tosca of the Blue Jays. Montreal Expos manager Omar Minaya was the first (and only) Latino general manager in baseball.
The Baltimore Orioles hosted a “Latino Night” which featured music, food, and video clips, and ticket sales benefited the local Hispanic Apostolate.(14) The Philadelphia Phillies presented a “Latino Family Night” with music, food, and presentations.(15) In addition, Latinobaseball.com and R. Paniagua Inc. teamed up to host a “Hispanic Heritage Day” in every ballpark during Hispanic Heritage Month around September, including Latino Players of the Year. Latino youngsters from the local inner city are invited and recognized as guests attending the game.(16)
This movement continues outside the realm of management. The Dodgers played two games in Mexico City in 2003 dubbed “Serie de Primavera,” since they were spring training games.(12) Major League Baseball wants to expand this idea to regular season games.(17) There is a documentary coming, called Beisbol [sic] about the first Latinos in baseball, produced by Alan Swyer and Esai Morales.(18)
Paul Sommers sums it up when he writes, “Baseball's mid-summer classic, which annually features the best talent from both leagues, has clearly become a ‘world' series.” (4)
Latino Players in Major League Baseball Since 1900
Country |
First Year Recorded |
Number |
Columbia |
1902 |
7 |
Cuba |
1911 |
149 |
Dominicana |
1956 |
393 |
Honduras |
1987 |
1 |
Mexco |
1933 |
97 |
Nicaragua |
1976 |
8 |
Panama |
1955 |
44 |
Puerto Rico |
1942 |
254 |
Venezuela |
1930 |
170 |
TOTAL |
|
1,127 |
- Chart taken from http://www.latinobaseball.com/mlb-players.html , 2003
There are seven Latino Players in the baseball Hall of Fame:
Name |
Birth City |
Country |
Year |
Position |
Maracaibo |
Venezuela |
1984 |
SS |
|
Gatun |
Panama |
1991 |
2B |
|
Ponce |
Puerto Rico |
2000 |
1B |
|
Carolina |
Puerto Rico |
1973 |
RF |
|
Matanzas |
Cuba |
1977 |
P/OF |
|
Laguna Verde |
Dominican Republic |
1983 |
P |
|
Ciego De Avila |
Cuba |
1999 |
1B |
- Chart taken from http://latinobaseball.com/mlb-latino.html , 2003
Latino Awards
Honor |
Year First Given |
First Year Latino Won |
Total Number of Latinos Won |
Hall of Fame Induction |
Players – 1936 Executives – 1937 Managers – 1937 Negro Leagues - 1971 |
1973 |
7 |
Most Valuable Player |
1911, officially 1931 |
1965 |
12 |
Cy Young |
1956 |
1969 |
5 |
Rookie of the Year |
1947 |
1969 |
15 |
Reliever of the Year |
1976 |
1995 |
5 |
Manager of the Year |
1983 |
1993 |
2 |
Ford Frick Award |
1978 |
1985 |
3 |
- Data taken from http://latinobaseball.com/mlb-latino.html , 2003 and http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/awards/mlb_awards_content.jsp?content=roy_history
Forein-born All-Stars, by Country, 1993-1999
Country |
Number |
Columbia |
2 |
Cuba |
74 |
Dominican Republic |
83 |
Mexico |
16 |
Nicaragua |
4 |
Panama |
10 |
Puerto Rico |
100 |
Venezuela |
49 |
Taken from data in Sommers, 2003