Hispanics in the MLB

Baseball’s emergence in Latin America, most specifically in Cuba, dates back to the mid 1860’s. By the end of the 19th century baseball had a significant presence in Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and obviously Cuba. Furthermore, Latin Americans’ participation in professional American baseball began as early as in 1871 with the membership of Esteban Enrique Bellán on the Troy Haymakers of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players. Born in Havana, Bellán attended Fordham University in 1866 where he began his amateur career which would eventually lead to his pioneering debut with the Troy Haymakers. Although Bellán’s debut is now seen as a breakthrough, it was not until the first decades of the 20th century that his legacy began taking effect with the emergence of several Cuban players in the big leagues. However, during the pre-integration period, Latin players were not always taken seriously. The difficulty in communicating with them, the darker hue of their skin and the hot-tempered-Latino stereotype led some Major League managers to believe that they were more trouble than they were worth. Thus, even though Latin Americans were allowed to play in the Big Leagues long before their African American counterparts, their presence in Major League Baseball did not go unnoticed by the American public, and therefore, prompted a number of challenges for these players, ranging from racial and ethnic discrimination to difficulties communicating in the Anglo-Saxon language.

Latin American major league players of the first half of the 20th century, similar to Hank Greenberg and Jackie Robinson, faced a number of challenges during their careers. However, the most common sources of problems were race, ethnicity and language. The attitudes toward Latinos during this era revealed the deep American problem of racial nativism. This xenophobia, which was based on the concepts of racial supremacy during the age of social Darwinism and which became most evident during periods of economic depression and uncertainty, was both an ideology and an institution by the time Latin player joined the big leagues. For instance, during the 1930’s, Congress instituted a plan that led to the repatriation of both Mexican nationals and some Americans of Mexican descent. In addition, the African American population and Puerto Ricans, who were American citizens, also faced increasing domestic barriers. During the Depression, racial nativism increased among American big leaguers who feared having to face unemployment if they lost their positions to foreign players who were willing to play for less money. This complex social phenomenon of racism in American society was probably the biggest obstacle confronted by Latin players in the big leagues prior to integration.

Another big problem for Latin players, entering the United States for the first time when they were signed, was communicating in English. Many Latin players neither spoke nor understood English clearly. Thus, they were often victims of cruel jokes and negative stereotypes. The press was greatly responsible for portraying Latin players that could not speak English as incompetent and ignorant. For instance, they would create comical images of Latin players’ broken English, often printing their comments phonetically. For example Roberto Estalella was once quoted talking about his new teammate in the following manner: “Alexander – ooo – gude peetcher. Ve-ry, ver-ry gude. He peetch curve hokay. Yes fast ball, too. Beeg fellow. Strong smart…Ees gude peetcher, sure.” Others would criticize Latin players who did not make an effort to learn English, to which some players like Alex Carrasquel responded saying that his “inability to understand English shielded him from insulting fans and reporters.” In the end, the failure of these individuals to communicate clearly in English did little to help them gain the acceptance of the American public.

Prior to 1911, only one other Latin American player, Luis Castro, played in the big leagues. Like Bellán he attended school in the United States, pitching for three years for Manhattan College’s school team. He later on joined the Athletics and served Connie Mack for one season as a utility player. However, Castro’s performance with the Athletics was uneventful and did very little to motivate the search for more Latin American players.

In the second decade of the 20th century, as interaction between American and Latin professionals expanded through the barnstorming of Cuban teams in the U.S. and the participation of big league players in Cuban and Puerto Rican winter ball, some major league clubs began expressing interest in Latin players. Consequently, in 1911 the Cincinnati Reds signed two Cuban players, Rafael Almeida and Armando Marsans. Both players had been part of the Cuban Stars, a team that toured the U.S. competing mostly against black teams. However, the lighter skin tone of both Almeida and Marsans allowed them to pursue professional careers with teams in the Major Leagues. Almeida’s professional career, like Luis Castro’s, was rather uneventful and lasted only a couple of years. Marsans, on the other hand, turned out to be better than expected and was able to enjoy a long major league career. Yet, the two Cubans were not exempt from controversy; both of them were the center of a controversial argument given their prominent olive-colored skin. Worried about public opinion, Cincinnati’s management was forced to provide official Cuban documents that certified that the players were purely of “Caucasian blood.” A writer of the Washington Post notes the importance of the player’s skin color saying, “An American League club once signed an infielder from the island, but found, when he reported that he had Negro blood, and was forced to let him out. These Cincinnati recruits are white Cubans.”

Skin color was not the only issue that distracted Marsans during his career. He was also the first Latin American to be involved in a dispute over contracts and changing teams. In 1913 he left the Reds to play for the St. Louis team in the Federal League. The change led to a complicated court proceeding led by controversial judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. The Sporting News described Marsans situation in 1913 saying that until Judge Landis makes a decision, “Armando Marsans, the Cuban player who jumped the Cincinnati Reds for the St. Louis Federals, must remain under the restraining order of the United States court, at least for a time.” Furthermore, Marsans’s relationship with the press was a foreshadowing of the future relations between Latinos and the media. He repeatedly criticized reporters and sports writers and was described by one of them as possessing a “temper without the ability to control it. He did not take kindly to a show with authority with himself…and when he was told to do this and that he told the tellers, in rather shattered English to ‘get to hell.’” This description of Marsans in the Sporting News reflects what would eventually become the stereotypical perception of the Latin baseball player in the major leagues as a temperamental, defiant and broken-English speaking Latino who knows little about the North American idiom or customs.

Controversy aside, Marsans’ daring baserunning and strong defensive play placed him among the best players of his time. His success led to big league clubs pursuing other Cuban players. For instance, in 1912 the Boston Braves signed a Cuban catcher by the name of Miguel “Mike” González. He played for a number of clubs and remained in the league until 1932. When he retired as a player, he stayed in the St. Louis Cardinals as a coach, becoming the first Latin ever to coach in the big leagues. Like Marsans, González was also the target of criticism and speculation regarding his inability to communicate clearly in English and his race, as it was rumored that his mother was black. Nevertheless, González also made the news on a good note when in 1938 the Sporting News acknowledged that he had gained “the distinction of being the first Cuban ever to pilot a major league club.” Thus, even with all the speculation about his background, González was able to play and coach in the big leagues way before integration took place.

Marsans’ success also led the way for the emergence of fellow Cuban, Adolfo Luque, in the big leagues. Luque was the most talented of the early Latin Americans in the major leagues, spending twenty years as a professional from 1914 - 1935. During his prime, Luque was known as the Pride of Havana, and was, arguably, the first Latin star in the major leagues. However, the Cuban star was not only known for his excellent curve ball, but also for his violent temper. He “in many ways personified the negative images of Latins held by many in the United States.” For instance, in one occasion, claiming that he was calling him names, “Adolfo Luque went loco and ran amock into umpire Bill Klem.” In another instance, in a game against the Giants, Luque allegedly got tired of the taunts from the Giant team and decided to walk to the opponents’ dugout to confront the whole team. This incident not only tarnished Luque’s reputation even further, but also affected the American perception of the Latin American player. For instance, one fan was quoted as saying “That’s Luque, the fellow that tried to kill about nine Giants with a bat at Cincinnati a month ago. He’s got a bad ‘rep’ and you don’t see anybody foolin’ with him. He’ll kill anybody when he gets mad, that fellow will.” Although Luque was criticized by the press for his short-temper and ridiculed, in occasions, for his broken English, he was able to transcend these hurdles to earn the respect of the American public through his talent, skills and competitiveness. For instance, in 1923 a reporter commenting on the National League pennant race asserts that “If the Cincinnati Reds do win the National League pennant this year, which is a possibility, the credit will go largely to Adolfo Luque, the Cuban whose pitching has been the sensation of this league.” These comments reflect the fact that major league baseball is color blind and deaf if a player has good enough skills to drive his team to success.

Most racial controversies involving Latin players during the late 1930’s and into the 1940’s centered on the Washington Senators, since they employed a good number of Latinos. The Senators’ scout, Joe Cambria, who eventually became known in Cuba as ‘Papa Joe’, repeatedly traveled to Cuba and other places in Latin America often bringing back player for Clark Griffith’s team. During this era, Latin players were paid lower salaries than their American teammates; thus, through Cambria, Griffith was getting good players at a cheap price. Between 1935 and 1940 a number of Latin players arrived at Washington, most notoriously Cubans Roberto ‘Bobby’ Estalella, Roberto Ortiz, Rene Monteagudo and Venezuelan Alejandro Carrasquel. All these players played together during 1939 and 1940 sparking lots of criticism and racism both from American teammates and the press. A headline during Washington’s spring training in 1939 read “Cubans turn Washington spring camp into a circus but scout Cambria’s ‘finds’ are no clowns on field.” This reporter went on to say that “The Senator’s camp has been a circus almost from the day it opened. Ortiz and Carrasquel were unable to speak a word of English when they arrived. Estalella speaks very little, although he has been playing in the minors now for three or four years. Monteagudo appears to be the most intelligent of the group. The little southpaw also is the best liked by the American boys.” These comments clearly exemplify the perception of Latinos of the society of the era. For instance, the reporter considers the camp to be a ‘circus’ because the Latin players do not speak English, not because they are bad players. Moreover, Monteagudo is the most liked by his American teammates and is considered by the reporter to be the ‘most intelligent’ simply because he speaks English. Even the Senators’ manager, Bucky Harris, is caught up in this discrimination when he expressed his discomfort with Joe Cambria’s recruits commenting that, “They’re trash. They’re doing no good and they aren’t in place here. They don’t fit. If I have to put up with incompetents, they must at least speak English.” These perceptions ignore the players’ abilities to play or understand the game of baseball; it judges them merely by their inability to communicate in English.

From this group of Latin Washington Senators’, Roberto Estalella and Alex Carrasquel were the most successful, meaning that they also had to endure the most discrimination. Estalella was able to gain popularity with the Senators fans because of his impressive hitting and good defense. However, he was not equally as popular with opposing players for reasons other than his skills. Apparently, during the depression and later in the 1930’s, resentment towards Latin players had been growing, leading to pitchers aiming their fastballs at the heads of the islanders who, like Estalella, had established themselves in the majors. Columnist Shirley Povich of the Washington times argued that many pitchers were racially motivated when they aimed at “the swarthy ones like Estalella…Bobby’s skin pigments betray the fact that he is not an American, and his broken English is juts a bit too smatery.” In addition to being Cuban and very talented, Estalella had the glitch of having darker than white skin color and some African facial appearances such as a wide nose. Thus, he was not only resented for being Latin, but also for having traces of black blood in his complexion.

Venezuelan Alex Carrasquel faced similar difficulties to Estalella, with the most notable difference being that he was being resented not by opponents, but by his own teammates. Even though Carrasquel’s excellent pitching gained him the number two position in the rotation, he was not widely accepted in the Washington clubhouse. Shirley Povich notes that “He wasn’t a popular fellow with his teammates. The fault was theirs, not his…They were fedup, in fact, with all the Latins the Washington club was importing. The 1000 percent of Americans on the club viewed the influx as bread being taken from their mouths” Even clubhouse attendants, most of them boys, were reluctant to do the routine services desired by Carrasquel and other Latin players. In addition, Carrasquel was not allowed into his teammates’ card games and was “forced into the role of ‘loner’ even when he was winning five games in a row for the Nats during the 1941 season.” Eventually, officials from the Senators club demanded that Carrasquel be treated as an equal, helping him gain respect in the locker room and allowing him to ultimately become one of the Washington’s boys. Nevertheless, it is clear that, regardless of Carrasquel’s ability to pitch, his adaptation to the United States and to the big leagues was all but smooth.

Latin blacks, like African Americans, were also victims of the big league segregation. Although some Latins such as Estalella, Puerto Rican Hiram Bithorn and Carrasquel, all had darker than white complexions and were allowed to play in the big leagues, many black Latin players only had the opportunity of playing in the Negro Leagues. Ironically, Esteban Bellán, the first Latin American player to compete in the big leagues “was reportedly of African descent.” Nevertheless, black Latin players competed against white major leaguers through barnstorming and in the winter leagues of Cuba and Puerto Rico, often impressing their American opponents. It is said that in the winter league of 1921-1922 when Babe Ruth played in Cuba, he was out-homered by black Cuban star Cristóbal Torrienti, and struck out three times by also black Cuban José Méndez. Once the season was over Ruth allegedly commented, “Tell Torrienti and Méndez that if they could play with me in the major leagues, we would win the pennant in July, and go fishing for the rest of the season.” Like black players in the United States, Latin black players were an untapped source of talent that would only begin to be exploited once Jackie Robinson officially broke the color barrier.

Evidently, Latin American ballplayers have been part of baseball history since the early stages of the game. Although their presence and impact on the game was not felt as strongly back then as it is today, their experiences and struggles reveal quite a lot about the American society of the era. Fortunately for some white Latinos, the light enough color of their skin allowed them to play long before Jackie Robinson even dreamed of playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. However, their participation in the game was accompanied by struggles with racism and English. The fact that some Latin players like Marsans and Luque preceded Hank Greenberg and Jackie Robinson means that they most probably had harder times than these two legends. Thus, the Latin player had to battle against a racism that was sparked, not by the color of the skin, but by Americans fear of unemployment and belief in the superiority of their race, both physically and intellectually. In other words, Latin baseball players were seen as dumb brutes who were so ‘incompetent’ that they could not even speak English and who came to the big leagues to take over the jobs of American players. Nonetheless, many of these players were able to transcend these barriers and gain the respect and acceptance of the American public through their prideful play, abundant talent and fierce competitiveness. It would only be a matter of time before integration allowed Latin American stars like Minnie Miñoso and Roberto Clemente to capture the hearts of the American fans.