Tag: Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame

Cuba Béisbol

CaribbeanThe Tampa Rays played (and defeated) the Cuban National team yesterday in Havana and President Barak Obama and his family were in attendance along with Raul Castro and a host of other dignitaries. The game marks the second time since 1959 that an American team has played in Cuba — the Baltimore Orioles defeated the national team, 3-2, in Havana in 1999. It will be interesting to see how the baseball relationship between these two baseball loving countries takes shape in the next few years.

The Minnesota Twins and the island of Cuba have a long history and it goes back to the 1960’s prior to the Washington Senators becoming the Minnesota Twins in 1961. The relationship between Calvin Griffith and Joe “Papa Joe” Cambria was an interesting one. The Senators/Twins had a nice Cuban pipeline going for a number of years.

Players born in Cuba that have pitched for the Twins

Rk Player Year From To Age G SHO W L SV IP SO ERA
1 Livan Hernandez 2008 2008 2008 33-33 23 0 10 8 0 139.2 54 5.48 Villa Clara, Cuba
2 Luis Tiant 1970 1970 1970 29-29 18 1 7 3 0 92.2 50 3.40 Marianao, Cuba
3 Camilo Pascual 1966 1961 1966 27-32 184 18 88 57 0 1284.2 994 3.31 La Habana, Cuba
4 Mike Fornieles 1963 1963 1963 31-31 11 0 1 1 0 22.2 7 4.76 La Habana, Cuba
5 Julio Becquer 1961 1961 1961 29-29 1 0 0 0 0 1.1 0 20.25 La Habana, Cuba
6 Bert Cueto 1961 1961 1961 23-23 7 0 1 3 0 21.1 5 7.17 San Luis, Cuba
7 Pedro Ramos 1961 1961 1961 26-26 42 3 11 20 2 264.1 174 3.95 Pinar del Rio, Cuba
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/23/2016.

Cuban players with at least on plate appearance for the Twins (includes pitchers)

Rk Player Year From To Age G PA R H HR RBI BA
1 Kendrys Morales 2014 2014 2014 31-31 39 162 12 36 1 18 .234 Fomento, Cuba
2 Livan Hernandez 2008 2008 2008 33-33 23 3 0 1 0 1 .500 Villa Clara, Cuba
3 Tony Oliva 1976 1962 1976 23-37 1676 6880 870 1917 220 947 .304 Pinar del Rio, Cuba
4 Leo Cardenas 1971 1969 1971 30-32 473 1938 193 453 39 210 .263 Matanzas, Cuba
5 Minnie Mendoza 1970 1970 1970 36-36 16 16 2 3 0 2 .188 Ceiba del Agua, Cuba
6 Luis Tiant 1970 1970 1970 29-29 18 36 7 13 0 4 .406 Marianao, Cuba
7 Jackie Hernandez 1968 1967 1968 26-27 112 247 14 39 2 20 .172 Central Tinguaro, Cuba
8 Hank Izquierdo 1967 1967 1967 36-36 16 28 4 7 0 2 .269 Matanzas, Cuba
9 Sandy Valdespino 1967 1965 1967 26-28 259 491 58 99 4 34 .220 San Jose de las Lajas, Cuba
10 Zoilo Versalles 1967 1961 1967 21-27 1065 4500 564 1046 86 401 .252 La Habana, Cuba
11 Camilo Pascual 1966 1961 1966 27-32 186 509 35 100 4 52 .215 La Habana, Cuba
12 Julio Becquer 1963 1961 1963 29-31 58 87 14 20 5 18 .238 La Habana, Cuba
13 Mike Fornieles 1963 1963 1963 31-31 11 6 1 1 0 1 .167 La Habana, Cuba
14 Marty Martinez 1962 1962 1962 20-20 37 24 13 3 0 3 .167 La Habana, Cuba
15 Bert Cueto 1961 1961 1961 23-23 7 8 1 0 0 0 .000 San Luis, Cuba
16 Pedro Ramos 1961 1961 1961 26-26 53 100 8 16 3 11 .172 Pinar del Rio, Cuba
17 Jose Valdivielso 1961 1961 1961 27-27 76 158 15 29 1 9 .195 Matanzas, Cuba
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/23/2016.

Tony OlivaI think it is interesting to note that in the 60’s the Twins had a rich pipeline to Cuban players but the last Cuban player to play in a Twins uniform that was actually signed as an amateur free agent by the club was Tony Oliva in 1976, that is a long dry spell.

Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro

Did Fidel Castro really have a big league tryout with the Washington Senators?

Cuba Baseball Hall of Fame

This Day in Twins History – June 20, 1961

After blowing a 4-1 lead by allowing the Baltimore Orioles to score three runs in the top of the ninth on a 3-run home by Earl Robinson off Jack Kralick, the Twins come to bat in their half of the ninth inning. With the score tied 4-4, Julio Becquer is called upon by manager Sam Mele to lead off the bottom of the ninth as a pinch-hitter for Chuck Stobbs against Jack Fisher and Julio proceeds to hit a home run and become not only the first Twin to pinch hit a home run but also becomes the first Twins player in history to hit a walk-off home run as the Twins win 5-4 and 17, 851 Twins fans go home happy..

Julio Becquer 1960Becquer, born in Havana, Cuba on December 20, 1931 was signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent in 1952 and played for the Senators in 1955 and 1957-1960. Primarily a utility player, Becquer was a left-handed pull hitter and was noted for his good glove at first base. Becquer played first base and some outfield during his career and he even took the mound when that was called for making him the only position player to pitch for both the Senators and the Twins. Although he played for the Senators in 1960 in their final season in Washington prior to relocating to Minnesota, he was not one of the original Minnesota Twins because on December 14, 1960 the Los Angeles Angels made Becquer the 55th selection in the 1960 expansion draft. Julio appeared in 11 games for the Angels going hitless in just 8 at bats before the Angels sold him to the Philadelphia Phillies. Becquer spent several weeks with the Phillies AAA Buffalo team before being sold again on June 2, 1960, this time to the Minnesota Twins. Julio only had 84 at bats for the 1961 Twins but a number of them were key pinch hits. As a matter of fact, Becquer was such a good pinch-hitter that he led the AL in that category in 1957 and again in 1959 as a Washington Senator. In 1962 Becquer played in Mexico and was there again in 1963 when Twins owner Calvin Griffith was informed that Becquer needed just a few weeks of big league time to qualify for a pension so Griffith re-signed Julio so that could qualify for that major league pension. Becquer appeared in just one big league game in 1963 (September 18) at Met Stadium in a 10-0 Twins win over the Detroit Tigers appearing as a pinch-runner for Earl Battey and scoring on a Bernie Allen double.

Julio Becquer lives in the Minneapolis area and can be seen frequently at Twins games at Target Field. Becquer was elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997. I did an interview with Julio on May 2010 that you can listen to at http://wp.me/P1YQUj-dE .

Camilo Pascual elected to Twins Hall of Fame

The Minnesota Twins announced yesterday that former pitcher and five-time All-Star Camilo Pascual has been elected to the club’s Hall of Fame. Pascual will become the 24th member of the Twins Hall of Fame when he is inducted during a special on field pre-game ceremony July 14, when the Twins host the Oakland Athletics at Target Field.

Pascual, one of the “Twins 50 Greatest Players” made his major league debut on April 15, 1954 as a Washington Senator with 3 innings of scoreless relief at Fenway Park in a 6-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Pascual went on to pitch in 529 big league games over 18 seasons and posted a 174-170 won/lost record while pitching for the Washington Senators from 1954-1960, The Minnesota Twins from 1961-1966, the Washington Senators from 1967-1969, the Cincinnati Reds in 1969, the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1970 and the Cleveland Indians in 1971.

1955 Topps card

Camilo was the first ever Twins All-Star in 1961 and has appeared in more All-Star games than any pitcher in franchise history since 1950, playing in five of six games from 1959-64 and in four straight from 1959-61. He went 145-141 with a 3.66 ERA during his time with the Twins and Senators, ranking second on the franchise All-Time list in shutouts (31), third in strikeouts (1,885), fourth in innings pitched (2,465.0) and fifth in wins (145) and starts (331). He went 88-57 with a 3.31 ERA in six seasons in a Twins uniform from 1961-66, ranking third in shutouts (18), seventh in strikeouts (994), and eighth in wins (88), innings pitched (1284.2) and starts (179). He was the Twins first ever 20-game winner, recording 20 victories in 1962 and 21 in 1963, while leading the American League in complete games, shutouts and strikeouts in nearly every season from 1959-63.

Camilo Pascual is the younger brother of former major league pitcher Carlos Pascual, whose nickname of “Potato” earned Camilo the nickname of “Little Potato”. The “Little Potato” was a workhorse pitcher for the Washington/Minnesota pitching staffs and he possessed good control with an excellent fastball but it was his outstanding curveball that was his signature pitch. Ted Williams was quoted as saying that it was easily the best curveball in baseball at the time. Although Pascual was a workhorse, stories have been told that Camilo enjoyed taking an annual “mini vacation” via the DL each season. Pascual also served as the Minnesota Twins pitching coach from 1978-1980. Pascual has lived in Miami since 1960 and since 1989 he has worked as international scout for the Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, for whom he currently scouts Venezuela. Among the major leaguers Pascual has signed are Jose Canseco, Alex Cora, Omar Daal, Miguel Cairo, and Franklin Gutierrez.

Pascual is one of only five players to have played against the Athletics in Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Oakland. Harmon Killebrew is another member of that select group. Camilo is also one of only seven players to play for both the original and expansion Washington Senators teams. The others were Don Mincher, Pedro Ramos, Johnny Schaive, Roy Sievers, Zoilo Versalles, and Hal Woodeshick.

The Havana-native ranks 55th on baseball’s All-Time wins list and is a member of the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame and Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame, ranking second to only Luis Tiant in strikeouts among Cuban born major leaguers. In addition to being selected as a member of the Twins 50 Greatest Players in 2010, Camilo was also selected to the Twins 25th anniversary team in 1986 and the 40th anniversary team in 2000. At 74, Pascual, one of the original Minnesota Twins becomes the oldest living member of the Twins Hall of Fame. The Twins Hall of Fame membership is permanently displayed in the Hall of Fame Gallery on the Target Field Suite Level as well as on Target Plaza.

This selection of Pascual to the Twins Hall of Fame is well deserved and it should have taken place a long time ago. We at Twins Trivia would like to add our congratulations to Camilo on this great honor. Good things come to those who wait but Camilo should not have had to wait this long. You can check out the entire Twins Hall of Fame here.

I grew up listening to WCCO as they broadcast Minnesota Twins games and Camilo Pascual was always one of my favorite players because you knew when Camilo pitched that the Twins had a good chance of winning the game. Back then I could not attend many games in person and hardly any games were on TV so the radio was the place to be if you followed baseball and the Minnesota Twins.

Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame

May 18, 2010 – The Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame began to induct members in 1939. It continued to do so even with all the political turmoil that has befallen Cuban Baseball. The Federacion de Peloteros Profesionales Cubanos en el Exilio continued elections of members after the end of professionalism in Cuba. For a complete list of members inducted, please go to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame pages.

The following one time Twins players are in the Cuban Hall of Fame.

Inducted in 1979 – Leo Cardenas – SS
Inducted in 1980 = Zoilo Versalles – SS
Inducted in 1981 – Pedro Ramos – P
Inducted in 1982 – Tony Oliva – OF
Inducted in 1983 – Camilo Pascual – P
Inducted in 1985 – Mike Fornieles – P
Inducted in 1997 – Julio Becquer – 1B
Inducted in 1997 – Luis Tiant – P