Henry Aaron in Puerto Rico

Henry Aaron posing for a pre-game portrait in Puerto Rico. (Courtesy of Jorge Colon Delgado.)

 

Henry Aaron arrived in Puerto Rico as a teenager, a poor defensive infielder, and a minor leaguer. A few months later, he left a bona fide star, a father, and a major-league-ready outfielder.

The Milwaukee Braves wanted him to get additional experience in the island’s winter league. Though Aaron terrorized South Atlantic League (Sally) pitchers with a .362/.399/.589 slash line in 1953, he made 36 errors as a second baseman. His .947 fielding percentage was a slight improvement over his 1952 numbers as the Eau Claire Bears’ shortstop (35 errors in 87 games).

Despite his unquestionable offensive skills, Aaron acknowledged that he “needed a little money and all the ballplaying I could get. The Puerto Rican League was loaded with major-league pitchers, and it would be a good chance for me and the Braves to find out how ready I really was as a hitter.”1

Aaron, however, did not travel to the Caribbean by himself. Minor-league teammate Félix Mantilla eagerly volunteered to help him adjust to Puerto Rico, though the island’s racial harmony was a welcome change over the Sally cities. Both Aaron and Mantilla had married women they met during the 1953 season, and the quartet became fast friends.2

Former teammate Roberto Vargas recalled a skinny Aaron as a good but not great hitter, who “was taking too many strikes with men on base. Manager Mickey Owen told him the next time he took a strike with men in scoring position, he was going to fine him. So he even started swinging at the balls in the ground.”4

Though Caguas5 won its first three games, cleanup hitter Aaron started slowly (3-for-14).6 His sixth-inning double drove in Mantilla as the tying run on October 14 against the Leones of Ponce. Jim Rivera, who had previously walked, and Aaron would later be driven in by Dale Long as the Criollos won, 5-3.7 Aaron seemed tentative at the plate and was dropped to the seventh spot in the order on October 21 against Santurce.8 Less noticed but more importantly, he switched from second base to right field during the game, a move that would turn his season around.

Owen was mindful of Aaron’s development as a complete player, not just a hitter: “I knew where I could get a better second baseman than Aaron, [but] he could hit. So, one day I hit him a few fly balls and he went to it and got them easy, and he threw good. I said, you’re not an infielder, you’re an outfielder.”9 The transition solidified the club, as outfielders Luis Rodríguez Olmo (34 years old) and Juan “Tetelo” Vargas (47 years old) had lost a step.10 Smooth fielding Charlie Neal took over second base and formed a silky-smooth double-play combination with Mantilla.

The Caguas manager also “taught [Aaron] weight distribution and how to hold his hands steady. Owen saw that Henry possessed an uncommon ability as a hitter, and he took it upon himself to help refine that ability.”11 Owen saw similarities between Aaron and one of the sport’s greatest batsmen: “[D]on’t let anybody change you, because you’re going to be a good hitter and probably a great hitter if you take care of yourself. I could just see (Rogers) Hornsby in him the way he would take that whip swing and drive the ball all over the park. Both of them would get that big end of the bat around so fast. And they were both hitchers. They’d get their hands started before the swing, like a sprinter getting a running start. Aaron was even the same size as Hornsby. I believe if he hadn’t started thinking about home runs later on, he would have had some years when he batted .400, just like Hornsby.”12

On October 22 Aaron injured his ankle running to first base and missed a few games,13 perhaps a blessing in disguise as he was homerless in 24 at-bats with a .208 average.14 According to Roberto Vargas, Owens “told Aaron ‘if you have men on scoring position and you take a strike, I will fine you’ so he would be more aggressive at the plate.”15

Aaron began to turn a corner on October 30 against San Juan. He singled twice, tripled, and drove in two runs in a 10-9 loss to the San Juan Senators.16 He surpassed .300 in early November and reached .310, fourth-best in the league, by November 3.17 Though Caguas lost 5-3 to Ponce on November 30, Aaron “won the highest cheer of the night as he nabbed Wilson’s long drive by climbing the right field fence.”18

His average reached .363 by late November, but he had clouted only two home runs.19 By December 8, Aaron was in the top 10 in various offensive categories with a .352 batting average, 19 RBIs, 19 runs, 9 doubles, and 3 home runs.20

Aaron was tied with Luis “Canena” Márquez with a .343 batting average as play halted for the All-Star Game.21 The contest, played in Caguas on December 23, provided Aaron with another venue to display his considerable talents. He walloped two home runs (which cleared the bleachers behind center field), a double, and a single to lead the “Imports” (non-Puerto Ricans) over the “Natives” (Puerto Ricans or those of Puerto Rican heritage), 11-1.22 He was named the game’s Most Valuable Player and won a 60-yard dash before the contest.23 Natalio Irizarry, who threw 29 consecutive scoreless innings during the regular season and led the league with a 1.49 ERA, was pleased that Aaron’s “450-foot plus HR off me in the All-Star Game” did not count against his season totals.24

Aaron leapfrogged past Márquez by December 28, aided by a 4-for-5 game against San Juan on December 26.25 He provided two singles, a double, and a 400-foot home run (his sixth) in Caguas’s 11-3 victory. Aaron drove in four of the team’s runs.26

As 1953 ended, Aaron led the league in batting with a solid 13-point lead over Márquez (.357 to .344). The Sporting News’s end-of-the year article on the Puerto Rican Winter League called out Aaron as a “Negro whiz who won the Sally League batting title this year with .362.”27

Caguas and Mayagüez split a January 4 doubleheader, and though Aaron (3-for-6) beat Márquez (1-for-4),28 the lead had narrowed to six percentage points by the end of that week (.343 to .337).29 The Criollos suffered a harrowing scare on January 8 when Aaron and Rivera collided while chasing a line drive. Both outfielders left the game.30

 

 

By January 14 Márquez led the batting race, .347 to .336, as both teams were tied for second place, but Aaron’s bat was thunderous in a January 13 victory over the Santurce Cangrejeros (Crabbers).31 He walloped a three-run blast in the eighth inning to give Caguas an 8-5 win.32 On January 15 Caguas lost a doubleheader in Mayagüez and Aaron managed only one hit.33 He hit his ninth and last home run of the season on January 21, part of a three-hit performance against Santurce to regain the batting race lead.34 El Mundo joked that “Canena (Márquez) and Aaron are playing heads or tails,” in reference to the hitting crown.35

Márquez overcame Aaron for good after January 29, .342 to .339,36 as Aaron began a 3-for-18 slide to drop his average to .322. Caguas, however, clinched first place on February 3 with a 3-0 victory over Ponce.37 As regular-season champions, the Criollos earned a spot in the playoff finals. Their opponents were decided in a best-of-seven series between Mayagüez and San Juan. The Indios (Indians) beat the Senadores (Senators) to pit Márquez and Aaron against each other in the finals.38 During the season, Márquez (27-for-69, .391) and Aaron (19-for-60, .317) brought out the best of each other in games between their teams.39

Rain delayed the first game of the finals to February 11. Caguas edged Mayagüez, 5-3, with Márquez (1-for-4, 2 runs) outperforming Aaron (0-for-3).40 The next day Mayagüez took the second game, 5-1, with both Márquez and Aaron going 1-for-4.41 Aaron contributed a double and a home run in the third game, a 7-1 Caguas victory on February 13.42 The Criollos won a thrilling 1-0 game on February 15, though neither Márquez (0-for-4) nor Aaron (1-for-3) played a key role.43 Aaron went 2-for-5 with one RBI in the February 16 clincher, an 11-0 whitewash.

Márquez was chosen as the Most Valuable Player of the regular season, but Aaron won the slugging title, drove in 42 runs, stole seven bases, scored 37 runs, hit 16 doubles, and tied Rivera with nine home runs. Rivera, who played 10 years in the big leagues, recalled, “When he was with us at the bat, he never pulled the ball. He hit the ball where it was pitched. He hit a lot of balls to center field, right-center and right field. I couldn’t believe when I saw he became a good pull hitter later on. That’s how he hit all of those home runs; he had great wrists.”44

Opposing hurlers were clear in their assessment. San Juan left-hander Jack Harshman noted that “he had absolutely great hand-wrist action. I had him 0-and-2 once and threw him a high and inside fastball to force him away from the plate. But he leaned back and hit it over the center field wall. Aaron had the best hands I’ve ever seen.”45 Luis Arroyo, future Yankee and Pirate, found “Aaron was a no-nonsense player with Caguas and mature for his age … went from A ball to Puerto Rico and the major leagues quickly.”46 Bob Turley remarked, “[Y]ou could tell Aaron had a major-league stroke … by the way he sprayed the ball to right and right-center.”47 Cangrejeros ace Rubén Gómez found the youngster “quiet, respectful, baseball-smart, disciplined,” a sentiment echoed by his teammate Bill Greason: “hard-working kid consistent, very mature for his age.”48 Tommy Lasorda was more succinct: “It was hard to pitch to Aaron with his reflexes and talent.”49

Perhaps the only drawback of Aaron’s season was not playing in the Caribbean Series: “[W]hen he wrapped up the season with the Criollos, he did not accompany the team to the Caribbean Series because the Braves called him for spring training.”50 There was another benefit, as he “wanted to show my parents – and Barbara’s – their new granddaughter. Our first child, Gaile, was born in Puerto Rico and spent her first couple of months in the little house we rented there.”51

By Aaron’s own admission, he had been told that “no matter how he hit (in Puerto Rico), he would spend the entire 1954 season in Toledo.”52 Luck intervened: Bobby Thomson, Milwaukee’s expected left fielder, broke his ankle on March 13, so the position was up for grabs. Aaron seized the opportunity and finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting, averaging .280/.322/.447 in 122 games, despite missing roughly a month with his own broken ankle on September 5.

Caguas and Milwaukee had discussed Aaron’s return for the 1954-1955 season, but his injury prevented a second Caribbean foray. Fully healed after a restful postseason, he reached superstardom in 1955 and was selected to the first of his record-setting 25 consecutive All-Star Game appearances.53

Aaron was grateful for the opportunity to hone his skills: “There’s no question [the year in Puerto Rico] was a steppingstone in my getting to the major leagues. It gave me confidence.”54 He would occasionally return to Puerto Rico, including throwing out the first pitch at the 1976 All-Star Game and a 2007 visit with Sadaharu Oh for the World Children’s Baseball Fair.55 He fondly recalled his stay: “I learned a lot in Caguas. … That’s where I became an outfielder, thanks to my manager, Mickey Owen. … I played alongside my good friend, almost brother, Félix Mantilla … and my daughter Gaile was born in Caguas in 1954.”56

TONY S. OLIVER is a native of Puerto Rico currently living in Sacramento, California, with his wife and daughter. While he works as a Six Sigma professional, his true love is baseball and he cheers for both the Red Sox and whoever happens to be playing the Yankees. He is fascinated by baseball cards and is currently researching the evolution of baseball tickets. He believes there is no prettier color than the vibrant green of a freshly mown grass on a baseball field.

 

NOTES

1 Tom Van Hyning, “Remembering Hank Aaron’s Remarkable 1953-54 season in Puerto Rico,” Béisbol 101, January 24, 2021, https://beisbol101.com/remembering-hank-aarons-remarkable-1953-54-season-in-puerto-rico/.

2 Ennis Davis, “Four Hammering Hank Aaron Sites in Jacksonville,” The Jaxson Mag, February 23, 2021, https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/four-hammering-hank-aaron-sites-in-jacksonville/.

3 “Aaron es líder en seis fases,” El Mundo, August 24, 1953: 1; Ed Goins, “La Ambición de Aaron: Refuerzo de los Criollos Aspira Llegar a Bravos,” El Mundo, September 3, 1953: 17.

4 Nick Diunte, “Hank Aaron’s Lone Season in Puerto Rico Forever Altered His Path to the Hall of Fame,” Forbes, January 22, 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickdiunte/2021/01/22/hank-aarons-lone-season-in-puerto-rico-forever-altered-his-path-to-the-hall-of-fame/amp/.

5 Officially, the Caguas franchise was known as the Criollos Brujos of Caguas-Guayama during 1953-54. The original Brujos (Warlocks) of Guayama were one of the league’s original teams but folded after four seasons. Given the proximity of the two cities, the co-branding made sense, but the Criollos played only in the Solá Morales Stadium of Caguas that year. Mayagüez was given the Indios Tiburones moniker, playing on the city’s proximity to Aguadilla, home of the former Tiburones (Sharks) franchise.

6 “Promedios Generales,” El Mundo, October 17, 1953:

7 Miguel Rivera, “Mayagüez y Caguas se Mantuvieron Invictos al Ganar Anoche,” El Mundo, October 15, 1953: 19.

8 “Box Scores,” El Mundo, October 23, 1953: 18.

9 Diunte.

10 In 2013, to commemorate the league’s 75th anniversary, both Rodríguez Olmo and Vargas were named among the league’s top 75 players of all time.

11 Howard Bryant, The Last Hero (New York: Pantheon Books, 2010), 60, 239.

12 Hank Aaron and Lonnie Wheeler, I Had A Hammer (New York: Harper Collins, 1991), 79, 80.

13 “Aaron es 4to lesionado,” El Mundo, October 23, 1953: 20.

14 “Promedios Generales,” El Mundo, October 24, 1953: 19.

15 “Roberto Vargas: Part 2,” SABR Oral History Collection, August 8, 1992, https://sabr.org/interview/roberto-vargas-1992/

16 “San Juan se Impuso al Caguas, 10-9,” El Mundo, October 31, 1953: 1.

17 “Líderes,” El Mundo, November 4, 1953: 1.

18 Miguel Rivera, “Debutante Rotblatt, el perdedor,” El Mundo, November 21, 1953: 1.

19 “Líderes,” El Mundo, November 24, 1953: 1.

20 “Líderes,” El Mundo, December 8, 1953: 1.

21 Santiago Llorens, “Imports Win Puerto Rican All-Start Tilt,” The Sporting News, January 6, 1954: 22.

22 Through 2024, only five players have hit a pair of home runs in an all-star game: Josh Gibson, Roberto Clemente, Ismael Oquendo, and Candy Maldonado.

23 The format of the all-star game has changed over the years. For many decades it featured the “Metropolitan area” (San Juan, Santurce, Caguas/Bayamón) against the “rest of the island” (Ponce, Mayagüez, Arecibo). It is now an interleague competition between the stars of the Puerto Rican and Dominican Republic Winter Leagues.

24 Thomas Van Hyning, “Remembering Hank Aaron’s Remarkable 1953-54 season in Puerto Rico.”

25 “Líderes,” El Mundo, December 28, 1953: 1.

26 Héctor Barea, “Caguas Explotó a Harshman y Aaron Dió 5-4 en Victoria, 11-3,” El Mundo, December 28, 1953: 1.

27 Santiago Llorens, “Braves’ Kids Help Caguas in Flag Fight,” The Sporting News, December 30, 1953: 23.

28 “Box Scores,” El Mundo, January 4, 1954: 19.

29 “Líderes,” El Mundo, January 8, 1954: 19.

30 “Hit Smith,” El Mundo, January 9, 1954: 15, 17.

31 “Líderes,” El Mundo, January 14, 1954: 1.

32 Héctor Barea, “Jonrón Aaron en 9o. Dió Triunfo a Caguas Sobre Santurce, 8-5,” El Mundo, January 14, 1954: 1.

33 El Mundo, January 16, 1954:1 15, 177.

34 “Aaron Dió 9º Jonrón; Pasó 1º en Bateo,” El Mundo, January 22, 1954: 1.

35 “Bombones,” El Mundo, January 25, 1954: 1.

36 Héctor Barea, “Los Criollos a ½ Juego de la Tribu,” El Mundo, January 30, 1954: 1.

37 “Box Scores,” El Mundo, February 5, 1954: 19.

38 From 1951-1952 to 1957-1958, the league’s top three teams qualified for the postseason. Since then the format has switched to two semifinal series (1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3), a round-robin playoff (1980s-1990s), and back to the current semifinal setup.

39 Guido Ortiz, “El Mayagüez con Dominio en Ofensiva,” El Mundo, February 10, 1954: 1.

40 Miguel Rivera, “Caguas-G. al Frente en Serie Final al Ganar Buhl, 5-3,” El Mundo, February 12, 1954: 1.

41 “Tribu Empató Serie con Triunfo de Valentine, 5-1,” El Mundo, February 13, 1954: 1.

42 El Mundo, February 15, 1954: 22-23.

43 “Box Score,” El Mundo, February 17, 1954: 17.

44 Diunte.

45 Van Hyning, “Remembering Hank Aaron’s Remarkable 1953-54 season in Puerto Rico.”

46 Van Hyning.

47 Van Hyning.

48 Van Hyning.

49 Van Hyning.

50 Jorge Figueroa Loza, “Hank Aaron: Fallece una leyenda de las Grandes Ligas,” El Nuevo Dia, January 23, 2021: https://www.pressreader.com/puerto-rico/el-nuevo-dia1/20210123/281535113650281.

51 Aaron and Wheeler, 80.

52 Bryant, 57.

53 Aaron was an All-Star in 21 straight years but played in 25 contests. From 1959 to 1962, two All-Star Games were played each year.

54 Thomas Van Hyning, Puerto Rico’s Winter League: A History of Major League Baseball’s Launching Pad (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1995), 19. Van Hyning cites USA Today, December 22, 1988, as the original source.

55 Matt Rothenberg, “Hank’s Giving: Henry Aaron’s Legacy Continues Off the Field,” Baseball Hall of Fame, https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/stories/support/hank-aaron-continues-legacy-through-giving.

56 Luis Rodríguez Mayoral, “Hank Aaron, genial pelotero que vivió agradecido de Puerto Rico,” Béisbol101, January 22, 2021, https://beisbol101.com/hank-aaron-genial-pelotero-que-vivio-agradecido-de-puerto-rico/.