Berenguer was born on November 30, 1954, in Aguadulce, Panama, one of nine children born to Francisco and Bienvenda Berenguer. He played in youth leagues as a third baseman until the age of 16. Noting his rocket arm, Berenguer’s brother Jose convinced his younger sibling that he could be a successful pitcher. Jose’s advice was a turning point in the blossoming career of the younger Berenguer, and led to 15 years in the big leagues.

In 1972, at the age of 18, Berenguer, a right-hander, made the Panamanian National Team, traveling to various locations with his fellow countrymen. While playing a game in Cuba, Berenguer met Tony Oliva and Luis Tiant, Cuban-born players who had made the jump to America and the major leagues. Oliva was then starring with the Minnesota Twins and Tiant with the Boston Red Sox. “They told me to work hard, and that they would soon see me in America,” Berenguer said in an interview in 2009. “I never thought I had a chance to come to America.”

That advice and encouragement from two of the game’s most influential Latinos motivated Berenguer, and three years later, in 1975, a New York Mets scout, former major leaguer Nino Escalera, spotted him in a game in Panama. He saw enough to know that Juan had a major-league arm, and he showed up at the Berenguers’ front door at 6 o’clock the following morning, taking Berenguer’s mother by surprise. Reluctant to wake Juan, she tried to send Escalera away, explaining that Juan was still asleep. Luckily for Juan, brother Jose intervened, woke his kid brother and ushered in Escalera, contract in hand. By 6:45 p.m., Berenguer’s name was on the contract, and he was bound for spring training in St. Petersburg, Florida.

At that camp, Berenguer met Mets pitchers Tom Seaver, already a 146-game winner, and Jerry Koosman, among other players. For a boy making his first trip to America, those names were as foreign as the language. However, the two were gracious veterans, and they told Berenguer to keep working hard.

Berenguer spent the 1975 through 1978 seasons working his way up to the high minors — 5-4 and a 2.94 ERA in 1975 with Wausau in the Class A Midwest League, 10-13 and 3.61 in 1976 with Lynchburg in the Class A Carolina League, and 9-8 and 3.43 in 1977 with Jackson in the Double-A Texas League. He reached a peak in 1978 with Tidewater in the Triple-A International League, winning the league’s Pitcher of the Year Award with a record of 10-7, a 3.67 ERA, eight complete games, and three shutouts. His reward was a call-up to the parent club and making his first big-league start, at the age of 23, on August 17 in front of 9,003 fans at Shea Stadium. The opponent that evening was the San Diego Padres, and Berenguer had to pitch against the legendary Gaylord Perry, then well on his way to 300 victories. The Mets, by comparison, were well on their way to a last-place finish in the National League’s Eastern Division.

“My leg was shaking,” Berenguer recalled. “I was very nervous to go against one of the best players in baseball. But Nino [Escalera] told me to go in and pitch hard.”

The top of the first inning was rocky as he walked the first two batters, which led to a run for the Padres. Berenguer settled down until the third inning, when San Diego plated four runs, two of them on a home run by Tucker Ashford. Berenguer finished the third, but was removed for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the inning. The line for his first big league start: 3 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2K.

After four more appearances, including two additional starts, Berenguer ended his first major-league season with an 0-2 record, an ERA of 8.31, and the knowledge that he needed another pitch to complement his fastball.

Winter ball in Venezuela was the next stop, with the goal of finding the elusive breaking ball. “I had a good fastball,” said Berenguer. “But I needed to find another pitch. The changeup wasn’t it. Every time I used a changeup, someone took me deep. They could see it coming.”

Winter ball and two more stints in Triple-A, although helpful, failed to produce the secondary pitch Berenguer desired, and he made only sporadic late-season appearances for the Mets in 1979 and 1980. He spent the bulk of 1979 on loan to the Tacoma Tugs, Cleveland’s affiliate in the Pacific Coast League, going 8-8 with a 4.88 ERA. It was in that season that Berenguer earned his first big-league win, pitching 7? innings, allowing two earned runs and registering four strikeouts in a Mets victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on September 28. Preserving the win for Berenguer was 23-year-old rookie Jeff Reardon, who earned his first save for a player who would be his World Series teammate eight years later, in 1987. The 1980 season found Berenguer at Triple-A Tidewater, where he posted a 9-15 mark with an improved 3.84 ERA.

Late in spring training of 1981, buried on the Mets’ depth chart, Berenguer got word from manager Joe Torre that his Mets days were over, and that he was headed to Kansas City for a fresh start. “Joe told me that I was going someplace where I could pitch in the big leagues,” Berenguer said.

Berenguer was dealt for Marvell Wynne and John Skinner, neither of whom ever played for the Mets. Former minor-league pitching instructor Bill Connors had taken the first of his several major-league pitching coach positions with the Royals a year earlier. And he wanted Juan.

For the first time, Berenguer opened a season with the big club, making his first appearance on April 20. After seven more appearances, including three starts, giving him an 0-4 record and an 8.69 ERA, Berenguer’s 1981 season came to a halt on June 12 as the Major League Baseball Players Association voted to strike in the name of free agency. On August 8, the eve of resumption of play, Berenguer was sold to Toronto to join a young Blue Jays squad that had gone 16-42 before the strike.

As luck would have it, the Royals ended up in the playoffs because of the unique split-season rules necessitated by the strike that year, and Berenguer missed a chance at postseason baseball. However, the trade gave Berenguer an opportunity to throw big innings; he started 11 games for the Blue Jays in the second half of the split season. The highlight of his Toronto tenure was his first American League victory, coming against the Tigers, the club that signed him as a free agent eight months later.

Playing in front of a crowd of 10,526 at Tiger Stadium on August 11, 1981, Berenguer entered the game in the second inning. The Blue Jays were up, 6-3. They had scored six runs in the top of the first against Dan Schatzeder, but the Jays’ Paul Mirabella gave up three in the bottom of the inning. With two on and two out in the second, Berenguer replaced Mirabella, fanned Alan Trammell for his only strikeout of the game, and pitched into the seventh before surrendering the ball to Roy Lee Jackson, who preserved his second career win.

Berenguer won just one more game that season and finished the season with a 2-13 record (0-4 for the Royals, 2-9 for the Blue Jays), with a 5.26 ERA. His career record was now 3-17.

Another year, 1982, brought another spring training disappointment for Berenguer as the Jays released him, less than two weeks before teams headed north.

But in a moment that marks one of the turning points of his career, Berenguer got the call from Detroit and signed as a free agent on April 4. He was to play for Sparky Anderson, a manager about whom he knew two things: Anderson won two World Series as manager of the Cincinnati Reds in 1975 and ’76, and had a reputation for impatience with pitchers.

“Sparky had a reputation as Mr. Hook,” Berenguer recollected. “You know, walk one guy and you’re gone. I thought, ‘We’re going to have trouble. I need to work on my control.’”

Twenty-five players headed north as the Tigers broke camp to begin the season in Kansas City, but Berenguer wasn’t one of them. Instead, Anderson told him to stay behind in Lakeland, then report to Evansville to play for the Triplets, the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate. Starting 24 games for the Triplets that season, Berenguer logged 11 wins against 10 losses, with an ERA of 4.61.

As had become a familiar routine during his time as a Met, Berenguer was a late-season call-up in 1982, making his Tigers debut at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull in a starting role on September 2. His line was another parallel to his days in New York; he walked five California Angels and departed after three innings — but this time he gave up only three earned runs. Nine days later the story was the same, this time out of the bullpen, as Berenguer struck out five Boston Red Sox but walked four, giving him nine walks in 6? innings.

After another offseason of hard work, Berenguer left Florida with the Tigers in 1983 to begin the season that changed his life as a major leaguer.

“Sparky and Roger Craig saved my career,” Berenguer said. Craig, the Tigers’ pitching coach, “taught me to throw the split-finger, and I learned it in about a week.” That season, Berenguer finished on the plus side of .500 for the first time, going 9-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 157? innings. He appeared in 37 games and made 19 starts.

Berenguer got permission from Anderson to play winter ball to perfect the split-finger pitch. Berenguer knew winter ball would also help him satisfy one of Anderson’s other requirements: weight.

“Sparky would send the players a sheet in December that said what weight to report at,” Berenguer recalled. “I had to keep in shape.”

Berenguer entered the spring of 1984 as he had every other in his career, with the mindset that someone was going to try to take his job. This year, someone almost did, with Berenguer’s wildness nearly costing him a spot in the starting rotation.

After almost three weeks of sitting in the bullpen, with Anderson using Jack Morris, Dan Petry, Milt Wilcox, and Dave Rozema en route to an AL East-leading 11-1 record, Berenguer started on April 22 against the Chicago White Sox at Tiger Stadium. The game-time temperature was frigid, punctuated with periods of sleet, but not cold enough to chill Berenguer’s heater as he pitched a game that was in stark contrast to the majority of his previous big-league appearances. He dominated the White Sox hitters for seven scoreless innings of two-hit ball while striking out seven. But the best number of the afternoon was in the BB stat line, as Berenguer issued only one free pass.

His next start, five days later against the visiting Cleveland Indians, proved that his first outing was no fluke. Berenguer went 7? innings, struck out six and allowed one earned run, but got no decision in an extra-inning affair.

One of the season’s most spectacular moments came on May 12, Berenguer’s fifth start, when Detroit hosted the California Angels in front of more than 38,000 fans. Led by aging veterans Tommy John and Reggie Jackson, the Angels came into the contest one game above .500 to play the red-hot, 26-4 Tigers. After being hit by a pitch in the first inning and striking out in the third, Jackson came to the plate in the fifth inning with a man on first and the Angels trailing 2-0. Berenguer ran the count to 3-2 before Jackson, according to Berenguer, uttered, “Come to papa” from the batter’s box, knowing a fastball was likely from the right-hander. He got it, and — aided by a 20 mph wind — cleared the right-field roof for his 485th home run, a mammoth blast reminiscent of the shot he hit in the 1971 All-Star Game.

The Angels grabbed the lead in the seventh, and Tommy John scattered eight hits in a 4-2 complete-game victory, a line that took a back seat to the Berenguer-Jackson encounter midway through the game.

Berenguer alternated wins and losses for most of the season, with the losses somewhat more frequent, and his record stood at 8-10 in mid-September before a three-game winning streak allowed him to finish above .500 at 11-10 with a respectable ERA of 3.48.

Heading into the American League Championship Series against the Royals, Berenguer knew he was on the outside of the pitching rotation looking in, both as a starter and a reliever. Before the opening game, pitching coach Craig explained to Berenguer his postseason role. “Roger told me before the playoffs, ‘This is the situation. I am going to push my starters into the eighth. You are my innings 4 through 6 guy. Anything later than the sixth and it’ll be [Doug] Bair, [Aurelio] Lopez, and [Willie] Hernandez.’”

Typically, Berenguer accepted his role with ease. “I knew the rule,” he said. “I am a team player. I wanted to win.”

The postseason for the Tigers lasted a scant eight games, with the starters doing the job Craig had envisioned. In the Championship Series, Detroit relievers got only seven innings of work. Jack Morris pitched seven strong innings in Game One, with Hernandez hurling the final two; Dan Petry went seven innings in Game Two, but Hernandez blew the save and the win went to Lopez in extra innings; and Wilcox pitched eight innings in Game Three, with Hernandez saving it.

The World Series featured two complete-game victories by Morris in Games One and Four, and two subpar performances by Petry in Games Two (4? innings) and Five (3? innings). Lopez, Hernandez, Bair, and Bill Scherrer did Detroit’s relief duty in the Series. Berenguer, despite 27 starts and 168? innings for the Tigers during the season, never left the bullpen in the postseason.

According to Berenguer, that inactivity was made easier by the support system he had on the team, mainly Hernandez, Lopez, and utility player Barbaro Garbey. That support, he said, enabled him to succeed during his time in Detroit.

“I talked to everyone on the team,” Berenguer said. “Lopez and Willie would say, ‘You start, then give the ball to me.’ I put that in my head. I knew I didn’t have to go nine innings. I would get to six or seven and let those guys come in.

“I felt like I found a home in Detroit. The crowd made you feel comfortable and everyone supported you. They made you feel good, and I wanted to pitch well for them.”

Berenguer pitched one more season in Detroit, a disappointing season in which his starts declined to 13, his record dipped to 5-6, and his ERA rose to 5.59. On the day after the ’85 season ended, Berenguer left the home he thought he had found and headed west to join the San Francisco Giants. Berenguer, backup catcher Bob Melvin and pitcher Scott Medvin were sent to San Francisco in exchange for catcher Matt Nokes and pitchers Eric King and Dave LaPoint. There, Berenguer would join the man who had tutored him in the art of the split-finger fastball, Roger Craig, the team’s manager.

By the time he joined the Giants, Berenguer had accepted his role as a reliever. However, San Francisco already had a crowded bullpen. As a result, Berenguer joined the Giants starting rotation, at least at the outset of the 1986 season, alongside players like Mike Krukow and Vida Blue.

Berenguer made his first start at Candlestick Park on April 30 in front of just 5,147 attendees, and didn’t last through the third inning. After two more lackluster starts, Berenguer and his 6.00 ERA were sent back to the bullpen. By June 12, his ERA was down to 2.93, and almost a week later, with other relievers injured, Berenguer got the chance to close. Between June 18 and June 22, Berenguer saved three games and won one before returning to middle relief.

With an overstocked bullpen in July, Giants general manager Al Rosen met with Berenguer and asked where he might want to be traded. Rosen asked him to pick one team. Around the same time, his old acquaintance Tony Oliva, then a batting coach for Minnesota, told Berenguer that the Twins were trying to acquire him. So Berenguer told Rosen that he wanted to be traded to Minnesota — a request Rosen declined because, according to Berenguer, “he didn’t want anyone from Minnesota.” So Berenguer stayed with the Giants.

Berenguer finished the 1986 season with a 2.70 ERA in 73? innings of work, a solid year that landed him a spot on his second World Series winner.

He was released by the Giants on December 19, 1986, and signed on the following January 9 with the Twins to be their closer. He finally landed the elusive job at the back end of the bullpen that he was looking for. And it lasted less than a month. On February 3, the Twins traded four players to the Expos to obtain the Terminator, Jeff Reardon, who had 76 saves over the previous two seasons.

Oliva calmed Berenguer’s fears, informing him that, with only two bona fide starters, Bert Blyleven and Frank Viola, a relief pitcher on the Twins would be in high demand during the 1987 season. Oliva’s prediction proved correct, and the result for Juan was 112 innings of work in six starts and 41 relief appearances with a 3.94 ERA. He posted the best strikeout-to-walk ratio of his career, striking out 110 and walking only 47, and finished the season with an 8-1 record. He became known as Señor Smoke.

The Twins finished 85-77 for the year, winning the American League West by two games over the Royals, and were headed to the postseason for the first time since the Harmon Killebrew-led 1970 team.

The only team between the Twins and the pennant was the 98-win Detroit Tigers, winner of the East by two games over the Blue Jays and the owner of the best record in baseball. The Tigers won the division in dramatic fashion, winning the last four games of the season at home against Toronto — which came into the series with the division lead.

On paper and in the standings, the Tigers held the advantage. But after an 8-5 victory by the Twins in Game One at the Metrodome, the regular–season records were quickly forgotten. Berenguer finally broke his postseason pitching drought in Game Two, pitching what could be called the best 1? innings of his 15-year career.

Bert Blyleven started. Leading 6-2 in the eighth inning, he gave up a solo home run to the Tigers’ Lou Whitaker. Enter Señor Smoke; Twins manager Tom Kelly’s plan was that he would get the final two outs of the inning before turning the ball over to Reardon.

Berenguer promptly struck out Kirk Gibson on three pitches, the final one swinging, and got Alan Trammell to ground into a force play at second. Kelly saw something in Berenguer that made him change his plan, and with the Twins holding a three-run lead, he left Berenguer in for the ninth.

Matt Nokes, one of the players the Tigers got for Berenguer, led off the inning. Berenguer struck him out swinging. Next was Chet Lemon, a player Berenguer admired during his time in Detroit for his spectacular defense. Strikeout swinging. The final batter of the game was Pat Sheridan. Another strikeout swinging.

With the nation watching on television and his family in attendance, Berenguer was fired up, pumping his fist after each strikeout in a display of emotion that did not sit well with his former Tigers manager.

“Don’t ever try to embarrass my players,” said a peeved Anderson after the game. “Whatever this is, with the glove coming up and the hand coming down, don’t wake the sleeping dog.”

Berenguer saw it differently. “I was not trying to embarrass anyone,” he said in 2009. “I played with those guys, and respect them all.”

Berenguer pitched a hitless inning in Minnesota’s Game Three win, 2? hitless innings in the Twins’ Game Four victory, and two-thirds of an inning in the deciding Game Five victory — his no-hit, no-run string broken up by a home run by Chet Lemon. The Twins were going to their first World Series in 22 years to face the St. Louis Cardinals.

Berenguer struggled early in the Series, allowing two earned runs in an inning of work in Game Two, and taking the loss after allowing three earned runs in one-third of an inning in Game Three.

After the loss, Berenguer received a tip that he had heard before: He was relying too much on his fastball. In his next appearance, in Game Six, he served a steady dose of sliders and forkballs in three innings of scoreless work as the Twins evened the Series at three victories each. They defeated the Cardinals in Game Seven for Berenguer’s second World Series title in four seasons.

The reliever’s popularity soared after the World Series thanks to “Berenguer Boogie,” a music video that featured Juan dancing to the beat in a trench coat and briefcase. It achieved new life in the 21st century thanks to several Internet video sites.

Berenguer pitched in Minnesota through 1990, with a record of 33-13 in his four years of work as a Twin. After testing free agency, Berenguer signed with the Atlanta Braves, and as had happened with the Twins four years earlier, made another run at a title.

The Braves, 65-97 in 1990, went from worst to first in 1991, with Berenguer, at the age of 36, playing a key role early in the season. He had 17 saves, more than in his previous 13 years combined, when an injury derailed his season. While home wrestling with his children on an off-day, Berenguer broke his pitching arm and missed out on much of the Braves’ run to the National League West title, followed by the pennant and subsequent loss to Berenguer’s former team, the Twins, in Game Seven of the World Series. The winning pitcher for the Twins in that game? Ex-Tigers teammate Jack Morris.

In 1992, Berenguer returned to pitch for Atlanta, going 3-1 with a 5.13 ERA, but was dealt near the interleague trade deadline to the Royals in exchange for another former teammate, Mark Davis. With a 1-4 record and a 5.64 ERA with the Royals, Berenguer’s major-league career came to an end. He hung on until 1997, spending 1993 and 1994 in the Mexican League, part of 1994 with Minneapolis in the independent North Central League, and 1995 through 1997 with Minneapolis and Southern Minny in the independent Prairie League. As ERAs ranging from 0.82 (with Minneapolis in 1995, albeit with a 2-3 mark) to 6.14 (with Saltillo in 1993, with a not-surprising 1-5 record) indicate, his work was inconsistent. The end came in 1997 with an 8-3 slate and 3.09 ERA. At 41, Berenguer retired.

During his 15-year career, the man known by the nicknames Pancho Villa (referring to his facial hair) and the Panama Express registered 67 career wins, the record for a Panamanian-born player until 2008 when Mariano Rivera posted win number 68 with the New York Yankees. Berenguer registered 975 career strikeouts, 32 saves and a 3.90 ERA in 490 games, with 1,205? innings pitched — and two rings.

Berenguer returned to Minnesota, the site of his greatest baseball success, and worked in marketing for a television station. He was married for the second time in 2004. He sons from his first marriage followed in his athletic footsteps: Chris as a defenseman for the Hamline University hockey team in St. Paul, and Andrew following in his dad’s footsteps on the diamond at Mesabi Range Technical College in Virginia, Minnesota.

Sources

Zaret, Eli. ’84 – The Last of the Great Tigers. South Boardman, Mich.: Crofton Creek Press, 2004.

Anderson, Dave. “A Tale of Two Bullpens.” New York Times, October 9, 1987.

Durso, Joseph. “Offseason for Baseball Isn’t What It Used to Be.” New York Times, January 11, 1988.

Goessling, Ben. “Former Twin Enjoys Chaotic, Happy Retirement as Salesman and Father.” Minneapolis Star-Tribune, March 22, 2006.

http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com

http://www.baseball-reference.com

http://www.panama-guide.com

http://www.retrosheet.org

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/pitching/1982/10517.shtm

http://www.wikipedia.org

Lenard, Jason. Juan Berenguer interview. January 14, 2009.

New York Yankee pitcher Catfish Hunter’s assessment of what it was like to pitch to Rod Carew may have been the opinion of many other pitchers from around the American League. Minnesota’s Rod Carew was hitting at a torrid pace in 1977. From June 26 through July 10, the left-handed first baseman maintained an average above .400. He ended the season hitting .388. His hitting ability gripped America as he appeared on the covers of Sports Illustrated and Time in the week of July 18, 1977.

The Twins were in the race for the A.L. West crown in 1977. As August drew to a close, they trailed first place Kansas City by only three games. But they hit the skids in September, their record of 7-18 effectively knocking them out of the race. Carew put his season in perspective: “Even when I was getting all that publicity in July because I was hitting over .400, I knew it would be a very tough task to stay there. I knew that when the weather got hot, my arms would get tired, or I’d have some injuries, or I’d hit the ball hard and still make outs. But hitting .400 would have been an individual accomplishment. Winning games is everyone’s main goal. When you win, it’s exciting to be in the clubhouse. When you win, you don’t hear players mumbling and grumbling. It’s fun.”2

On October 1, 1945, Eric Carew and is expectant wife, Olga, were traveling by train from their home in Gatun, Panama, to Gorgas Hospital in Ancon. They were seated in the rear coach—reserved for colored folks—as they embarked on the 40-mile trip. Olga began to feel uneasy as she went into labor. A nurse by the name of Margaret Allen rushed to Olga’s aide to deliver the baby. When the conductor realized what was happening, he hurried to the front of the train in search of a doctor. Dr. Rodney Cline rushed to Olga Carew to complete the delivery. In honor of Dr. Cline, Eric and Olga named the child Rodney Cline Carew. For her efforts, Margaret Allen was asked to be Rod’s godmother.

Known to his family as Cline, Rod Carew had four siblings, three sisters and one brother. Eric Carew worked as a sign painter along the Panama Canal. But he was an abusive father who physically disciplined his two sons (Rod and brother Dickie) on a regular basis. He also drank quite regularly, often arriving home in a foul mood. The Carew children lived in fear of their father. Carew’s relationship with his father was strained to say the least; it was his mother who offered the children guidance and support. Rod also received direction from Joseph French, the gym teacher at his grade school. French was Olga’s brother-in-law, Rod’s uncle. He got Rod started in Little League in Gamboa. Even at a young age, Carew showed that he had the potential to be an excellent batsman.

Rod attended Paraiso High School for two years. He was an exceptional student and a fine athlete. But Olga wanted to leave Panama for two reasons: first, to provide a better life for her children; second, to get the children away from Eric. Her target destination was New York City. Olga received assistance from Margaret Allen, who helped Olga get the paperwork in order. Olga’s brother Clyde Scott provided the financial aid to get the paperwork processed. After she got settled in New York, Olga requested that two of her children join her. Since Allen was Rod’s godmother she requested Rod; Dickie won a family lottery and joined Rod on his journey to the U.S. in 1962.

Rod and Dickie lived with their mother in the Washington Heights area in upper Manhattan. Rod enrolled at George Washington High School, the school attended by Henry Kissinger and Manny Ramirez. Rod got a job as a stock clerk in a grocery store. His days were routine: school and work; he did not play baseball in high school so he could hit the books. One of Rod’s biggest hurdles was mastering English; learning a new language and keeping his studies up were of the utmost importance to him.

As time passed, Carew eventually found his way to the ball diamond. In 1964 he joined the New York Cavaliers, a sandlot team that was a member of the Bronx Federation League. Carew was impressive with the way he hit a baseball, all line drives. Monroe Katz, whose son Steve was also on the Cavaliers, was a bird-dog scout for the Minnesota Twins. He passed the word about Carew to Herb Stein, who was a New York area scout for the Twins. Stein’s main profession was that of an officer with the New York City Transit Police. “Stein told me that I had a pair of wrists that exploded with the pitch. He said he liked the way I could hit an inside pitch to left field. Unusual for a left-handed batter,” said Carew.3 Herb Stein said, “He played all over. I chased him all over New York City. A lot of Spanish teams played in Central Park. And they had some pretty good ballplayers down there. Carew was the guy that shined out in my mind, and I thought he had a good opportunity to get ahead in baseball.”4

A tryout was arranged when the Twins came to town to play New York at Yankee Stadium. Carew sprayed hits all over the field, impressing the Twins’ manager Sam Mele. After Rod graduated from high school in June 1964, he signed a contract with the Twins that included a $5,000 bonus and $400 a month when he reported to Cocoa, Florida, for Rookie League.

After Carew completed the season down in Florida, he joined the Marine Corps to fulfill his military obligation. Although he was not a citizen of the United States, Carew was a permanent resident. He later would spend an additional five and a half years in the reserves.

Rod spent two years in the Minnesota minor league system. In 1965 he was assigned to Class A Orlando of the Florida State League. Rod batted .303 and stole 52 bases. The following year Carew moved on to Class A Wilson (NC) of the Carolina League. Carew manned second base for both seasons.

Minnesota had a strong team in 1967. Dean Chance won 20 games to lead a talented starting rotation that included Jim Kaat, Jim Merritt, and Dave Boswell. Harmon Killebrew led the league in homers, Tony Oliva led the league in doubles, Bob Allison was an outstanding hitter; and now they added Carew to their lineup. “Carew can do it all,” said Twins President Calvin Griffith. “He can run, throw, hit. He could be the American League All-Star second baseman if he put his mind to it.”5

Rod made his major league debut on April 11, 1967 against the Orioles at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium. He singled in his first at-bat against Dave McNally in the second inning and went 2-for-4 on the day.

For the season the rookie hit .292 and played a credible second base. He was named the American League’s starting second baseman for the All-Star Game on July 11 at Anaheim. (Obviously Griffith knew what he was talking about.) It was the first of 18 mid-summer classics for Rod. He was also named Rookie of the Year by both the Baseball Writers Association of America and the Sporting News.

Unfortunately the Twins got off to a slow start in 1967 and Mele was let go after posting a 25-25 record. He was replaced by Cal Ermer. Under Ermer, the Twins went 66-46. On September 26 they held a one game lead with three games to play. But they dropped their last three games, including the last two to the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Boston squeaked in to grab the pennant.

The 1967 season saw the last true tight pennant race in the major leagues. In 1968 the Tigers breezed through the American League. In 1969, both leagues expanded by two more teams and each went to a two-division format. This created a round of playoffs before the World Series. No longer was the team with the best regular-season record guaranteed a spot in the Fall Classic.

The Twins won back-to-back American League West titles in 1969 and 1970. Both years they held off Oakland by nine games. And in both seasons they were swept by Baltimore in the American League Championship Series. Two of the defeats in 1969 were by a single run. That year Minnesota was managed by Billy Martin, who had served on the staffs of both Mele and Ermer.

Martin was seeking a two-year pact from Calvin Griffith, the Twins owner. Instead, he was let go. However, Carew was a believer in Martin, buying into Billy’s philosophy of being aggressive on the base paths. Carew stole home seven times in 1969, five of those in the first inning. He was one shy of the record set by Ty Cobb in 1912.6 “Pitchers don’t expect you to take a risk so early and kill off a potential rally,” said Carew.7 Of Martin, Carew said, “He’s smart, knows how to handle players and is aggressive. He has a theory that aggressive, running teams force opponents to make mistakes. He must know what he’s doing. He’s managed first place teams in Minnesota, Detroit and New York. Billy and I also became good friends. He helped me tremendously on the field and off, giving me meaningful, fatherly advice when I really needed it.”8

For Rod Carew, 1969 was the first of seven seasons when he led the league in hitting. He sat atop the league with a .332 batting average.

On May 20, 1970, at Kansas City, Carew became the first player in Minnesota history to hit for the cycle.9 Then on June 22—when he was hitting .374—severe injury came his way. In the fourth inning in a ballgame against Milwaukee at County Stadium, Brewers first baseman Mike Hegan upended Carew in an attempt to break up a double play. Carew felt that he was out of harm’s way, but Hegan slid way outside the baseline. Carew’s left leg snapped like kindling. Surgery was required to remove cartilage and repair torn ligaments. But it was not Rod’s way to harbor bad feelings. He returned later in the season, serving as a pinch-hitter for a few games in September.

Carew had been courting Marilynn Levy for over two years, and on October 24, 1970, they were married in a private ceremony. Both Rod and Marilynn had hurdles to climb; not only was theirs an interracial bonding, but also Rod was Episcopalian and Marilynn was Jewish. But they overcame any obstacles that came their way, including death threats that Rod more or less just blew off. “After I met her mom and dad and got to know them,” said Carew, “they told me the only thing they wanted me to do was to take care of Marilynn and make her happy.”10 Rod and Marilynn had three daughters, Charryse, Stephanie, and Michelle.

Beginning in 1969, Carew began a streak of 15 straight years of hitting .300 or better. He led the league six more years as a member of the Twins; 1972 (.318), 1973 (.350), 1974 (.364), 1975 (.359), 1977 (.388) and 1978 (.333). In the history of major league baseball, only Ty Cobb (12), Honus Wagner, and Tony Gwynn (8) have led the league more times.11

Gene Mauch took the helm of the Twin in 1976 and moved Carew to first base. Although Carew had started 14 games there the previous September, this time the move was permanent. The shift was made ostensibly to extend Rod’s career, first base being the least taxing position on a player’s body.

The Twins ended their season at Kansas City. George Brett, Hal McRae, and Carew were all vying for the batting title. But on that day, Brett topped them all, going 3-for-4 while Carew and McCrae both turned in 2-for-4 performances. Brett finished with a .333 average, McRae at .332 and Carew at .331.

In spite of a certain amount of success, Minnesota was in the middle of the pack in the A.L. West Division. The losing began to take a toll on Carew, although his play on the diamond still sparkled. Like all players, no matter what their accomplishments were on the field or how large a contract might be, their ultimate goal was to win a world championship. Carew had signed a three-year pact before the 1977 season with the Twins, so he was obliged to play out his contract and then test the waters of free agency. Carew had watched as former teammates Larry Hisle and Lyman Bostock signed lucrative deals with Milwaukee and California respectively. Rod’s relationship with Twins’ owner Calvin Griffith had turned downward, as their differences were played out in the press.

The Twins of course realized that Carew would not sign a new deal and began shopping him around. Carew was entitled to approve any team that he was traded to, and those with the deepest pockets came knocking. In the end it was the Angels who put together the right package. On February 3, 1979, Carew was dealt for outfielder Ken Landreaux, pitchers Paul Hartzell and Brad Havens, and utility player Dave Engle. “We obtained the best hitter in baseball,” said Angels General Manager Buzzie Bavasi. “We expected it would cost us a lot in player personnel, but we felt we could not give up the players Griffith insisted on originally.”12

The trade was expected to have an effect on ticket sales, and it did. The Angels ticket department took in an estimated $45,850 for season ticket packages, and further projected that an additional $30,000 would have been raked in if single-game tickets also went on sale.

Supporters of the Halos, both old and new, were not disappointed. The Angels had built a formidable team, mostly through free agency. Joe Rudi, Rick Miller, Don Baylor, Brian Downing and Bobby Grich had all joined the Angels by that route. In 1979 California broke the three-year stranglehold that Kansas City held on the A.L. West Division to take the crown. Unfortunately for Carew and the Angels, they were matched up against Baltimore in the LCS. The Orioles had been Minnesota’s nemesis a decade earlier, and times did not change much as they defeated California three games to one.

For Carew, the address change to Southern California did not diminish his skill at the plate. For five straight years (1979-1983) he batted over .300. Unlike his years with the Twins, Carew had more protection in the Angels’ lineup. The Angels returned to the postseason in 1982, but were eliminated again in the LCS. This time Milwaukee ousted California in five games.

On August 4, 1985, Carew singled off Minnesota’s Frank Viola in the third inning to notch his 3,000th career hit. “It’s something I thought I would never accomplish,” said Carew, “but I’ve been around for 19 years, and if you stay around long enough, good things happen to you.”13 Carew was the 16th player in major league history to reach the 3,000 hit plateau.

It turned out to be the last hurrah for Rod Carew. In 1986, major league rosters were reduced to 24 players. Suddenly, and to many surprisingly, he was on the outside looking in. When no teams offered him a job, even at a reduced salary, Rod Carew retired from the major leagues. His career batting average was .328. He totaled 3,053 hits including 445 doubles, 112 triples, 1,424 runs and 353 stolen bases. He hit 92 home runs and drove in 1,015 runs.

Rod Carew was inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991. He was the 27th player in history to be elected in his first year of eligibility. “The Hall of Fame’s very sacred to me,” said Carew. “I remember Bobby Doerr looked at me and said ‘Welcome to one of the greatest fraternities in the world.’ There are such exceptional athletes in there.”14 Carew was the first player from Panama to be enshrined. Today, Carew waits for his fellow countryman Mariano Rivera to join him. Rod will no doubt share the same sentiment with Rivera: Welcome to one of the greatest fraternities in the world.

Carew operated a hitting school near his home in Peralta Hills in Anaheim. He tutored major league ballplayers and amateur players alike, offering patient and steady guidance. In 1992 he accepted an invitation by Angels manager Buck Rodgers to become the team’s hitting coach. It turned into a nine-year gig, followed by two more in Milwaukee in the same capacity. “I picture Rod as this great guru on top of a mountain on the Andes,” said Angels utility player Rex Hudler. “Only it’s a state-of-the-art mountain where has videotapes of every hitter and every pitcher and people come from all over the world to find a remedy. But think about this. He’s not on that mountaintop. He’s right here. He’s our own. We’ve got him to ourselves. How selfish is that?”15

Unfortunately, Rod Carew’s darkest days were ahead of him. His 18-year old daughter Michelle was stricken with leukemia in 1995. It was imperative that a bone marrow donor be found in order to give her a chance to beat the disease. Her two older sisters were a match for each other, but not for Michelle. Carew, a private person who had often been cold and indifferent to the press, found himself in the position of needing to use the press to find a donor. “At first, I had to think about it. I didn’t want to make a spectacle out of my daughter’s health. We talked about it as a family. Michelle said if it would help out other kids, then we should do it. And I said ‘OK.’ She knew how tough it was for me because of my past experiences with the press,”16 said Carew. Sadly, finding a donor for Michelle was not to be. But through Carew’s efforts, the registry rolls for bone marrow transplant grew by 500,000 in the first year. It is a cause that Carew fights for to this day.

Unfortunately, what often happens when a child passes away is that there is collateral damage. Rod and Marilynn divorced after 26 years of marriage.

Although his work on the baseball field is what most people will recall when the name Rod Carew comes up, his work in the community is what sets him apart today. In 1975 Carew received the Order of Vasco Nunez de Balboa. It is awarded to an individual who best displays distinguished diplomatic services and contributions to international relations with other states. Established in Panama in 1941, it is the country’s highest award. Carew was the first athlete to be so honored. In 1977, he was the recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award. It is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the game on and off the field. “Fans everywhere are aware of Rod Carew’s magic with a baseball bat,” said Commissioner Bowie Kuhn when he made the presentation. “Carew’s magic however doesn’t stop with his excellence on the diamond. His many charitable activities in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, especially with youngsters, make him an outstanding choice as this year’s Roberto Clemente Award winner.”17

In 1979, Carew and Ira Berkow wrote his autobiography, Carew. It was a very candid and open look into the ballplayer’s life up to that point in his career.

As of 2015, Carew lives with his second wife, the former Rhonda Jones, in California. He will often spend time watching youngsters playing the game he loves, offering tips and suggestions on how to play the game the right way. The Twins hired him as a special assistant in 2013. Before the All Star Game at Target Field in 2014, a portion of Second Avenue N. between 6th and 7th streets was named in his honor. Carew’s number 29 has been retired by both the Minnesota Twins and the California Angels.

After Carew notched his 3,000 hit, he talked about the importance of the achievement. “When you get in the class with Ty Cobb, with (Rogers) Hornsby, with Pete Rose, it means a lot. I was blessed with the ability to hit—with good eyesight, good hand-eye-coordination. When I first came up, the Twins expected me to hit .240 and play second base, but I knew I could do more than that.”18

Indeed. Rod, you have given all of us more. Much, much more.

Last revised: June 4, 2015

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank SABR member Stew Thornley with his help on this bio.

Notes

The native of Panama recorded his first and only hit in the major leagues while part of a Washington Senators September call-up. The day — September 10, 1955 — marked a series of firsts for the left-handed hurler. The game was Clarke’s first start in the major leagues and his first appearance in front of his home fans at Washington’s Griffith Stadium. The club also claimed him as being the first to break the franchise’s color line.1 

Clarke, at 6 feet tall and around 165 pounds, was known for having a “good fastball, a pretty good curve,” and not so good command.2 Walking batters was an issue: He gave up nearly as many walks (14) as hits (17) in 21⅓ innings pitched in seven major-league games.   

Most modern records say that Clarke was born on June 8, 1928, in Colon, Panama.3 However, both the 1930 and 1940 federal censuses recorded in mid-April have Clarke born in 1922 or 1923 depending upon whether the census age indicated his actual birth year or the one he was going to celebrate in June. His father, Charles, was born in Barbados, while his mother, Annie, was born in Jamaica, and moved to the Panama Canal Zone around the time of Vibert’s birth. In 1940 Vibert was recorded as being 17 years of age and employed as a dock worker; it said he had attended school through the seventh grade, which would support a birthdate of 1922 or 1923 and not 1928.4 A 1948 article on the Cleveland Buckeyes Negro League team published the week of his birthday noted Clarke was 24 years old the previous season, making a birth year of 1923 or 1924.5 As the Cleveland Buckeyes team story appears accurate, Clarke was either 32 or 33 years old and not 27 when he made his major-league debut in the summer of 1955.

In 1946 Clarke was 7-7 with the Negro American League Buckeyes and then became the ace of the staff in 1947, posting a record of either 11-2 or 13-2 and helping to capture the Negro American League pennant.6 In 1948 the club failed to win the pennant and Clarke wasn’t as effective that season, posting a mark of 8-9. In that season Clarke had the honor of giving up what is now — with the December 2020 determination by Major League Baseball that the NAL would be considered a major league — Willie Mays’s first major-league homer, as the teen was an outfielder for the Birmingham Barons. He followed up in 1949 with a 4-10 record and a 4.50 ERA with the Buckeyes, now relocated to Louisville. Clarke pitched for the Memphis Red Sox from 1950 through 1953 and posted a much improved 13-10 and 2.98 ERA in his first season with the Tennessee club.7 

When not stateside for the summer, Clarke played in his native Panama 10 consecutive winter seasons starting in 1945, the year before he signed with the Buckeyes. Clarke posted a 4-3 record and was apparently impressive enough to make the trek north to Cleveland in 1946. He posted only winning records in four of the 10 seasons in Panama winter ball.8 He pitched a no-hitter in the 1947-48 winter and his best season was in 1950 (14-4, 2.87 ERA) with the Super Cola squad. By 1952 he held the Panamanian Winter League career wins record at 48.9 In 1952, Clarke got himself into trouble as he attacked Carta Vieja player-manager Al Kubski after a game on February 7. Kubski was hospitalized with head injuries; Clarke was arrested and immediately suspended from the league by President Raul Arango.10

The next season, 1952-1953, possibly still under suspension, Clarke apparently spent some time in the Mexican League. In 1954 he signed with the Pampa (Texas) Oilers of the Class-C West Texas-New Mexico League. Clarke had a fine summer, being named to both the midseason and end-of-the-year all-star teams. Clarke posted an 18-7 record and struck out 234 batters in 232 innings (he walked nearly 100). He completed 19 of 23 games started, and batted .355.11 The Oilers won the pennant and the league playoffs.12

In early December it was reported that Pampa had sold Clarke to the Senators.13 During spring training in 1955, Clarke was assigned to Charlotte in the Class-A Sally League. He was 16-12, winning nearly one-third of 54-86 Charlotte’s victories. Clarke was voted the team’s most valuable player and was given a wristwatch.14 Clarke and catcher Steve Korcheck were promoted to the Senators.

They were joining a woefully inept Senators team, led by manager Charlie Dressen. The best player on the last-place team (53-101) might have been 37-year-old first baseman Mickey Vernon, while none of the pitchers finished with a winning record. About a week before the call-ups, Dressen told sportswriters, “I don’t have to point out that we don’t have enough solid all-around players on the squad,” and called it a “sad sack situation.”15 So, Clarke’s lively arm offered the possibility of a welcome addition to this lackluster squad.

Clark made his major-league pitching debut on September 4, 1955 in relief against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. He was greeted by Andy Carey’s triple, got Whitey Ford out on a comebacker to the mound, and then saw Hank Bauer hit an RBI single to right field. Clarke then gave up a single to Gil McDougald before striking out Billy Martin and getting Yogi Berra to fly out to right field. The Senators failed to score in the top half of the ninth, losing 8-3. Clarke didn’t bat in the game.

Clarke appeared both on the mound and at the plate in the first game of a doubleheader against Boston at Fenway Park the next day. Entering in the fourth inning in relief of Camilo Pascual, Clarke finished the contest and gave up two runs on Jimmy Piersall’s home run, allowed three more hits, and walked six Red Sox as Washington dropped a 10-2 contest. He got his first major-league at-bat, hitting a fly ball off Tom Brewer in the seventh inning that was caught by Piersall in center field.

On September 10, before a slim crowd of 2,551 at Griffith Stadium, Clarke made his first major-league start, against the Kansas City Athletics. The Senators reached base 12 times against Johnny Gray in less than five innings, while the rookie Clarke cruised along, allowing no runs through five innings. In the Senators’ fourth, after Gray loaded the bases with a walk to Roy Sievers, a single by newcomer Korcheck, and a walk to Jose Valdivielso, Clarke came to the plate. With an opportunity to help his cause, he struck out. Gray then walked Eddie Yost and forced in a run before he retired the final two batters of the inning.

In the bottom of the fifth, Washington loaded the bases again. Vernon reached base on an infield error, Sievers singled, and Valdivielso wrangled another walk from Gray. This time, with two outs, the Panamanian connected on a pitch and drove the ball to left field, clearing the bases. Ray Herbert relieved Gray and got the final out. Clarke ended the inning with his only major-league hit, three RBIs, and a 4-0 lead.

Gus Zernial connected for a solo homer to end Clarke’s shutout bid in the sixth inning, but the lefty set down the Athletics in order in the seventh. The Senators got another run in their seventh and led 5-1 in the eighth, when it all unraveled for the rookie. He walked the first three batters. Chuck Stobbs came on to relieve, and five batters later the score was tied, 5-5. To make matters worse, after the Senators retook the lead in the bottom of the eighth, Pedro Ramos gave up Zernial’s second home run of the day, a three-run shot, to hand Kansas City an 8-6 lead. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Senators again loaded the bases, but couldn’t score. Clarke’s pitching and hitting heroics were all for naught.

Clark started one more time, on the 16th against Baltimore, and didn’t make it out of the fourth inning. His short stint allowed him to relieve the next day, when he gave up Brooks Robinson’s second major-league hit and first RBI during his big-league debut.16 Clarke opened the inning by getting two fly-ball outs, before a double and a walk gave Robinson his chance to shine. Clarke was saved from further damage when his Charlotte teammate and catcher, Korcheck, combined with third basemen Eddie Yost to pick off Hal Smith at third.

Clarke’s final game in the majors was on September 24, against Baltimore at Griffith Stadium. It was his best appearance in the majors: He pitched a perfect last three innings.

Near the end of spring training in 1956, the Senators sent Clarke to Charlotte.17 On March 31 he was suspended for three days by manager Rollie Hemsley, whose drill-sergeant attitude was apparently not to Clarke’s liking. Hemsley had set an 11 P.M. curfew and took the ballplayers’ car keys so they could log extra miles when walking to the ballpark. Clarke failed to show for a practice and lacked “the kind of hustle Hemsley demands.” Hemsley announced, “There will be no prima donnas in camp, even if they can win a pennant singlehandedly.”18 Clarke’s 1956 season with Charlotte was not good. He dropped to 3-10 by mid-June and was then sent to Louisville where he was 4-10. The following year he was 7-12 with three minor-league teams. He returned to Panama, where he had much improved numbers, but not enough to generate a return trip to the majors.19

Nearly a decade after his major-league debut, The Sporting News ran an article about Clarke pitching a three-hit shutout for his Cerveza Balboa club on December 17, 1964. The article mentioned Clarke’s age as 35, giving him another birth year, 1930.20

Ernesto Vibert Clarke ended his career with no decisions on the mound and 1-for-6 at the plate. His ERA was 4.64 in 21⅓ innings, with 14 walks and 9 strikeouts. He had two bases-loaded chances in the same game and after failing in the first try, was successful in his second and proved that following a time-worn cliché was a good idea.

Clarke died in Cristobal, Panama, on June 14, 1970. Information on his later years has eluded researchers.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

Notes            

1 Dayton (Ohio) Daily News, April 15, 1997; Detroit Free Press, March 28, 1997.

2 James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro League Baseball Leagues (New York: Carroll and Graf, 2002), 175.

3 As self-reported by Clarke. US Baseball Questionnaire, William J. Weiss, SABR. Though the nickname “Webbo” has been associated with Clarke, it has not been possible to locate even one newspaper article that mentioned the nickname. Colon was in the Panama Canal Zone, a US-administered 10-mile-wide strip of territory straddling the Panama Canal. It was turned over to Panama in 1979.

4 United States Federal Census Report, 1930. Silver City, Cristobal District, Panama Canal Zone, page 10B, Enumeration District 0041; United States Federal Census Report, 1940. Silver City, Cristobal, Panama Canal, page 24 B, Enumeration District 2-16.

5 “Outfielder Jethroe Is Star of Cleveland Buckeye Team,” Newark (Ohio) Advocate, June 10, 1948.

6 Riley; Newark Advocate.

7 Riley. The figures for 1946-8 differ dramatically from those reported on Seamheads and Baseball-Reference.com.; T.J. Gorsegner, “The Senator who gave up Willie Mays’ first Major League home run,” SBNation Twinkie Town, December 19, 2020. https://www.twinkietown.com/2020/12/19/22190552/mlb-minnesota-twins-history-franchise-senator-webbo-clarke-willie-mays-first-major-league-home-run

8 Riley.

9 “Clarke Helps Brewers Sip Nifty Potion,” January 2, 1965. Unidentified newspaper clipping dated January 2, 1965, in Clarke’s file at the Baseball Hall of Fame Library.

10 Leo J. Eberenz, “Panama League Pennant Won by Carta Vieja Club,” The Sporting News, February 20, 1952: 26; Birmingham News, February 19, 1952; Sioux Falls (South Dakota) Argus–Leader, February 19, 1952.

11 Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News, September 1, 1954.

12 Pampa (Texas) Daily News, September 9, 1954, and September 24, 1954.

13 Knoxville News Sentinel, December 2, 1954.

14 The Sporting News, September 5, 1955: 33.

15 Shirley Povich, “Chuck Plans Platooning to Prop Up Nats,” The Sporting News, August 31, 1955: 8.

16 Lou Hatter, “There Were Good and Bad Days, All Memorable,” Baltimore Sun, July 29, 1983: 67.

17 Anderson (Indiana) Herald, March 28, 1956; “Deals of the Week,” The Sporting News, April 4, 1956: 26.

18 Greenville (South Carolina) News, April 1, 1956; Bob Quincey, “Hemsley Suspends Hill Ace; Hits Out at ‘Prima Donnas,’” The Sporting News, April 4, 1956: 26.

19  Riley.

20 Eberenz, “Clarke Helps Brewers Sip Nifty Potion.”

In his 14-year major-league career, mainly spent as an outfielder and third baseman with the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros, Lee collected 2,273 hits His 17 grand slams tie him with Ted Williams and Jimmie Foxx for seventh place on the career grand-slam list, more than Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron among others. As of 2024 he was the only player to hit three grand slams in extra innings, two of which were walk-off smashes.

Lee was born on June 20, 1976, in Aguadulce, Panama, a small town about 85 miles from Panama City. He was the second of three children born to Carlos and Olga Lee. His family were cattle farmers, but his father was a manager in a communications company and his mother taught at the local school. Carlos Senior played amateur baseball in Aguadulce.

Young Carlos was playing third base on the provincial all-star team when he was scouted and signed for the White Sox in 1994 by Miguel Ibarra.2 The 18-year-old struggled at his first stop in the White Sox minor-league system, the GCL White Sox, going 7-for-56 (.125).

After 67 games with the 1995 Bristol White Sox (rookie-level Appalachian League), in which he batted .346 and hit 7 home runs, Lee was promoted to the Hickory Crawdads of the Class-A South Atlantic League. Playing in 63 games, he batted .248 with 4 home runs. Back in Hickory in 1996, Lee, now 20 years old, was the regular third baseman, playing in 119 games, and led the team with 70 RBIs. He hit .313, with 8 home runs. Lee had the lowest strikeout rate on the team at 9.73 percent.

Lee was moved up to High A in 1997 at age 21, to Winston Salem of the Carolina League. On a team that featured 11 future major leaguers, Lee showcased his future all-star caliber slugging ability. He hit for a .317 batting average with 17 homers and 82 RBIs in 139 games. Baseball America ranked Lee the number 43 major-league prospect. He continued his climb up the baseball ladder in 1998 and rose to Baseball America’s number 28 prospect after batting .302 with 21 home runs and 106 RBIs in 138 games for the Birmingham Barons of the Double-A Southern League.

Lee started the 1999 season with the Charlotte Knights of the Triple-A International League, one step away from the major leagues. His tenure with the Knights was brief: After 25 games, in which he batted .351 with 4 home runs and 20 RBIs, the 23-year-old Lee was called up to the White Sox in early May and soon made history in his first at-bat.

On May 7, 1999, Lee got a chance to live out his childhood dream of playing professional baseball at the highest level. Lee replaced outfielder Jeff Abbott, who was optioned to Charlotte after hitting .158 with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs to start the season.3 This was considered a puzzling move by the White Sox; Lee had very little experience playing left field, as throughout his minor-league journey he was mostly a third baseman. Asked why the club decided to send Abbott down to Charlotte and bring up Lee, White Sox general manager Ron Schueler said simply, “(His) bat’s hot, and right now we need offense.”4

Lee himself was perplexed. He told a sportswriter, “I didn’t expect to get called up when I was playing left field for a week and a half. When they called me up I was like ‘Where am I going to play?’”

His lack of experience playing left field aside, Lee’s bat stole the show in his debut.5

The White Sox were a charter member of the American League. Never had a White Sox player hit a home run in his first at-bat. When Lee came to bat in the second inning against the Oakland Athletics’ Tom Candiotti, Lee took a Candiotti knuckleball deep for career homer number one in a game the White Sox won 7-1.

Outfield inexperience aside, in his rookie season, the 6-foot-2, 270-pound Lee established himself as the team’s left fielder, playing in 127 games and batting .293 with 16 home runs and 84 RBIs. In 2018, Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, rookie Lee’s teammate, explained why he had been very impressed with the young slugger: “I see a young me in Carlos Lee. The way he goes through pitches and how he hits the ball to right field. I watch him hit and think: those are the things I used to do [at that age]. I think he’s the second coming.”6

In 2000 Lee, firmly ensconced in left field, batted .301 in 152 games with 24 home runs and 92 RBIs. On July 9 he hit two home runs against the crosstown rival Chicago Cubs in a 9-6 defeat at Wrigley Field. Lee had four games with four hits during the season – June 6, July 7, July 27, and September 4. On June 23, Lee hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning off the best closer in baseball, future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera. The 95-67 White Sox had the best record in the American League but were swept 3 games to none in the opening round of the playoffs by the Seattle Mariners, despite having home-field advantage. Lee had 12 plate appearances in the series but could muster only one hit, a double, though he drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.  This was a disappointing performance for Lee, despite his regular-season success, and it wound up being Lee’s only major-league postseason appearance.

In 2001 Lee’s offensive performance fell off: He batted .269 with 24 home runs and 84 RBIs. During the season, Lee had seven games in which he had three hits, and in four of these games, Lee hit a home run. On June 8 Lee hit a 10th-inning walk-off grand slam against the Cubs at Comiskey Park. The next day he had four hits – all singles – in a 10-inning loss to the Cubs. After his four-hit game, Lee was batting .320, but his output fell steadily the rest of the season. The White Sox (83-79) finished third in the AL Central and missed the playoffs. 

Lee’s batting average dropped slightly in 2002, to .264. He hit 26 home runs and drove in 80 runs. He had three two-home-run games, on June 16 against the Cubs, June 26 against the Minnesota Twins, and July 14 vs. the Detroit Tigers. In the Tigers game, Lee collected four hits and scored three runs in a 6-4 win. In the June 16 game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, one of Lee’s home runs was a grand slam in the top of the third inning against Cubs starting pitcher Kerry Wood. The White Sox went 81-81 and fell short of the postseason.

Lee’s true breakout season was 2003. The White Sox (86-76) finished in second place in the AL Central Division. Lee had his best offensive production year to date. Lee finished second on the team in home runs (31; Frank Thomas had 42) and led the team in runs scored (100), RBIs (113), and stolen bases (18). At age 27, Lee established himself as a perennial slugger with consistent power. So much so that his stats in 2004 mimicked those of 2003 (.305, 31, 99). In 2004 Lee batted .305 with 31 home runs and 99 RBIs. Lee led the team in hits (180) and runs scored (103). The 2004 White Sox once again finished the season second in the AL Central Division.

Despite back-to-back career years for Lee, the White Sox determined that Lee’s tenure with the ball club would end after the 2004 season. On December 13 they traded Lee to the Milwaukee Brewers in a deal that sent Scott Podsednik, Luis Vizcaíno, and Travis Hinton to the White Sox. Lee’s tenure with the Brewers further solidified his reputation as a reliable power hitter. In 2005 he batted .265 with 32 home runs and a career-high 114 RBIs. Lee also earned his first All-Star appearance and his first Silver Slugger award.

Lee continued to hit well for the Brewers in 2006, but on July 28, at the trade deadline, he was sent to the Texas Rangers with Nelson Cruz for Francisco Cordero, Kevin Mench, and Laynce Nix. At the time of the trade, Lee was batting .286 with 28 home runs and 81 RBIs in 102 games. With the Rangers as a left fielder and designated hitter, he batted .322 with 9 home runs and 35 RBIs. Between both the Brewers and the Rangers, Lee hit a career-high 37 home runs while driving in 116 runs in 161 games. Lee earned another All-Star appearance with the Brewers before he was traded, once again reflecting his reputation as one of the best sluggers in baseball. After the 2006 season, Lee was a free agent and had the opportunity to pick where he played next, and he had an ideal landing spot.

On November 24, 2006, Lee signed with the Houston for $11.5 million, the richest contract in the franchise’s history to that point. Before signing, Lee had made it known to several top Texas cattlemen that his preference was to land in Houston via free agency because of a ranch and a bull he owned in nearby Wharton County.7 (Lee owned Slugger Ranch in Texas, where he raised prize-winning Brahman cattle, and nine ranches in his native Panama. In 2006 Lee’s entry was the Brahman Grand Champion at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.8) In 2008 Lee donated $25,000 and over 300 bales of hay to support Texas ranchers whose properties were ravaged by Hurricane Ike.9

In 2007, his first year with the Astros, Lee played all 162 games and batted .303 with 190 hits, 43 doubles, and 32 home runs. On April 13, in the face of 20-mph winds, he hit three home runs at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park in a 9-6 win over the Phillies. Admiring Lee’s feat, Astros manager Phil Garner said, “Carlos Lee must have hit 1,200 feet worth of homers on a night when I didn’t think anyone would hit any homers.”10 Lee finished 2007 with another All-Star Game appearance and his second Silver Slugger Award.

Lee spent six seasons with the Astros (2007-12). His home-run production declined over that span – 32 homers in 2007, then 28, then 26, then 24, and 18.

In 2008 Lee was on pace to have his best statistical year, but injuries limited him to 115 games. Injuries had never plagued Lee’s career as he played 150 or more games in 10 seasons and twice played all 162 games. Despite playing 47 fewer games in 2008 than in 2007, he batted .314, hit 28 home runs and drove in 100 runs. Lee again played all 160 games in 2009, once again establishing himself as a durable player who served as a power bat for his team. He batted .300, led the team with 26 home runs and 102 RBIs, and finished second on the team with 183 hits.

In 2010 the 34-year-old Lee’s production fell drastically. He played in 157 games and batted only .246 with 24 home runs and 89 RBIs. In 2011, Lee raised his batting average to .275 and had 94 RBIs but only 18 home runs on a team with the worst record in baseball (56-106). Still, at age 35 he played in 155 games and led the team in homers, doubles (38), RBIs (94), and runs (66).

As the 2012 trading deadline approached, the Astros were shopping the 36-year-old Lee around to other teams, and a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers was heavily rumored.11 However, on July 2 discussions between the Astros and Dodgers had ended because of Lee’s opposition to being traded to the Dodgers.12 Two days later, on July 4, the Astros traded him Miami to the Marlins for Matt Dominguez and Rob Rasmussen. At the time of the trade, Lee was batting .287 for the Astros with 74 hits in 66 games but had only 5 home runs and 29 RBIs. After the trade, he played 81 games for the Marlins, hitting .243 with 4 home runs and 48 RBIs.

In an interview with MLB.com in 2010, Lee had stated his desire to retire after the 2012 season.

Lee said, “I don’t know if I’m going to play after this contract is up. I’m ready to go home. We spend so much time away from our family. I can’t spend any other time with my kids. I get home at 10 o’clock, 11 o’clock and they’re sleeping, and they get up at 6:30 in the morning to go to school and I see them 10, 15 minutes. I want to be able to spend time with my kids when they’re still young and healthy. I want to enjoy them.”13

Released by the Marlins after the 2012 season and unsigned in the offseason, Lee announced his retirement as a player on June 21, 2013.14

Before Lee signed his contract with the Astros, his father said the slugger wanted to be remembered as Panama’s best hitter.15 Lee’s biggest competitor for this title is Rod Carew, the Hall of Famer also from Panama. While Carew had over 3,000 hits, Lee was the better power hitter. Carew hit only 92 major-league home runs.

In an all-time Panama baseball team roster selected by USA Today, Carew was chosen as the best first baseman.16 Lee was selected as the best designated hitter from Panama – an honor that seems very appropriate for the power hitter from Panama.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=lee—004car

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/L/Plee-c001.htm

Photo credit: Carlos Lee, Trading Card Database.

Notes

1 Andrew Mearns, “The Hall of Fame Case: Carlos Lee,” Cut4, January 9, 2008. https://www.mlb.com/cut4/the-hall-of-fame-case-for-carlos-lee-c264297312.

2 Chris Kamka, “When They Were Prospects: Carlos Lee,” NBC Sports Chicago, July 30, 2018. https://www.nbcsportschicago.com/mlb/chicago-white-sox/when-they-were-prospects-carlos-lee/381146/.

3 Jimmy Greenfield, “Carlos Lee Replaces Slump-Mired Abbott,” Chicago Tribune, May 8, 1999. https://www.proquest.com/chicagotribune/docview/418819288/fulltext/B5953D5CDC32451BPQ/1?accountid=69&sourcetype=Newspapers.

4 Greenfield.

5 Greenfield.

6 Kamka.

7 Jose De Jesus Ortiz, “Astros’ $100 Million Slugger Is a Breed Apart,” Houston Chronicle, February 11, 2007. https://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/astros-100-million-slugger-is-a-breed-apart-1834678.php.

8 Ortiz.

9 Ortiz.

10 Andrew Mearns, “The Hall of Fame Case: Carlos Lee.”

11 Brett Logiurato, “Carlos Lee Trade Talks between Dodgers, Astros Officially off the Table,” Sports Illustrated, July 2, 2012. https://www.si.com/si-wire/2012/07/02/carlos-lee-trade-dodgers-astros-rumors-los-angeles.

12 Logiurato.

13 Drew Silva, “Astros’ Lee Says He May Retire after 2012 Season,” NBC Sports, May 6, 2010. https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/news/astros-lee-says-he-may-retire-after-2012-season.

14 “Former OF Carlos Lee Retires,” ESPN.com, June 21, 2013. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/9411658/carlos-lee-retires-baseball.

15 Ortiz, “Astros’ $100 Million Slugger Is a Breed Apart.”

16 “All-Latino Baseball Team: The Best All-Time Lineup of Players Born in Panama,” USA Today, September 24, 2021. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2021/09/24/best-panamanian-baseball-players-top-mlb-stars-panama/8362835002/.

There are two ambiguities about the birth of Allan Sydney Lewis. Baseball references show that he was born on December 12, 1941, but at least two Panamanian sources show the year as 1937.2 Since many ballplayers have shaved years off their age for professional purposes, there’s reason to believe the earlier date. Also, his place of birth is listed as Colón, which could be either of two places. Rather than Panama’s second biggest city (which lies near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal), it was probably Colón island in the nation’s northwest corner. This isle is part of the beautiful province of Bocas del Toro, on the Caribbean coast near Costa Rica. Its main town, also called Bocas del Toro, is where young Allan first played Little League ball.

“I love the game always since I was a kid,” Lewis said. “When I was a kid in Bocas del Toro, I used to listen to baseball on Armed Forces Radio.”3 The sport was popular in the area, which proved to be a fertile source of talent. At least three of Panama’s 53 major leaguers (as of year-end 2013) were born in Bocas del Toro town: Ivan Murrell, Sherman Obando, and Fernando Seguignol. Like Lewis, Chico Salmón’s birthplace is listed as Colón without specifying, but stories from Panama make it clear that Salmón’s roots were also in Bocas del Toro.

Information about the Lewis family is lacking, including the names of his parents and siblings. Since people use double surnames in Latin America, though, we know that his mother’s maiden name was Elliott.4 It is therefore likely that both sides of the family originally came from English Caribbean possessions. Jamaicans founded Bocas del Toro town in 1826, and more Jamaican immigrants followed as the area became a major center of banana plantations. Even today the town is known for its reggae-flavored ambiance.

Allan went to high school at Colegio Félix Olivares Contreras in David, the capital of Chiriquí, the neighboring province to the south. On December 12, 1959, his birthday, he married Barbara Hall; they would go on to have nine children (six boys and three girls). The likelihood that he married at age 18 seems low, which also supports a 1937 birthdate.

Lewis represented his province in the 17th and 18th National Amateur Championships in 1960 and 1961, helping his team win the title the first year. The Kansas City Athletics signed him to a pro contract, thanks to their Latin American regional scout, Félix “Fellé” Delgado, and assigned him to Albuquerque in the Class D Sophomore League. After missing the early part of the 1961 season with an ankle injury, Lewis hit .271 with 2 homers and 20 RBIs. However, he then broke a leg in June and went back home to Panama.5

After recovering, Allan played most of the 1962 and 1963 seasons with Daytona Beach in the Class A Florida State League. He also saw action with another Class A affiliate of the A’s, Lewiston in the Northwest League. He hit over .300 both years in Florida but showed little power. The injuries did not appear to have diminished his speed, though (9.5 seconds in the 100-yard dash).

Lewis first played winter ball in Panama in 1962. In the winter of 1963-64, after initial indications that he might play in Venezuela, he remained in his homeland with the Marlboro Smokers. The fourth Interamerican Series took place in February 1964 in Managua, Nicaragua, and Allan was named to the Panamanian team. He later recalled the biggest thrill of his early career as getting a hit off big leaguer Juan Pizarro in that series. That spring he returned to Daytona Beach, where he hit over .300 again but without any homers.

After another winter with Marlboro, Lewis returned for his fourth season in the Florida State League. Kansas City’s entry was now located in the town of Leesburg. Though his average dipped to .280 and he again went homerless, Lewis stole 76 bases and was named a league All-Star. He earned the same honor in the winter of 1965-66 with Marlboro.

The Panamanian Express ran wild in 1966, stealing 116 bases for Leesburg. Lewis also led the league in runs (92) and hits (156). That November he played in a different winter league — Nicaragua. He was supposed to return to Panama when the season opened there on December 1, but the league was reduced to just three teams. Thus he stayed with the Granada Sharks, where he tied with Doug Rader for the league lead in runs scored (40).

Lewis had captured Charlie Finley’s fancy. “Finley dispatched his manager of the year, Alvin Dark, to Nicaragua to scout Lewis. Then the owner ordered them to make a command appearance. In a press conference, Finley grandly announced two things: 1. a new dimension in baseball in the pinch-running person of Allan Lewis, and, 2. that the Kansas City A’s would wear white shoes for the first time.” The club’s fastest men, Bert Campaneris and Lewis, got special soft light pairs.6 Newspapers carried the story of the albino kangaroo kicks — with a photo of a grinning Finley and Lewis — on January 17, 1967.7

“Dark seethed. … ‘(H)e even tried to break camp without me, but Mr. Finley already had all that publicity out so Dark couldn’t do it.’”8 Thus Allan Lewis made Kansas City’s Opening Day roster. In his debut, on April 11, Lewis ran for Ed Charles in the seventh inning — and Cleveland’s Steve Hargan promptly picked him off first base. “The first time I went in … everybody was waiting to see me. I took my lead, and [Hargan] picked me off, just like that. I froze. I just stood there and watched.”9

In late April, though, Dark was toeing the party line: “A standout baserunner can give your team a tremendous lift during the eighth and ninth innings of a close game. He raises the devil with the opposition and sets up runs that can win you the squeezers. This is a specialized age. We can use specialized players.”10

Lewis was optioned to Double-A Birmingham in late June (ostensibly because the team needed more pitching). He was recalled in July but sent down again in August, having stolen 14 bases in 19 tries. In the winter of 1967-68, Allan returned to Panama, joining Cerveza Balboa. “Beat[ing] out infield grounders and grass cutters,” he won the league’s batting title at .374, though he had just 91 at-bats in an abbreviated 22-game schedule.11 Balboa was the champion that year, repeated in 1968-69 (as three teams played 26 games each), and added one more in 1970-71. By that time, coverage in The Sporting News had petered out. The original Panamanian League lasted until 1972.

The remainder of Lewis’s US pro career resembled the 1967 season. A quick recap will suffice for the summers of 1968 through 1971:

1968: Birmingham through early August, then up to Oakland, where the A’s had moved that year.

1969: Iowa Oaks (Triple A), Lodi (Single A), and stints with the big club in June, August, and September. “Al’s speed and daring made him a great crowd-pleaser,” said Oaks general manager Bob Morris that June.12

1970: Iowa, then Oakland in August and September. After Lewis got picked off base twice in September, one sarcastic newspaperman quipped, “The Panamanian Express is a local that stops between first and second.”13 However, on September 27, starting in left field at Anaheim Stadium, Allan hit his one major-league homer, off the Angels’ Greg Garrett, in a 9-4 loss.

1971: Lewis broke an ankle in spring training and was reassigned to Double-A Birmingham.14 He saw no big-league action that year.

The 1972 and 1973 seasons are worthy of more attention because Lewis got to appear in the postseason. In 1972 he remained at Birmingham until Oakland recalled him in September. His last of just six major-league hits came in a September 29 start. Lewis was not on the playoff roster, but after Bert Campaneris threw his bat at Tigers reliever Lerrin LaGrow, Finley called him in case Campy was suspended. Instead, Reggie Jackson tore his hamstring in the last playoff game while sliding home on a double steal, and Lewis went to the World Series.

Sharp-tongued manager Dick Williams jibed, “He’s a switch-hitter. He batted .300 last year, .150 left-handed and .150 right-handed.” Still, Lewis wasn’t lacking in confidence. He boasted, “I’m not afraid of [Reds catcher] Johnny Bench. He should be worrying about me.”15 Williams sent his 25th man in to run for Mike Epstein in both of the first two games — which angered the hulking first baseman — and Bench cut Lewis down. Sports Illustrated writer Ron Fimrite said: “The Express ran on schedule in both Series games and both times he was derailed by perfect throws by Bench.”16 In Game Four, however, Lewis scored the tying run on Gonzalo Márquez’s pinch single in the ninth. He appeared in six of the seven Series games, also scoring in Game Seven.

Lewis was back in Birmingham once more in 1973 after dislocating a shoulder near the end of spring training. Fans voted him the team’s most popular player that year. Oakland called him up in June, irking captain Sal Bando, who stated that more fully rounded players were more deserving. (In retrospect, though, author Bruce Markusen noted that Bando and Williams both saw some merit to Finley’s notion.) Allan was sent down at the end of July and once more recalled when the rosters expanded in September. Again he got to appear in the postseason as Finley pulled strings. As it turned out, Charlie O outmaneuvered himself. When he sought to banish second baseman Mike Andrews after two costly errors in Game Two of the World Series, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn denied Finley’s request to replace Andrews with Manny Trillo.

According to a story by Ron Bergman in the Oakland Tribune, “The A’s worked themselves into the predicament by selling [José] Morales to make room for pinch-runner Allan Lewis, a Finley favorite, on the 25-man roster. Two days later, Bill North sprained his ankle. The Baltimore Orioles allowed Trillo to replace North for the American League playoffs. When the A’s found out the Mets wouldn’t agree to the same switch, an attempt was made to get Morales back from Montreal. He didn’t clear National League waivers because some team claimed him. Ironically, the Mets allowed the A’s to replace North with Lewis.”17 He pinch-ran in three World Series games, scoring a key ninth-inning run to help send Game Two to extra innings.

After the A’s won their second of three straight championships, they voted Lewis a one-tenth Series share. In December, though, the team assigned him outright to Tucson. He never played again. Around that time, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn was talking up the possibility of a designated-runner rule.18 In March 1974, Charlie Finley signed Olympic sprinter Herb Washington to be Oakland’s new pinch-runner deluxe.

Before the 1973 season, Lewis had said, “I’d like to go as far as I can with my role and then be a scout in Latin America. Being a Latin myself would help. I wrote Mr. Finley a letter last year telling him what I want to do.”19 Allan worked as an instructor in the A’s minor-league system for several years but then decided to come home to Panama.20 After his return he served as a scout for the Cleveland Indians. He recruited catcher Einar Díaz from Chiriquí for the Tribe in 1990.

In January 1997 the Philadelphia Phillies hired Lewis as a regional scouting supervisor along with Jesús Méndez and Fred Manrique. Allan’s turf was mainly Panama and the rest of Central America, but he also beat the bushes in unusual destinations such as Ecuador. It’s also likely that he spent time in Colombia, which shares a border with Panama. Lewis signed another chiricano, Carlos Ruiz from David, in 1998. As he had done with Díaz, he was responsible for converting the 2008 World Series star from infield to catcher.21 His days of studying catchers as a baserunner gave him insight into the position.22

Lewis also did some coaching in Panama. In the winter of 2001-02, when the nation launched another winter league, he was with the Carta Vieja Roneros, based in Chiriquí. Despite the support of Major League Baseball, that league lasted just one season. In the 2009 World Baseball Classic, at the request of national team manager and fellow big leaguer Héctor López, he was on the staff of Panama’s squad. He appears to have retired as a scout after that year; after 2010 stories out of Philadelphia referred to him as a “former Phillies scout.” He lives in David with his wife Barbara.

Acknowledgments

Thanks also to SABR member Cliff Blau, whose research provided additional information (notably from the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s clippings file).

Sources

Pérez Medina, Ramón G., Historia del Baseball Panameño (Panama: Dutigrafia, 1992).

Extracts from this book are presented on the website El Pelotero: espanol.oocities.com/elpelotero_online/biografextran/allan_lewis.htm

Allan Lewis interview from August 1, 2001, also on the website El Pelotero: espanol.oocities.com/elpelotero_online/entrevistas/allan_lewis01.htm

Blau, Clifford, “Leg Men,” Baseball Research Journal, Society for American Baseball Research, 2009

paperofrecord.com (various small pieces of information from The Sporting News)

retrosheet.org

bocas-del-toro.org

Professional Baseball Players Database V6.0

Markusen, Bruce, “Cooperstown Confidential” online columns:

https://oaklandfans.com/columns/markusen/markusen157.html

https://oaklandfans.com/columns/markusen/markusen164.html

Davids, L. Robert, “Lewis Making Mark as Pinch Runner,” SABR Baseball Research Journal, 1974.

Notes

1 Ron Bergman, “The Freakish Role of Allan Lewis,” Oakland Tribune, March 25, 1973, 24.

2 Lewis interview from El Pelotero. Gustavo Aparicio, “La leyenda Allan Lewis,” Día a Día (Panama City, Panama), February 6, 2009.

3 Bergman, “The Freakish Role.”

4 Panamanian telephone directory.

5 Carlos Salazar, “‘Wheels’ keep Lewis going,” Albuquerque Tribune, July 21, 1971, 29.

6 Bergman, “The Freakish Role.”

7 “A’s To Wear White Shoes, Gold Batting Helmets in 1967 Season,” Raleigh Register (Beckley, West Virginia), January 17, 1967, 7.

8 Ibid.

9 Maury White, Des Moines Register, May 9, 1969, 1-S.

10 Ed Nichols, “Shore Sports,” The Daily Times (Salisbury, Maryland), May 3, 1967, 19.

11 Alberto Montilla, “Lewis Wins Bat Title —In Absentia,” The Sporting News, February 17, 1968, 39.

12 Bill Bryson, “A’s Nab Oaks’ Lewis, Send Velazquez Back,” Des Moines Register, June 17, 1969, 1-S.

13 Bergman, “The Freakish Role.”

14 Salazar.

15 Ralph Bernstein, “Allan Lewis Can Start Eating Words,” Associated Press, October 15, 1972.

16 Ron Fimrite, “A Big Beginning for the Little League,” Sports Illustrated, October 23, 1972.

17 Ron Bergman, “Finley Reprimand by Commissioner,” Oakland Tribune, October 15, 1973, E35.

18 “Kuhn: No designated runner yet,” Associated Press, December 14, 1973.

19 Bergman, “Finley Reprimand.”

20 Aparicio.

21 Ben Shpigel, “Phillies Catcher Delivers on a Game 3 Prediction,” New York Times, October 26, 1998.

22 Aurelo Ortiz G., “¡Caza – Catcher!” Crítica en Línea (Panamanian online service), critica.com.pa/archivo/01112007/dep15.html.

In 1960 manager Casey Stengel moved light-hitting Clete Boyer to third base and took advantage of Lopez’s versatility by using him as a utility player. At one time or another for Kansas City and New York, Lopez handled all four infield and all three outfield positions. For the Yankees he usually played left or right field. In 1960, for example, he played in 131 games, 106 in the outfield, five at second base, one at third base, and 25 games soley as a pinch-hitter (in some games he appeared in multiple capacities). Averaging .284 in 408 at-bats in 1960 (down from 541 at-bats in 1959), “Hector the Hit Collector,” as writer George Vecsey dubbed him, contributed 14 doubles, six triples, and nine home runs.

In his 12 big-league seasons for Kansas City and New York, Lopez averaged .269, collecting 1,251 hits, including 193 doubles, 37 triples, and 136 homers. When the Yankees won American League pennants from 1960 to 1964, Lopez played in five straight fall classics. Batting .286 in the post-season, Lopez twice played for World Series champions, in 1961 and 1962.

When the Bronx Bombers defeated the Cincinnati Reds in five games in the 1961 World Series, Lopez, who had batted only .222 during the regular season, hit .333 in four games. He produced all seven of his World Series RBIs in 1961, driving home five runs with a home run and a triple in the decisive fifth game, a 13-5 Yankee romp.

Considering that he grew up in Latin America at a time when black players could not make it to the major leagues, Lopez enjoyed a very successful professional career. Born on July 8, 1929, in Col?n, Panama, he grew up loving beisbol. He liked watching his father, Manuel, pitch for local teams, and he inherited his father’s passion for the game.

In a 1963 interview with New York sportswriter Hugh Bradley, Lopez recalled how kids in Col?n would play pickup games using a broom handle for a bat and a ball made of a taped piece of rubber. “My eyes and reactions must have been good,” he said, “because bigger guys tabbed me as a home-run hitter and invited me to play on their teams.”

Lopez continued, “Ever since I can remember I wanted to be a ballplayer. Things didn’t seem bright, though. Panama is crazy about baseball but most of those few who had a chance in the majors were pitchers. I was a skinny little infielder.”

Lopez graduated in 1950 from Col?n’s English-speaking school, Rainbow City High. During those years he specialized in auto mechanics, played baseball, and worked in a bowling alley on the local American military base. After high school he played two years in Panama’s amateur provincial league. Leo Kellman, who managed a team in the Panama Professional League, saw Lopez, a good-hitting shortstop, and signed him for the winter season of 1950-1951.

Lenny Pecou, a part-time scout and career minor leaguer who played outfield in 1950 for St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, in the Class C Provincial League, saw Lopez playing winter ball and recommended him to St. Hyacinthe. The independent club signed the 21-year-old Panamanian, and he played the 1951 season for the fifth-place Saints, hitting .297.

In 1952 Lopez returned to the Provincial League, down from eight to six teams, and hit .329. Contributing six home runs, 75 RBIs, and a league-leading 115 runs scored, he helped St. Hyacinthe—now affiliated with the Philadelphia Athletics—finish in first place and also capture the playoff championship in seven games over third-place St. Jean.

Lopez ended up with the Athletics organization in 1953 because scout Joe McDonald saw him play. Philadelphia signed Hector and sent him to Williamsport of the Class A Eastern League. The A’s finished sixth, but he hit a solid .270 with eight homers and 51 RBIs.

“That was a pretty tough league,” Lopez remembered in 2003. “They had guys like Rocky Colavito and Herb Score and others who made the majors. I was playing shortstop at that time, and I came up to the A’s as a shortstop. When I got to Kansas City, they moved me to third base, and to second base, and to center field, and all over.”

Assigned to Ottawa of the Triple-A International League in 1954, Lopez continued to play well, batting .316 with eight home runs and 53 RBIs. In 1955 he went to spring training with the Athletics, after the franchise had been shifted to Kansas City, but was sent to Triple-A Columbus, also in the International League, to learn how to play second base. After he batted .321 in the first month of the season, the Athletics called him up on May 12.

Lopez recalled, “I played a lot of second base for Kansas City in 1955, but they moved me around. Kansas City was trying to get good ballplayers at that time. Every time they were short somewhere, they tried to use me there. They just kept moving me around. It’s hard to learn a position if you have to keep moving.”

Lopez was a candidate for Rookie of the Year honors, but Cleveland’s southpaw Herb Score won the award with his 16-10 season. Still, Hector enjoyed a good year, averaging .290 with 15 doubles, two triples, 15 homers, and 68 RBIs.

Lopez’s play at third helped stabilize KC’s infield. Vic Power, a flashy Puerto Rican who loved making one-handed sweeping catches of thrown balls, played first base. Good-hitting Jim Finigan played second base and sometimes at third. Not a strong fielder, Finigan altered his swing. The change didn’t work, and he batted .255, after hitting .302 as a rookie in 1954. Veteran shortstop Joe DeMaestri, who hit .249 in 1955, rounded out the infield.

In 1955 Lopez played 128 games, 93 at third and 36 at second (with one game at both), but he committed 23 errors at third (he made 29 total errors), a figure that topped AL third basemen.

“I surprised myself in 1955,” Lopez later observed. “I had a lot of home runs too, and I wasn’t a home-run hitter. I was more of a fielder in those days than a hitter. We had good players, guys like Vic Power at first, Suitcase Simpson and Gus Zernial and Enos Slaughter in the outfield, Joe DeMaestri at short, Jim Finigan at second and third, Joe Astroth at catcher, and Alex Kellner, a pitcher, Bob Shantz, another good pitcher, and Arnie Portocarrero, a pitcher.”

Lopez lived with Harry “Suitcase” Simpson, a 6-foot-1 outfielder from Atlanta who picked up the nickname during his Negro League days in the late 1940s. Simpson wore size 13 shoes. One writer said his feet were big as a suitcase, like a character in the “Toonerville Folks” comics, and the tag stuck. Even though there were places where minorities couldn’t go, restaurants where they couldn’t eat, or things they couldn’t do, Lopez recalled, “It wasn’t too bad at Kansas City. I got along with everyone, and they treated me well. Suitcase Simpson and me rented an apartment in a family home. We had the whole upstairs. They treated me all right in Kansas City. I can’t complain.”

Playing under manager Lou Boudreau, a former shortstop later elected to the Hall of Fame, Kansas City finished sixth in 1955 with a 63-91 record. During Lopez’s tenure, the Athletics remained a second-division club, finishing last in 1956, seventh in 1957, and seventh in 1958.

In 1956 Lopez enjoyed a good season at the plate, hitting .273 with 27 doubles, three triples, 18 homers, and 69 RBIs. He played 121 of his 151 games at the hot corner, where he led AL third basemen with 26 errors. Still, Boudreau continued to move the former shortstop around, using him in the outfield 20 times as well as at second base (8 games) and shortstop (4 games).

Lopez handled the moves with grace. A good fielder, he had to keep adjusting to another position. When his numbers were compared to those of others who played the same position, Hector looked good. He had a knack, however, of booting a play at a place like Yankee Stadium, where the error drew more publicity. On the other hand, Gene Woodling, the fine Yankee outfielder, mishandled a ninth-inning fly ball against the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1950 World Series, but nobody wrote that he had “bad hands.”

Never outspoken, Lopez was a good player and a good teammate everywhere he played. Fans like to see clutch hitters, especially those who can hit home runs, and hard-hitting Hector, with his brown eyes, black hair, and pleasant personality, became a fan favorite in Kansas City.

In May 1957, during a season in which he hit a career-best .294 with 19 doubles, four triples, and 11 home runs, Lopez fell into a slump. Boudreau, who was later replaced by   Harry Craft, benched the Panamanian for a few games. On June 15, back in the lineup at home against the Yankees, Lopez began a 22-game hitting streak that lasted until the Red Sox shut him down on July 16. Averaging .256 before the streak, Hector went 36-for-83, an impressive .434 mark.

“I had four good years with Kansas City,” Lopez recalled in 2003. “You get better when you can play every day. Either you get better, or you get worse. I kept getting better, and I got help from some good guys. Veterans like Suitcase Simpson, they knew the game. They helped me. When I was at St. Hyacinthe in 1951, I roomed with Connie Johnson, who later pitched in the majors. Connie taught me a lot about hitting good pitching. In 1952 I roomed with Joe Taylor, who also made it to the majors, and Al Pinkston, who was a good minor leaguer. These guys would talk, and I would just listen and learn. Wherever I went, the veterans would talk, and I would listen.”

Reflecting on Kansas City being a second-division team in the 1950s, Lopez commented, “The Athletics didn’t get too high in the standings. They traded most of their good ballplayers, and most went to the Yankees. Kansas City was trying to build a ballclub, and they could get three or four players from the Yankees for one or two players. There wasn’t any draft at that time. Everybody wanted to play with the Yankees, so the Yankees signed a lot of ballplayers.”

Standing 5-feet-11 and weighing 180 pounds by 1958, Lopez enjoyed his fourth solid season with the Athletics, hitting .261 with 28 doubles, four triples, and 17 home runs –his fourth straight season of double-digit homers. Of his 151 games, Hector played 96 at second base.

The right-handed batter enjoyed one of his best days as a big leaguer on June 26, 1958. Playing at KC’s Municipal Stadium against the Washington Senators, Lopez pounded three of his 17 home runs off three different Washington right-handers, leading the A’s to an 8-6 victory. Batting against Hal Griggs in the fourth inning, Lopez hit a solo blast. Against  Tex Clevenger in the eighth, Hector unloaded a two-run shot. Finally, hitting against Vito Valentinetti in the 12th, he won the game with another two-run homer.

Lopez began the 1959 season playing second base. At the time of his trade, he was hitting .281. The Athletics swapped Lopez and right-handed pitcher Ralph Terry to New York for right-handers Johnny Kucks and Tom Sturdivant and infielder Jerry Lumpe. Considering the later heroics of Lopez and Terry, the Yankees got the best of that deal.

Lopez got off to a good start. On June 9 he lifted the Yankees to a 13-inning, 9-8 victory over the Athletics with a line single to right, driving in Yogi Berra with the game-winning run. In the 4 hour and 10-minute contest, Lopez went 3-for-5 with one walk, and he saved the game. In the ninth he tripled and a few minutes later scored to tie the contest when outfielder Whitey Herzog muffed Gil McDougald’s short fly to right for a two-base error.

When the game ended, Lopez was hitting .307 for the year. In his first 12 games for the Yankees, he had gone 17-for-44, collecting 13 of his 69 RBIs for New York. Actually, against the A’s in the 13th inning, he failed to bunt twice before lining what could have been a double to right field. The ball bounced into the stands, and when Lopez rounded first and saw the game was over, he trotted to the dugout. The game-winner, which came off a Tom Sturdivant knuckleball, contributed to his growing reputation as a good two-strike hitter.

Lopez finished the season averaging .283, and hit 26 doubles and five triples as well as career highs with 22 homers and 93 RBIs. In 147 games, he played 76 at third base, 35 in the outfield, and 33 at second base. He committed 31 errors, but as Stengel said about the extra-inning win over Kansas City, Lopez’s clutch hitting and versatility outweighed any fielding mistakes.

Lopez maintained that he was a better fielder than sportswriters claimed. “Most of the managers I ever had kept shifting me around from one position to another,” he told Til Ferdenzi in 1963. “I was young then and I think it affected me.”

In 1960 the Panamanian contributed to the Yankees’ pennant-winning team, especially with his good bat. In a story dated May 11, 1960, “The Lonely World of Hector Lopez,” Stan Isaacs of Newsday detailed how Hector left the two-family home, where his mother also lived, in Brooklyn by 10 o’clock in the morning and made an hour-long subway ride to Yankee Stadium in order to be ready for batting practice at 11:30.

After an afternoon game, Lopez, a major leaguer who was virtually anonymous in private life, rode the subway home, usually arriving after 7:30. He spent most evenings with his mother and lived a quiet life away from the ballpark. In his spare time he was an excellent carpenter and mechanic. His lifestyle changed somewhat when he married Claudette Joyce Brown, his longtime sweetheart from Col?n, in Panama on November 30, 1960.

“One difference in playing in Kansas City and New York was that Kansas City wasn’t a big city, and everyone knows you,” Lopez said in 2003. “You walk around, and they all know you. In New York most people don’t know you. I lived in Brooklyn, and I’d catch a train every day. Finally, I got a car, and I’d drive to the Stadium.”

Before his wedding, Lopez played in the 1960 World Series, which the Yankees lost when Bill Mazeroski, the Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman, slugged a walkoff homer in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game Seven. Playing in his first Series, Lopez got into three games. At Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field in Game One, he started in left field and singled in five trips. Lopez returned to the bench in Game Two, and didn’t emerge until Game Five, when he had a pinch-hit single. Lopez sat out Game Six, then got another pinch-hit single in Game Seven. Although he proved he could hit in October, averaging .429 with a 3-for-7 performance, he never got a real chance to contribute.

The Yankees came back in 1961 with another strong ballclub, and their pennant-winning season was highlighted by the home-run race between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. The Bronx Bombers, living up to their nickname, capped the season by defeating the Cincinnati Reds in five games in the World Series. Lopez, however, played less during the regular season. In 93 games and 243 at-bats, he hit .222 with three home runs and 22 RBIs. Yogi Berra, who caught 15 games in 1961, played mostly left field, while the switch-hitting Mantle covered center and Roger Maris, a left-handed slugger, anchored right field. Lopez, who batted right-handed, platooned with left-handed batter Berra.

In the World Series, Lopez went 0-for-2 in Game One, then pinch-hit for Ralph Terry in the seventh inning of Game Two and drew a walk. He was on the bench for Game Three, but in Game Four he took over in the fourth inning for Mickey Mantle, who left the game with a hip injury. Lopez helped the cause with a two-run single in the seventh inning. New York won, 7-0, and went up three games to one. Game Five turned into no contest in a hurry. Joey Jay started and lasted two-thirds of an inning, and the Reds used seven more pitchers before the Yankees won, 13-5. Lopez tripled in a run in the first inning. In the fourth he hammered a three-run homer, and he brought home a fifth run with a bunt in the sixth.

“I had a pretty good World Series in 1961,” Lopez reflected in 2003, “I only got up to bat nine times but I got three hits and seven RBIs. I had to do something, because I had such a lousy season in 1961.” Asked why he didn’t play as much in 1961, Lopez replied, “With all those guys hitting home runs, they didn’t need me! Maris, and Mantle, and Johnny Blanchard, and Elston Howard, and Bill Skowron, and Yogi, those guys were hitting home runs all over the place. Six guys hit 20 or more home runs. … But not only did those Yankee teams hit well, but they were good defensive ballclubs. People never gave us enough credit for being a good defensive club.”

In 1962 Lopez bounced back with a solid season. Playing in 106 games, 84 of those in the outfield, he batted .275 with six home runs and 48 RBIs. Before long his solid performances won him a new nickname, according to sportswriter Hugh Bradley. In “The New Lopez: Good Hit – Good Field,” dated September 22, 1963, Bradley wrote that in 1962 the Yankees won 96 games and Lopez drove in the winning run seven times and scored the winning run ten times. So far in 1963, he had batted in the game-winner six times. Bradley observed that patience and practice made Lopez a better fielder at several positions. In 1962 he failed to catch only two balls in 182 chances in the outfield, and he had not missed a single play so far in 1963. He also threw out eight runners in 1963, a stat that compared favorably to great performers like Detroit’s Al Kaline.

In the 1962 World Series, when New York outlasted the San Francisco Giants in seven games, Lopez saw limited action, grounding out and flying out in two pinch-hitting appearances.

In 1963 the Yankees won their fourth straight pennant, and Lopez averaged .249 with 14 homers and 52 RBIs in 130 games. Hector, who loved to hit in Tiger Stadium, got off to a slow start, but had a big series there in June. On Friday the 7th he homered off lefty Hank Aguirre, but the Tigers prevailed, 8-4. On Saturday Lopez hit another solo home run, this time off southpaw Don Mossi, but the Tigers won again, 8-4. On Sunday he hit his third straight solo shot, a blast off Tom Sturdivant that helped the Yankees to a 6-2 win.

In Game One of the 1963 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Lopez pinch-hit for Whitey Ford with the bases loaded in the fifth inning. But LA ace southpaw Sandy Koufax made Lopez his 11th strikeout victim, and the Dodgers went on to win, 5-0. In Game Two the Panamanian hit two doubles off lefty Johnny Podres. But Podres prevailed, 4-1.

Lopez didn’t play in Game Three, a 1-0 complete-game victory hurled by Dodgers’ star right-hander Don Drysdale. LA swept the Series by winning Game Four, 2-1, behind a route-going performance by Koufax. Lopez played in place of the injured Roger Maris (who ran into an outfield railing in Game Two, hurting his knee and elbow), and went 0-for-4.

By then Hector and his family had moved from Brooklyn to Long Island. After he married Claudette in 1960, the couple lived in the house on Hopkinson Avenue in Brooklyn that he had purchased for his mother and himself. “I was disappointed,” Claudette said in 1964.”All the houses were crowded next to each other. It wasn’t very clean or pretty. I didn’t like it in Brooklyn.” A couple of years later, they moved to a ranch house in West Hempstead, Long Island, on a quiet street where, Newsday’s Stan Isaacs wrote, “there are people with white skin and brown skin and where people in the supermarket come up to him and say, ‘Are you Hector Lopez?’ ”

Overall, Lopez played in five World Series. The Yankees won two of the five, and Hector averaged .286 in the post-season. But in 1964, when the Yankees – now managed by Yogi Berra – fell to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games, Lopez played in only three games, subbing once in right field and going 0-for-2 as a pinch-hitter.

The once-dominant Yankees won the 1964 pennant by one game over the Chicago White Sox. Lopez, who hit .260 in 127 games, enjoyed his last season of double-digit homers, hitting 10 round-trippers and producing 34 RBIs. The good hitter from Panama produced similar numbers in 1965, averaging .261 in 111 games with seven homers and 39 RBIs. But in 1966, his final major-league season, he played in only 54 games, batted 117 times, and hit .214. He was released by the Yankees after the season.

After being released Lopez played two seasons in the minors. He batted .295 with 13 homers for Hawaii of the Pacific Coast League in 1967, and he hit .258 with 13 round-trippers for Buffalo of the International League in 1968. Afterward, he received a new opportunity. Hector became the first black manager of a Triple-A club, piloting Buffalo to a seventh-place finish in 1969.

Lopez left baseball and spent 20 years working as a recreation director for the town of Hempstead. (West Hempstead, where he and Claudette lived, is part of Hempstead.) Later, he scouted for the Giants and also the Yankees, and he coached in New York’s minor-league system. Lopez passed away due to complications of lung cancer on September 29, 2022 at 93 years old.

Hector Lopez was proud to say that baseball and the Yankees had been good to him. “The game stays with you like your first romance,” he said, smiling. Once in a while the Panamanian hero used to look at his old Yankee uniform and think, I used to play for the greatest team in the world. No one can ever take that away from me.

Last revised: October 4, 2022 (zp)

Sources

Interview with Hector Lopez, June 18, 2003.

Hector Lopez on Baseball-Reference.com.

Clippings from the Hector Lopez File in the Library of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, New York, including:

Hugh Bradley, “The New Lopez: Good Hit – Good Field,” New York Journal American, September 22, 1963.

Victor Debs, Jr., “That Was Part of Baseball Then” (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishing Co., 2002).

Til Ferdenzi, “Spouse Too Good at Cooking – Lopez Had to Shed 14 Pounds,” New York Journal-American, March 15, 1961.

Dom Forker, Sweet Seasons: Recollections of the 1955-64 New York Yankees (Dallas: Taylor Publishing Co., 1990), 82-87.

Stan Isaacs, “Hector is Enjoying the Clean, Quiet Life,” Newsday, January 23, 1964.

Stan Isaacs, “The Lonely World of Hector Lopez,” Newsday, May 11, 1960.

Steve Jacobson, “Hector Lopez: From First to Jobless,” Newsday, June 9, 1970.

Irene Janowicz, “Woman in the Family: Claudette Lopez,” New York Mirror, September 29, 1963.

Fluffy Saccucci, “Hector Lopez: Integral Part of Big Pinstripe Machine,” Sports Collectors Digest, November 9, 1990, 250-251.

Randy Schultz, “Where Are They Now …? Bill Stafford and Hector Lopez,” Baseball Digest, June 1991, 67-68.

George Vecsey, “Hector Never Forgot How to Swing,” Newsday, July 9, 1962.

Ramiro Mendoza was born on June 15, 1972, in the town of La Enea, in the small southern province of Los Santos, Panama.3 He is one of several prominent major leaguers from Panama, including Hall of Famers Rod Carew and Mariano Rivera. Growing up poor in Panama with aspirations of playing baseball meant sacrificing as a family. They farmed and sold tomatoes to make ends meet and when they earned enough, Mendoza could afford bus fare to travel to the ballpark.4 If not, he would spend the night at the ballpark to avoid paying extra fare. The scout who signed Mendoza in 1991, Herb Raybourn, said of him, “Of all the kids I’ve ever signed, he had the hardest time because he had trouble just getting to play.”5

Mendoza debuted in the Yankees’ minor-league system with the Greensboro Hornets and the GCL Yankees in 1993 and then bounced around between Rookie and Triple-A ball until 1996, when he debuted in the majors to support an injury-laden pitching staff on May 25 against the Seattle Mariners. In front of a sold-out Kingdome, Mendoza pitched six innings and gave up seven hits and three earned runs and struck out six Mariners including Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez, both looking, to earn his first major-league win.6 His six strikeouts in his first game were a record for Panamanian pitchers, which was later tied by Humberto Mejía in 2020.7

Mendoza appeared in 12 games in 1996 and started in 11. His second career start was in sharp contrast to his debut. Against the California Angels, he pitched only 3⅔ innings and gave up six hits. The Yankees’ offense was stifled, and the Angels won, 4-0. His next three starts were also unimpressive. In that stretch, he pitched 13⅔ innings and allowed 26 hits and 14 earned runs (9.22 ERA) and went 0-2, with one no-decision.

Mendoza earned wins in his next two starts, against the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins, that brought his season record to 3-3. In his final five appearances, he made four starts and pitched in relief once, in his final game of the season. He went 1-2 with a 7.78 ERA and finished the season with a 4-5 record and a 6.79 ERA. The Yankees finished first in the AL East. Due to pitching injuries suffered by the Yankees, there was talk that Mendoza would make the playoff roster; however, that did not occur.

Mendoza’s transition to the Yankees in 1996 from their minor-league system was aided by teammates Ruben Rivera and Mariano Rivera.8 Mendoza and Rivera developed a special bond that transcended the typical teammate friendship. In 1997 while having a catch with Rivera, Mendoza witnessed “a gift from God” as Rivera put it. One of the most famous pitches in baseball was born, Rivera’s devastating cutter. “The ball was moving, and (Mendoza) thought I was making the ball move,” Rivera said, claiming “I have no control over this. The ball is moving, and I have no control.” Rivera become one of the greatest closers of all time and led a modern baseball dynasty because of that pitch.9 And although Mendoza’s career was markedly different than Rivera’s, he too played an instrumental role in his team’s success.

Mendoza began the 1997 season with Triple-A Columbus (International League). The Yankees had signed David Wells in the offseason, and it was unclear whether Mendoza would crack the starting rotation. However, a hernia injury landed Dwight Gooden on the disabled list in early April and Kenny Rogers was moved to the bullpen to boost his confidence, and that opened the door for Mendoza to heavily contribute in 1997.10

Mendoza made 39 appearances (15 starts) and had an 8-6 record. As a starter, he was 5-5 with a 4.93 ERA; in relief he was 3-1, 2.93. He pitched 133⅔ innings, the most he would pitch in his major-league career. Despite logging the fifth-most innings of all Yankees pitchers during the regular season, Mendoza pitched only 3⅔ innings in two postseason games.

Mendoza was brilliant in his postseason debut. He pitched in relief in Game One of the Division Series against the Cleveland Indians. Replacing David Cone in the top of the fourth inning after Cone gave up six earned runs, Mendoza gave up one hit, struck out two, and did not give up a run.11 The Yankees were unfazed by the 6-1 deficit when Mendoza entered the game: They scored eight runs over three innings to win, 8-6. The Yankees manager Joe Torre said of Mendoza’s performance, “I thought, obviously he was the difference. He put the tourniquet on it.”12

Game Four of the ALDS was a different story for Mendoza. He replaced Mariano Rivera to start the ninth inning of a 2-2 game. Cleveland’s Marquis Grissom led off the inning with a single to right field. Bip Roberts sacrificed Grissom to second. Then Omar Vizquel slapped a single up the middle that hit off Mendoza’s glove and bounced past Derek Jeter, scoring Grissom for a walk-off victory. The Yankees lost the next night and were ousted from the postseason.

The 1998 Yankees capped off a historic 114-win regular season by sweeping the San Diego Padres to claim their first of three consecutive World Series titles. The 1998 season was also a career year for Mendoza. In 41 pitching appearances, 14 as a starter, he finished with a career-high 10 wins and a 3.25 ERA, a career low. Mendoza started 11 of his first 13 appearances and posted a 4-1 record. However, the debut of the Cuban phenom Orlando Hernández on June 3 shifted Mendoza’s role from starter to reliever. In his remaining 28 appearances during the regular season, 25 in relief and 3 as a starter, Mendoza finished with a record of 6-1, one save, and five holds.

Mendoza pitched only 5⅓ innings in the postseason. In the ALCS against Cleveland, he replaced Andy Pettitte with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning with the Yankees trailing 6-1. He held Cleveland in check, giving up three hits and no runs before being replaced by Mike Stanton in the seventh. The Yankees lost the game 6-1.

In Game Six of the ALCS, Mendoza held Cleveland to one hit and no runs over three innings. He replaced David Cone in the top of the sixth with a 6-5 lead. The Yankees scored three more runs in the bottom of the inning and won the game and the ALCS, 9-5. Mendoza earned his first postseason hold and his first trip to the World Series.

Mendoza pitched in relief in Game Three of the World Series against the San Diego Padres. He replaced Graeme Lloyd in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and the Padres leading 3-2. Mendoza struck on the first batter he faced, Carlos Hernández. He then gave up a soft hit to left field by Chris Gomez, who was thrown out by Shane Spencer trying to stretch it into a double. The Yankees added three runs in the eighth to take a 5-3 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Mendoza gave up a one-out double to Quilvio Veras. Rivera replaced Mendoza and the Padres scored a run, but Rivera closed out the ninth inning and gave Mendoza his first postseason win.

In 1999 Mendoza had a 9-9 record in 53 appearances, predominantly as a reliever. In 12 postseason games, he was limited to three pitching appearances, two in the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox and one in the World Series against the Atlanta Braves.

In Game Two of the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox, Mendoza replaced Allen Watson in the top of the eighth inning; he struck out Butch Huskey and got José Offerman to fly out, ending the inning. The Yankees won, 3-2. Mendoza entered Game Five in the bottom of eighth with one out and got five consecutive outs to earn his first postseason save and clinch the ALCS for the Yankees.

Mendoza’s 2000 season was highlighted by a near-perfect outing in his first start of the season, on April 15 against the Cleveland Indians. He brought the perfect game to the top of the seventh inning with one out at Yankee Stadium, when Carlos Febles lined a single off third baseman Clay Bellinger’s glove that broke up the perfect game. “I was on pace to do something special. … I just hope that in the future I get the chance to go out there and try to do something special,” Mendoza said.13 Manager Joe Torre’s plan for Mendoza in this game was to limit him to 80 pitches. He entered the seventh inning having thrown 74. Mendoza had also developed a blister on his right middle finger which gave him problems gripping the ball. After Mendoza gave up an RBI double to Jermaine Dye, Torre took him out. Through 6⅔ innings, Mendoza gave up two hits and one run and earned his second win of the season.

Mendoza’s season was cut short on August 6 when he was placed on the 15-day disabled list for weakness in the back of his shoulder that also kept him out of the postseason. He pitched only 65⅔ innings in 14 games and finished with a 7-4 record.

With Jeff Nelson having left for the Seattle Mariners, the Yankees’ expectation for 2001 was for Mendoza to become the set-up man. However, as he recovered from shoulder surgery in 2000, the Yankees expected to be patient with Mendoza.14 By season’s end, however, he had appeared in 56 games, pitching 100⅔ innings, the most by anyone the bullpen, and was 8-4, 3.75.

The Yankees relied heavily on Mendoza in the postseason. He pitched in eight games, three in the Division Series, three in the Championship Series, and two in the World Series, which the Yankees lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Against Arizona he struck out 10 batters in 12⅓ innings and had a 0.73 ERA.

In the 2002 regular season, Mendoza pitched in 62 games, the most of his career. His ERA over 91⅔ innings was 3.44 The 2002 season was the first in which he did not make a start. In the postseason, the Yankees lost to the eventual World Series champion Anaheim Angels in the Division Series. Mendoza pitched twice in relief, giving up two runs in 1⅔ innings (13.50 ERA).

In Game Four, Mendoza replaced David Wells in the bottom of the fifth inning with the Yankees trailing 6-2 and two Angels on base. Mendoza faced two batters and gave up a single and double that accounted for three runs. This was Mendoza’s final postseason appearance for the Yankees.

The Yankees cut Mendoza loose after the 2002 season. “It hurt me to see that the Yankees didn’t sign me saying they had no money,” he said.15 Mendoza then signed a two-year, $6.5 million contract with their archrivals, the Red Sox. Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said, “We’re very happy to have him in our bullpen. It is up to (manager) Grady (Little), but we’ve discussed how he fits in perfectly with how we want to use our bullpen this year. He’s a versatile guy and could pitch some of our most critical innings.”16

The 2003 season with the Red Sox was Mendoza’s worst as a professional. His record in 37 games was 3-5 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP in 66⅔ innings. On July 5 Mendoza made his first start since June 2001, facing the Yankees, and pitched five shutout innings to help blow out Roger Clemens and the Yankees, 10-2. He earned his second win of the season. 

Mendoza finished the 2003 season on a high note. In front of a sellout crowd at Fenway Park against the Baltimore Orioles on September 25, he struck out Brian Roberts to close out a 14-3 victory that clinched the AL wild card.17 Mendoza did not pitch in the postseason, in which the Red Sox were eliminated by the Yankees in the ALCS.

The historic 2004 season for the Boston Red Sox did not start well for Mendoza. After he pitched one inning in the third game of the season, Mendoza was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sore shoulder. He was reactivated on July 15 and finished the season 2-1 with three holds in 30⅔ innings, with a 3.52 ERA, better than the team ERA of 4.18.

In the Red Sox postseason run, Mendoza pitched twice, both in the ALCS against the Yankees. In Game One he pitched one inning, gave up a hit and hit one batter. In Game Three, Mendoza replaced Bronson Arroyo in the top of the third inning with the score tied 4-4 and gave up two runs; one on a single by Bernie Williams and one on a balk. Mendoza hit Miguel Cairo to lead off the fourth inning and was replaced by Curt Leskanic, who gave up a home run to Gary Sheffield two batters later. Cairo’s run broke the 6-6 tie and gave Mendoza the loss. He did not pitch again in the ALCS or World Series.

Mendoza was not re-signed by the Red Sox in the offseason. He signed a minor-league contract with the Yankees’ Triple-A team, the Columbus Clippers. In eight games he went 1-0 with one save and 0.75 ERA. He also pitched in two games for the Rookie Gulf Coast Yankees. On September 1, the major leagues’ roster expansion day, his contract was purchased by the Yankees.

Mendoza pitched for the Yankees the same day against the Seattle Mariners. He relieved Alan Embree in the bottom of the eighth inning with Seattle ahead 2-1. Mendoza gave up two runs and two hits and the Yankees lost 5-1. At age 33, this was Mendoza’s last major-league game appearance.

In his 10 seasons in the majors (1996-2005), Mendoza pitched in 342 games (797 innings) and finished with a 59-40 won-lost record and 16 saves. His career ERA was 4.30.

But his baseball career was not over: From 2006 to 2012, Mendoza pitched in the minor leagues, in Venezuela, and for Panama in two World Baseball Classics.

In 2006 Mendoza re-signed with the Columbus Clippers and pitched in 24 games (2-5, 6.96). In 2008-09 he pitched in Venezuela and went 4-0 with a 1.62 ERA in 21 games. He returned to the United States in 2009 and pitched in 17 games for the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League and earned a 4-4 record. Pitching for Panama in the 2009 WBC, Mendoza made one appearance, in an elimination game against the Dominican Republic. He pitched four innings, allowed five runs, and took the 9-0 loss.18

In 2012, as a 40-year-old, Mendoza rejoined the Panama team in the World Baseball Classic qualifying tournament. “It is a wonderful experience,” he said. “I [am coming] to do my part to help the boys, but I know they have a lot to offer for Panama.”19 Mendoza pitched in two games in the qualifying tournament. In the first game against Brazil, Mendoza entered the fifth inning with the score 2-2 with men on second and third. He gave up an RBI single that gave Brazil a 3-2 lead and eventual victory. In the second game he pitched, Mendoza was ejected in the seventh inning for hitting Colombia’s Steve Brown. Despite that, he earned the win for Panama and advanced to the final against Brazil. Brazil beat Panama 1-0 to advance to the tournament. Mendoza did not pitch. Of the four qualifying tournaments that year, Mendoza pitched 8⅔ innings, the most of any pitcher.

Advancing to the major leagues from a challenging and humble life in Panama, Mendoza pitched in every role imaginable, including several high-leverage situations in the regular season and playoffs. As of 2020, he resided in Florida with his wife, Cinthia, and three children. His last venture in baseball was working for a sports agency providing financial guidance to young ballplayers.20

Sources 

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-reference.com. 

Notes

1 TV Max, “Ten Facts About Ramiro Mendoza, ‘El Brujo’ from Santeno Who Triumphed in the Major Leagues,” TVN Panama, June 25, 2020, accessed June 6, 2022. https://www.tvn-2.com/tvmax/beisbol/ramiro-mendoza-brujo-grandes-ligas_1_1170557.html.

2 Johnny Damon and Eric Hinske are the other two players. Mike Rosenstein, “Ex-Yankees World Series champ: Fenway Park gives Red Sox a huge advantage in AL Wild Card game, nj.com, October 5, 2021, accessed June 28, 2022, https://www.nj.com/yankees/2021/10/ex-yankees-world-series-champ-fenway-park-gives-red-sox-a-huge-advantage-in-al-wild-card-game.html.

3 TV Max, “Ten Facts About Ramiro Mendoza, “El Brujo” from Santeno Who Triumphed in the Major Leagues.”

4 Jack Curry, “On Baseball; Mendoza Speaks Pitch by Pitch,” New York Times, October 20, 1999: D4.

5 “On Baseball; Mendoza Speaks Pitch by Pitch.”

6 Associated Press, “Griffey Not as Clutch This Time,” Santa Cruz (California) Sentinel, May 26, 1996: 16.

7 Justin Lane, “The Panamanian Humberto Mejia Will Pitch Again in the Major Leagues,” Midiario.com, August 17, 2020, accessed September 9, 2022. https://www-midiario-com.translate.goog/deportivas/el-panameno-humberto-mejia-volvera-a-lanzar-en-grandes-ligas/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc.

8 Aurelio Ortiz G, “‘El Brujo’ Mendoza Recalled His First Spell with the Yankees 24 Years Ago,” Midario.com, August 17, 2020, accessed June 6, 2022. https://www-midiario-com.translate.goog/deportivas/el-brujo-mendoza-recordo-su-primer-hechizo-con-los-yankees-hace-24-anos/?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

9 Scott Miller, “Mariano Rivera: Birth of the Cutter Was ‘Gift from God,’” Cbssports.com, July 14, 2013, accessed June 9, 2022, https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mariano-rivera-birth-of-the-cutter-was-gift-from-god-part-4-of-5/.

10 “Rogers Is Sent to the Bullpen and Quickly Brought Back,” New York Times, June 15, 1997: Sports, 8.

11 Associated Press, “Yanks Send Message with Game 1 Rally,” Capital, Annapolis (Maryland) October 1, 1997: 17.

12 “Yanks Send Message with Game 1 Rally.”

13 Jack Curry, “A Brush with Perfection in Mendoza’s First Start,” New York Times, April 16, 2000: 4

14 Buster Olney, “Baseball Yankees Notebook; After Having Surgery, Mendoza Won’t Be Rushed Back,” nytimes.com, February 20, 2001, accessed September 7, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/20/sports/baseball-yankees-notebook-after-having-surgery-mendoza-won-t-be-rushed.html.

15 Aurelio Ortiz G, “‘El Brujo’ Mendoza Recalled His First Spell with the Yankees 24 Years Ago,” Midario.com May 25, 2020, accessed February 6, 2023.

16 Mark Pratt, “Red Sox OK $6.5M, Two-Year Mendoza Deal,” Midland (Michigan) Daily News, December 29, 2002, accessed September 9, 2022. https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/Red-Sox-OK-6-5M-Two-Year-Mendoza-Deal-7140117.php.

17 Associated Press, “Red Sox Have Wild Ride to Playoffs,” Hays (Kansas) Daily News, September 26, 2003: 12.

18 Omar Marrero, “Dominican Republic Bounces Back in WBC,” San Diego Union-Tribune, March 8, 2009, accessed September 10, 2022. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-bbi-wbc-panama-dominican-republic-rdp-030809-2009mar08-story.html.

19 Jose Pineda, “Mendoza Wants to Don No. 55 for Panama,” mlb.com, accessed December 2, 2022. https://www.mlb.com/news/ramiro-mendoza-wants-to-help-panama-reach-world-baseball-classic/c-39951966.

Small though it may be, Puerto Armuelles, a town in the Panamanian province of Chiriqui, is the birthplace of one of the greatest basestealers of the 1970s and 1980s, Omar Moreno.

Omar Renán (Quintero) Moreno was born on October 24, 1952, one of 10 children born to Aurelio Moreno Murillo, a foreman for the United Fruit Company, and Lidia Quintero de Moreno, a homemaker. The young Moreno had baseball in his genes — his father was a catcher in his younger days — pitching and playing the outfield. He was also a track star, building up his speed and leg strength running along the beaches near his home; his specialties were the 100-meter dash and the high jump. His speed, more than his hitting ability, attracted the attention of Pittsburgh’s head Latin American scout, Howie Haak in 1968, when Moreno was only 15. “He couldn’t hit the ball out of the infield but he surze could run,” Haak recalled.1

Pittsburgh’s Panamanian scout, Herb Raybourn, who worked under Haak, got Moreno’s parents to sign a contract on his behalf while Omar was representing his province at the Panamanian national high-school championships in the city of Chitré (Moreno went 7-for-10 in three games and led Chiriquí to its first championship).2 Moreno received quite the surprise when he returned home from the tournament.

“And so my mom says to me: ‘Did you know you’re going to the U.S. with the Pittsburgh Pirates?’” said Moreno. “I was in shock. … I said: ‘Me?’” The left-handed-batting and -throwing Moreno began his odyssey through the minor leagues with the Pirates’ affiliate in the Rookie Class Gulf Coast League in 1969. At age 16, he was two years younger than his next oldest teammate, and had to make the language and cultural adjustments common to young players from Latin American countries. He acquitted himself adequately offensively, getting into 25 of the team’s 54 games and batting .290 with no home runs, 4 RBIs, and 5 stolen bases.

Moreno, who was 6-feet-2 and weighed 180 pounds, had trouble getting beyond the lowest levels of the minors during his first few years as a professional, bouncing back and forth between the Gulf Coast League and the lower-level Class A (short season), and mostly as a part-timer at that; he didn’t play in more than 100 games in a season at one location until his fifth year in the minors , when he played in 136 games for the Salem (Virginia) Pirates of the Class A Carolina League in 1973 at age 20. He had a solid season, batting .284 with 9 home runs and 56 RBIs, all the while blazing along the basepaths with 77 steals, a league record (he also played three games with the Charleston (West Virginia) Charlies of the Triple-A International League. Those numbers got him promoted to the Thetford Mines (Quebec) Pirates of the Double-A Eastern League in 1974, where he hit .300, with 7 home runs, 39 RBIs, and 67 stolen bases.

After starting the season in Thetford Mines, Moreno was called up to the Charlies again on June 11, which was a wild day to be sure. Moreno was informed that morning of his promotion, then spent the day traveling to Charleston, where he found out that he was starting in that night’s matchup against the Pawtucket Red Sox. That game lasted 16 innings and did not finish until after midnight. If Moreno was tired after the game, he could at least take comfort in the fact that he scored the tying run as Charleston overcame a two-run deficit in the bottom of the 16th to win 10-9. After the game, Moreno and his teammates boarded a bus for the five-hour trip to Toledo, Ohio, where they started a four-game series against the Mud Hens the next night.

Moreno played in 23 games for Charleston and was batting only .220 when he returned to Thetford Mines for the remainder of what turned out to be a very good season. He was chosen to play in the postseason Eastern League All-Star Game.

Moreno finally got his first cup of coffee with the Pirates in September 1975 after a full season at Charleston, where he hit .284, smacked 9 home runs, and drove in 51 runs. His stolen-base total, 39, was down significantly from recent seasons. On September 5 he got the call into the manager’s office that all minor leaguers hope for, and was given a plane ticket to Montreal, where the Pirates were playing the Expos. He pinch-hit for Richie Hebner in the seventh inning of that night’s game, working a walk from Steve Rogers. He made his first major-league start on September 24, playing left field against the Phillies. He didn’t waste any time making his first major-league error, misplaying a bases-loaded single by Greg Luzinski in the top of the first that allowed “The Bull” to reach second. Moreno made up for the miscue in the bottom of the inning. Batting second in the order, he got his first major-league hit with a single to left off Larry Christenson, stole second, and scored on a single by Al Oliver. It was the only Pirates run in an 8-1 loss.

After his team finished 11th in the National League with 49 steals in 1975, Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh said that his 1976 team was going to run more and that the young speedsters in the minors had a very good chance of making the big club in spring training.3 “For the Bucs to run more in ’76, Murtaugh said, youngsters such as Omar Moreno, Tony Armas, and Craig Reynolds would have to make the club,” wrote Dave Brown. “And they would have to see enough playing time to steal bases.”4

By the time the season started, however, Murtaugh felt that Moreno and at least one of his fellow youngsters still needed some seasoning. “We have some speed,” he said, but (Miguel Diloné and Omar Moreno) are a year away.”5

Moreno began the 1976 season in Charleston. It was evident by early May that he was working hard on all aspects of his game, and that the effort was paying off. His manager, Tim Murtaugh (Danny’s son), admired the Panamanian for his dedication and willingness to work hard to improve.

“He [Moreno] has a major league arm — it is strong and accurate — and he is an intelligent ballplayer,” Murtaugh said. “The only problem he had at the start of his career came from his failure to understand English. It took him a little while to catch on to what we were trying to tell him.

“He has made himself what he is today by hard work and, as I say, complete dedication.”6

That industriousness earned Moreno a brief call-up on June 20 when first baseman Bob Robertson went on the 15-day disabled list with torn ligaments in his ankle. Moreno appeared in six games and returned to Charleston on July 4 after Robertson’s injury healed. Moreno made those six games count; he got noticed when he played, at least by the media.

“The Pirates brass does some funny things,” wrote Charley Feeney. “Omar Moreno, a left-handed pinch-hitter with speed, was shipped to Charleston, and Bob Robertson, a right-handed hitter with no speed, was taken off the disabled list. The move did one thing. It strengthened the Charleston farm club.”7

Maybe somebody was reading Feeney’s article, because Moreno was called up again on August 10 after Pirates rookie catcher Ed Ott broke a bone in his right hand. That news came two days after Moreno was named to the International League All-Star team for his .315 batting average with 3 home runs, 36 RBIs, and 55 stolen bases. Moreno didn’t play in that All-Star game because this time the ticket was one-way. His confidence helped make sure of that. A few days after being recalled by Pittsburgh, Moreno found himself playing center field in the Astrodome replacing veteran All-Star outfielder Al Oliver. After being troubled with dizziness, Oliver was hospitalized while the Pirates were in Houston, and subsequently missed three weeks of action. After tests, it was discovered that Oliver was suffering from an inner-ear infection.

“Moreno has confidence now,” said Pirates general manager Joe Brown. “He feels he belongs, and this is important with any young player.”8

Moreno hit .270 in 48 games for the Pirates in 1976, and one of his early thrills was his first big-league home run, on a lucky Friday, August 13, a ninth–inning solo shot against Joe Niekro of the Astros in Houston that added the final run in an 8-5 Pirates victory. It was the first of two homers he hit in limited playing time, to go along with 12 RBIs, a .270 average, and 15 stolen bases.

Chuck Tanner became the Pirates’ manager in 1977, and like a kid with a chemistry set, had more speed to play with than his predecessor. The Pirates lineup, which included Moreno, holdovers Rennie Stennett and Frank Taveras, and new third baseman Phil Garner, turned the basepaths at Three Rivers Stadium into the Pittsburgh Motor Speedway, as the Bucs stole 260 bases as a team to lead the major leagues — the Astros were second with 187 — with Moreno contributing 53 to the total.9

As good as that number was, Moreno’s rookie season was a disappointment to the Pirates. They didn’t expect huge numbers or much power from him, but his .240 batting average was below team expectations. Ever the optimist, Tanner expected great things from Moreno in the future: “Moreno hasn’t even begun to realize his potential,” Tanner said.10

Moreno got off to a good start at the plate in 1978 in part because he was more familiar with the strike zone and also because he stopped trying to pull the ball. “I try to hit everything on the ground and to left and left-center field,” he said. “I’ve been staying away from bad pitches because I’m not trying to pull the ball.”11 That approach worked in the first month of the season — he had a .286 average on May 1, but a horrible slump that month (16-for-107, .150) dropped his average to .198 by May 31. He remained in the batting order due to his speed and defensive ability. He worked his average back up to .235, and more than doubled his walk total for the season, to 81 from 38 in 1976. His biggest achievement of the season was to lead the majors in stolen bases with a team-record 71; he also scored 95 runs.

The Pirates’ brass still wanted Moreno to improve his hitting. Every “Tom and Dick” was trying to give him advice, which only increased his anxiety level, so after the season they sent him to see former Pirates skipper Harry “The Hat” Walker, who was coaching at the University of Alabama. Walker had a good reputation with the Pirates as a hitting instructor. The San Francisco Giants traded 25-year-old Matty Alou to Pittsburgh after he hit .231 in 1965. Under Walker’s tutelage, Alou won the batting title in 1966 with a .342 average, and maintained that batting stroke the rest of his career, as his lifetime .307 mark will attest.

Walker focused on getting Moreno to swing down on the ball and put it on the ground more. Moreno proved to be a very good student, as he set career highs in 1979 in batting average (.282), runs (110), hits (196), home runs (8), and RBIs (69) He also won his second consecutive NL stolen-base crown (77 steals). Defensively, he also showed how his speed permitted him to reach a lot of fly balls, as he led the league in putouts by a center fielder with 489, significantly more than Gold Glove winner Garry Maddox of the Phillies, who nabbed 425. Moreno also showed that just because he could reach more balls, it didn’t mean that he always caught them, as he led National League center fielders in errors with 13. The Pirates reached the World Series that year, and Moreno showed he could produce in the clutch; his 11 hits in the fall classic were just one below the totals of Series co-leaders Garner and MVP Willie Stargell as the Pirates defeated the Baltimore Orioles in seven games. Six of those hits came in the last two games, to help the Bucs come back from a 3-1 deficit. Moreno caught the final out in Game Seven.12

The Pirates had won the National League East by two games over the Expos. That offseason, the Montreal brass decided to fight fire with fire, or, more precisely, speed with speed. They acquired basestealer extraordinaire Ron LeFlore from the Detroit Tigers. LeFlore and Moreno had a season-long race for the National League’s basestealing crown in 1980. The competition went right to the wire, with LeFlore edging Moreno out by one, 97 steals to 96. Moreno’s steal of second in the first inning of a 5-1 loss in Houston on August 20 was historic. It was his 70th steal of the year, making him the first player since 1900 to have three consecutive seasons with 70 or more steals.13

For all his basestealing wizardry, it seems that Moreno should have gone back to that cat called “The Hat” for a refresher; the lessons he applied so well in 1979 didn’t carry over into 1980, as he hit only .249, with 2 home runs and 36 RBIs. The lower numbers were due to several factors. One was a midseason finger injury suffered when he jammed the little digit of his left hand while sliding into a base on a steal. The injury, although painful, still allowed him to play, but he had difficulty gripping the bat and couldn’t bunt for base hits. Another, according to Moreno, was his dissatisfaction with his contract situation.

“I was mad about my contract and the front office,” Moreno said. “I said okay to a one-year contract in spring training because (Pirates management) said we’d talk about a five-, six-year contract later. Then they changed their minds and say no.”14

Tanner said that Moreno’s defensive abilities were far more important than his offensive output. He had a one-of-a-kind defensive triple crown in 1980, leading National League center fielders in putouts (481), assists (15), and outs made (560). “The last thing you look at with Moreno is his hitting,” Tanner said. “I played him every day when he hit .235 and I would today. He takes so many hits away with his glove.”15

The distractions that reduced Moreno’s offensive production in 1980 were dealt with in the offseason. He had surgery on his finger, and signed a one-year deal after playing without a contract the previous year. He was confident going into spring training for the 1981 season, and even predicted that he would hit .300. Early on it became evident that Moreno was not going to reach that goal; his average stood at .203 by May 17. He slowly started hitting again by that point, and by June 10, the date of the first in-season strike in baseball history, he was hitting .261. He began hitting when play resumed on August 10, and had his average up as high as .291 by September 20 before finishing with a .276 mark with 1 home run and 35 runs batted in after starting all of Pittsburgh’s 103 games. His basestealing fell off significantly; his 39 thefts were second in the league, but far below the league-leading total of Expos rookie Tim Raines, who had 71.

Raines’s overwhelming win in the stolen-base race caught Moreno flatfooted, so when spring training rolled around for 1982, Moreno promised to take back his title. “He [Raines] really surprised me last year,” Moreno said. “I am going to do my best to steal over 85 bases. That’s what’s on my mind now.”16

Tanner even planned to help Moreno reach his goal by having Mike Easler bat second in the order behind him. Tanner reasoned that Easler, being a good fastball hitter, would see a lot of slow stuff, which would make it easier for Moreno to get a good jump. It was a good idea in theory, but Easler’s woeful .143 average after nine games didn’t discourage pitchers from throwing him anything. Tanner dropped Easler to sixth in the order starting with game 10 and kept him in the lower part of the lineup for the rest of the season.

The failed experiment did not prevent Moreno from having a productive year on the basepaths, as he stole 60 bases, third in the National League behind Raines (78 steals) and Lonnie Smith of the Cardinals (68). At the plate he had a typical Moreno season, with a .245 batting average, 3 home runs, and 44 RBIs.

Moreno was obviously very busy during the baseball season. But he was also involved in the community as local honorary chairman of the National Hemophilia Foundation, a cause that was important to him because he has a nephew with the condition, On April 18, 1982, he allowed himself to be roasted by his teammates at a fundraising dinner for the organization. The zingers were mild — Kent Tekulve said that Panama “had big, ugly tigers. …Omar had to be fast or he was lunch” — but the event was a sign of how highly his fellow Pirates thought of him.17

Moreno was a free agent after the season, and although his agent, Tom Reich, negotiated with Pittsburgh, the two sides were unable to reach a deal. On December 10 he signed a five-year, $3.25 million contract with the Houston Astros. Interestingly, Pirates general manager Pete Peterson felt that Reich did not handle the negotiations well for his client, and that the Astros’ offer was not significantly more over the life of the contract than what Pittsburgh was willing to pay.

“If the Houston figures are correct, and I see no reason to not to believe they are, Moreno left for only — and I stress only — $25,000 a year,” Peterson said. “If he wasn’t happy in Pittsburgh, will he be happier in Houston for $25,000 more a year?”18

That question, while rhetorical, proved to be prophetic. Houston signed Moreno to bolster an offense that scored 569 runs in 1982, 11th in the National League.19 By the midway point of the 1983 season, the same batting numbers that were just fine in Pittsburgh weren’t quite up to snuff in Houston. By July Astros manager Bob Lillis had decided to bench the left-handed-hitting Moreno against certain southpaw pitchers. This didn’t sit well with Moreno, who never even bothered to look at the lineup card in Pittsburgh because it was a given that his name would be there. After watching two games from the visitors’ dugout at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium in late July, the normally quiet Moreno demanded to be traded. Ultimatums don’t go over well with Houston fans, and many of the 18,781 at the Astrodome that evening booed him mercilessly when he returned to the Astros lineup on July 27. It was clear at this point that the situation was untenable, so on August 10 the Astros traded Moreno to the New York Yankees for switch-hitting outfielder Jerry Mumphrey. Moreno was happy with the deal. “The Yankees have a good chance to win the pennant and I can help them,” he said.20

Moreno played regularly in center field with the Yankees, but batted primarily eighth or ninth. The Yankees finished in third place in the AL East with a 91-71 record, seven games behind the eventual world champion Baltimore Orioles. For the year, Moreno batted .244, with 1 home run and 42 RBIs. While his numbers at the plate were typical, his numbers on the basepaths were not. He stole 37 bases (30 with Houston, 7 with New York), which is a good total for most players, but for Moreno it was his lowest total since he became an everyday player in 1977.

It was clear to Moreno early in spring training that the 1984 season was not going to be fun, and that he might have made a mistake leaving Pittsburgh. One reason was that Yankees manager Billy Martin, who coveted the speed-and-defense playing style at which Moreno excelled, had been fired, and replaced by the long-ball-loving Yogi Berra.

“They [the Yankees] have enough power. But they don’t believe in speed here,” he said during spring training. “There was nothing like Pittsburgh for me.”21

Moreno played in only 117 games in 1984, and in 11 of those he was a late-inning defensive replacement. A slow start — he was hitting .184 after 14 games — earned him a seat on the bench for 17 of 19 games in late April and early May, the longest stretch of inactivity in his career. For the year, he hit .259, with 4 home runs, 38 RBIs, and 20 steals.

The Yankees traded for speedy basestealing outfielder Rickey Henderson from the Oakland A’s after the 1984 season, sending a not-subtle-in-the-least message to Moreno that he couldn’t expect much playing time in an outfield of Henderson, Dave Winfield, and Ken Griffey Sr. in 1985. In fact, he got into only 34 games and was batting just .197 before the Yankees gave him his unconditional release on August 16.

After being inactive for two weeks, Moreno received a call from the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals. Their regular center fielder, Willie Wilson, had been hospitalized after a bad reaction to a penicillin injection administered by the Texas Rangers’ team physician. On September 5, in just his second game with the Royals, Moreno had an inside-the-park home run in the first inning followed by a two-run triple in the eighth to spark Kansas City to a 4-1 victory over Milwaukee. During their five-game sweep of the Brewers, Moreno was 9-for-17 (.529) with two home runs and eight RBIs. He batted .243 in 24 games with the Royals, but was not on the postseason roster.

The Royals cut Moreno after the season, but early in 1986, the Atlanta Braves, with Moreno’s old friend Tanner managing, signed him to a minor-league contract. Moreno played well enough during spring training to earn a roster spot, and went north with the big-league club. He served in a part-time role, primarily in right field, playing in 118 games, hitting .234 with 4 home runs and 27 RBIs. He stole 17 bases but was caught 16 times. The Braves released him after the season and his baseball career was over.

After finishing in baseball, Moreno and his family, consisting of wife Sandra, son Omar Jr., and daughter Leury, returned to Panama. For many years he and Sandra ran the Omar Moreno Foundation, which made it possible for poor children to play baseball. In 2009, new Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli asked Moreno to serve as Secretary of Sport, where he represented Panama internationally and oversaw the country’s athletic programs.

Upon finishing that assignment, Moreno continued working with underprivileged children in Latin America. His ability as an offensive catalyst for the Pirates earned him election into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. As of 2016, he was also active in the Pirates’ alumni association and served as a Pirates coach during spring training. He was also busy with two granddaughters, Gaby and Camila, who kept him wrapped around their fingers.22

Last revised: August 1, 2016

This biography appears in “When Pops Led the Family: The 1979 Pitttsburgh Pirates” (SABR, 2016), edited by Bill Nowlin and Gregory H. Wolf.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author also used:

Charleston (West Virginia) Daily Mail.

McCollister, John. Tales From the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates: Remembering The “Fam-a-lee” (Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC, 2005).

Salina (Kansas) Journal.

Vivatropica.com.

Notes

Colòn and Panama had not always been a land of opportunity and relative optimism; nor would this sense prevail throughout Ben’s young life. First explored by Columbus and Balboa in the early 16th century, the potential of the land which would become known as Central America — and specifically the land which would be called Colòn, Panama – could not be overlooked. However, malaria, yellow fever, poisonous reptiles, torrential rains, and a literally toxic atmosphere earned the region its “pest hole of the Universe” sobriquet.

As centuries passed and explorers grew bolder, the governments of numerous countries — including Spain, Colombia, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States — pressed to create a link, across the region, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The first such connection would not occur until the 1840s to 1850s when the American, William Henry Aspinwall, led construction of the Panamanian Railroad. The California Gold Rush of 1849 spurred construction and successful completion of the railroad. The impact of this enterprise was great — not only did it create and support commercial enterprise, but also its construction demanded a large labor force. This labor force grew out of an immigrant population, including those of Afro-Antillean heritage (descendants of African slaves and people of the West Indies). It in this important immigrant subculture that Ben Oglivie finds his ancestry.

In the late 18th to early 19th centuries, also employing a substantial immigrant work force, the French would attempt to create the second significant connection – a sea level canal – between the Atlantic and Pacific. The French did not succeed. However, the failure of the French did inspire a treaty between Colombia and the United States, leading to the construction of the Panama Canal. The treaty, the management of disease, and a strong work force changed Panama, and not all for the good. The Canal brought prosperity to the region, but it could not eliminate the political and social dissatisfaction which ultimately fostered violent riots. An unstable government, in addition to the untimely death of his father, led Ben Oglivie and his family to the United States, New York City, and Major League Baseball.

In 1967, 53 years after the S.S. Ancon became the first ship to pass, officially, through the Panama Canal, from Colòn (on the Atlantic) to Panama City (on the Pacific), Ben Oglivie left Panama for New York City. Ben’s father, a ship oiler, had died and his family chose an assumed prosperity in the United States over a life of poverty and uncertainty in Panama. His older sister, one of six brothers and sisters, already living in The Bronx welcomed him and the family.

In The Bronx, Ben attended Theodore Roosevelt High School (somewhat ironic given President Theodore Roosevelt’s influence in construction of the Panama Canal). Ben’s transition to life in the United States was aided by his intelligence, education, and athletic abilities. Consistent with his desire for education and personal development, he “thought the best way to learn the language [English] was to read a lot of books. Big books, not funny books.” 1 In 1967, Major League Baseball was not yet an option. After graduation from high school, he planned to study electrical engineering at Bronx Community College. This plan shifted when, in 1968, his baseball skills were noticed by “a bird dog named Al Harper”2. Harper contacted Francis “Bots” Nekola, a Red Sox scout who had signed Carl Yastrzemski 10 years earlier, and suggested he have a look at Ben. Nekola watched Ben, met with the Oglivie family — “…the most wonderful family…”3 — and proceeded to press Haywood Sullivan, then Personnel Director for the Boston Red Sox, to sign him. Ben Oglivie was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 11th round of the June 1968 free agent draft.

Consistent with much of baseball’s history and mythology, to pinpoint precisely how and when baseball was first played in Panama is not probable. It is believed that baseball may have been introduced in Panama as early as 1855 when Americans, working on the Panamanian Railroad, played baseball.   It is known that baseball became more popular in Panama during the early 1900s; and, by 1945, the Professional Baseball League of Panama was organized. Humberto Robinson (also of Afro-Antillean descent) and Hector Lopez are identified as the first Panamanians to be signed, in 1955, by major-league clubs. Ben Oglivie was one of the first 15 Panamanian ball players to reach the major leagues.

Ben, who threw left and batted left, stood 6’2” and weighed 170 pounds, began his professional career with the Jamestown (NY) Falcons of the New York-Penn League. In Jamestown, Ben shared first base responsibility with Cecil Cooper (also signed in 1968). Cecil Cooper thought that Ben was the new batboy — “He was that small.” 4. Ben would not return to the minor leagues until 1989 when, at age 40, he attempted a return to the big leagues. His career with the Boston Red Sox ran from September 1971 to October 1973.  In 1969, Oglivie shifted from first base to the outfield with the Greenville (SC) Red Sox of the Western Carolinas League. He was sent to the Winter Haven (FL) Red Sox of the Florida State League late that season having batted .317, with a .463 slugging percentage in 106 games. The 1970 season saw Ben with the Pawtucket (RI) Red Sox of the AA Eastern League. He did not hit well, batting only .233, but he played well enough to be sent, in 1971, to the AAA International League Louisville (KY) Colonels. With the Colonels, Ben batted .304, slugging .498; this earned him a September 1971 call-up by the parent team in Boston

According to Larry Doby, who had managed Ben in the Venezuelan league during the winter of 1972, Ben “does all five things…he can hit, run, field, throw and hit for power…” 5

Doby expected Oglivie to be a star in the major leagues. Red Sox management did not necessarily agree.

He played in 14 games for the Sox in 1971 and was invited to report to spring training in Winter Haven in 1972. Four games into the spring season, Ben was sent to Hahnemann Hospital in Brighton, MA to be examined for a possible heart condition. After three days of cardiograms and other tests, he was given a “clean bill of health” and returned to spring training. Although he played with the Boston club during the regular season in 1972, he was not an everyday player, completing the season with a .241 average in 94 games.

In 1973, Ben again joined the Sox in Winter Haven for spring training. He performed very well, but another right fielder, Dwight Evans, was likely to be named the starter in April. Eddie Kasko, Red Sox manager, said of Ben that he “has tremendous value coming off the bench. But I want to give Evans a good shot.” Ben had batted .362 in Winter Haven (highest average for the Sox in spring training that year), but Dwight Evans won the job as starter in right field.

Ben played in only 58 games in 1973, with sporadic starts. In May 1973, he hit at a .441 pace and started in place of the slumping Evans. In spite of this performance, Sox management felt Ben was, at best, a platoon player; his ungainly play — sporting long arms and skinny legs – in the outfield, which had earned him the nickname Spiderman, did not help. In September 1973, in one of his final plate appearances, Ben hit the game winning home run, in the 12th inning, off Jim Palmer of the Baltimore Orioles. Anti-climactically, in October 1973, Ben was traded to the Detroit Tigers for an aging Dick McAuliffe.

For Ben Oglivie, coming to the Red Sox when he did, baseball was “a sometime thing”– the Sox outfield of Carl Yastrzemski, Reggie Smith, and Dwight Evans certainly reduced his playing time. Eddie Kasko suggested that Ben might see more at-bats with the introduction of the designated hitter rule in 1972, but this was not to be. To some, Ben did not play with enough passion. In his June 8, 1981 article for Sports Illustrated, Steve Wulf states:

“Ironically, Oglivie was trapped in one of baseball’s subtle prejudices. Latin American ballplayers are expected to be hot-tempered; if they’re not, it must mean they don’t care. ‘People think Rod Carew is lazy,’ says Oglivie. ‘I look at him and see great intensity.”6

Demonstrating propensity for thinking things through and yearning to understand, Ben said: “When I first came up, I was just happy to be there. I figured I’d just wait my turn. My turn never came. I’d play two games, and then I was back on the bench again. I couldn’t comprehend that.” 7

Ben Oglivie was, apparently, the only player the Sox were willing to trade for Dick McAuliffe. Ben began his playing time with the Tigers in 1974, at the age of 25.

Ben spent four seasons with the Tigers, 1974-1977; each season brought more playing time, but management would make no guarantees for a regular starting role. Tigers management regarded his fielding weak. As noted in Steve Wulf’s article, Ben philosophically remarked:

“My weakness was not fielding. My weakness was not playing. And, personally, I think the author of the platoon system was a guy who couldn’t hit lefthanders. But after a while you begin to believe these guys who are supposed to be the authorities. For a time I really believed that I couldn’t field and I couldn’t hit lefties.”

While newspapers included reports that “Ben Oglivie virtually guaranteed himself a starting job for next year [1975] with his performances during the final two months [of the 1974 season]”8, lack of playing frustrated and confused Ben. However, as noted in the Baseball: The Biographic Encyclopedia, Ben was an “intelligent, bookish man who read philosophy, he attended four colleges and studied Zen Buddhism because, he said, it merges into one with sports. He would let the game come to him.” 

In 1977, Ben — still uncertain regarding his role with the Tigers — became a focus not for his playing, but for his not playing, and for his unique approach to life. With the Tigers, Ben became known as “Banana Man” after third base coach, Joe Schultz, watched Ben eat one banana after another during a road trip.   Ben became neither bitter nor angry about such a nickname or his lack of playing time — he said “that is not my style.”  Rather, he was able to focus on philosophy as a means to a “better perspective” on life, and on playing time. Ben had four seasons with the Tigers; and, although showing improvement each year — manager Ralph Houk noted he had “never seen a guy improve as much as he has, at his age”9 — another trade came his way. His career with the Tigers ended after the 1977 season with an overall batting average of .276, a slugging percentage of .439, and 45 home runs. He would take his increasing power, and improved fielding to the Milwaukee Brewers, having been traded for pitchers Jim Slaton and Rich Folkers.

At age 29, Ben began his first of nine seasons with the Brewers in 1978. Immediately, Ben worked with Frank Howard, then a coach, to improve his unorthodox (Spiderman) fielding — “Day in and day out he’d hit fly balls to me in the outfield.”10 He began work with Nautilus equipment to increase his strength. As his play improved, his personal life became more serene. Cecil Cooper, now a teammate in Milwaukee, introduced him to attorney Tony Pennacchia, who would walk him through a divorce from his first wife. That same season, Ben met his second wife, Tammy Hunsinger, in Mesa, Arizona, near the Brewers spring training facility. Attorney Pennacchia said that Ben’s “marriage to Tammy turned his career around. I think Ben was finally able to find peace with himself.”11 

In 1978, Ben led the Brewers in batting with a .303 average. However, his overall play remained, according to Brewers management, suspect. Had it not been for a teammate’s misfortune, Ben may very well have been, again, a platoon player. Early in the 1979 season, veteran outfielder Larry Hisle suffered a torn rotator cuff; opportunity had come Ben’s way. Hisle, “honored to have him [Ben] as a teammate”12 graciously accepted this turn of events and saw Ben take over as the regular left fielder. In 1979, manager Buck Rodgers regarded Ben’s only fault to be his inability to slide — this could be seen as praise to a player who had been, at best, a platoon fielder and pinch hitter.

In 1980, Ben started the first 9 games of the season, a circumstance which thrilled him; he had never started that many games consecutively. Demonstrating power at the plate, speed, and skill in the outfield and on the base paths, and a continuous introspection, 1980 would be the best of his 16 seasons in the major leagues. That season Ben earned yet another nickname — “philosopher-home run king.”13 He hit 41 home runs that year, had 118 RBIs, hit .304 overall, and had a .563 slugging percentage.

While Ben and Reggie Jackson, of the New York Yankees, both hit 41 home runs that season, Ben was the first foreign-born player to win a home run crown in the major leagues. This was also a season in which Gorman Thomas, Cecil Cooper, and Ben Oglivie each had more than 100 RBIs. Cooper, who hit .352 that season, said that “I’ve never seen a season like Benji [another nickname] had.”14  This was also the season Ben would grow his first moustache, noting the changing times, and he said it would likely take an 0-for-30 string to make him shave it.

Ben had come into his own with the Milwaukee Brewers — he was an everyday player, a “complete ballplayer”. He was a three-time American League All-Star (1980, 1982, and 1983), a home run leader (1980), and a Silver Slugger Award winner (1980). He was an important component of his team in 1981 when the Brewers competed in the AL Division Series (lost series, 3-2) and in 1982 when the Brewers went to the World Series (lost series 4-3). Although he would not duplicate his All-Star seasons, he would finish his AL career with the Brewers.

Ben completed his nine-year career with the Brewers after the 1986 season when he hit a mere five home runs and batted .283. Desiring to remain in baseball, he played two seasons, 1987 and 1988, with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of the Japan Pacific League. In his two seasons in Japan, he hit 46 home runs (24 in 1987, 22 in 1988) and maintained .300 average. In 1989, at age 40, Ben returned to the United States and signed a minor-league contract with the El Paso Diablos, a Milwaukee Brewers affiliate, of the Texas League. However, a return to the Major Leagues, as a player, was not meant to be. A knee injury limited him to only two games with the Diablos and he finished his stint with 10 plate appearances, and three hits, one of which was a home run.

Ben continued to play baseball with the Winter Haven Super Sox of the short-lived Senior Professional Baseball Association. This team included Cecil Cooper, Ferguson Jenkins, Bernie Carbo, Butch Hobson, and Bill Lee, who was also the club’s manager. However, Ben’s time with this team was brief, as the Super Sox ceased operations after its first season.

Oglivie stayed away from baseball for only a few years, as he returned to the Brewers organization to work as a hitting coach with Class-A and Class-AA ball. He developed coaching skills and was named, in 1995, hitting coach for the Calgary Cannons (Alberta, Canada) of the Pacific Coast League. His career as hitting coach continued in 1999 with the Hickory Crawdads (NC) of the South Atlantic League. After a season as hitting coach with the major-league San Diego Padres in 2000, Ben returned to coaching for minor-league teams, including: Idaho Falls (ID) Padres (2001), Eugene (OR) Emeralds (2003-2005), Vero Beach (FL) Devil Rays (2007), Montgomery (AL) Biscuits (2008), and the Gulf Coast (FL) Rays (2009). And, in 2010, now age 61, Ben Oglivie was named hitting coach of the Detroit Tigers’ Class A affiliate West Michigan Whitecaps.  

Benjamin Ambrosio (Palmer) Oglivie, a.k.a. Gentle Ben, Benji, Spiderman, Banana Man, Philosopher-Home Run King, is a study in baseball and philosophy. His quiet and cerebral manner, his sometimes unpredictable play in the outfield, his healthy eating habits, his quick wrists and powerful swing all make up the man. Some of Ben’s teammates noted that 24 hours was inadequate for all that he wanted to accomplish. Some, like Mark “The Bird” Fidrych, thought Oglivie “was crazy”. One morning, during spring training with the Tigers, Fidrych awoke to the sound of philosophy “spouting”15 from Ben’s tape recorder.

In addition to working diligently to improve his game, he found time to feed his thirst for knowledge by attending four different colleges – in New York, Bronx Community College; in Boston, Northeastern University; in Detroit, Wayne State University; and in Milwaukee, the University of Wisconsin. In his book, The Wrong Stuff, Bill Lee, a teammate with the Red Sox, remembers Ben:

“He was a tall, wiry left handed hitter with all kinds of power and good speed in the outfield. Ben faked a lot of people out. They heard he was from Colon, Panama, and assumed he would have difficulty speaking English. So on first meeting they would talk to him very slowly and in a loud voice, using many hand gestures. It was a riot, because the first thing I noticed about him was his ability to complete the “New York Times” crossword puzzle in about five minutes. He did not have an accent, but he was the brightest guy on the club and had hardly any trouble understanding anybody who didn’t stick his hand in Ben’s face while they spoke.”

In another interview, Bill Lee suggests that Ben “should have become a GM.”16

Ben played 16 years in the major leagues, played in 1,754 games, and in 5,913 at-bats achieved a total of 235 home runs, a .273 average, and a .450 slugging percentage. At age 17, he had lost his father and left a country which had been struggling with political unrest. He had been traded twice because team management regarded him as a good player off the bench. He often hit very well in spring training, only to be told he did not have a starting job. He was seen as dispassionate in his play. Despite setbacks, using his favorite philosophers — Plato, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Henry David Thoreau, and Bruce Lee — as guides, Ben waited for the game to come to him, and it did.

Last revised: April 1, 2012

Sources

Baseball Almanac. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/ (accessed [most recently] December 2010).

BaseballLibrary.com. http://www.baseballlibrary.com/homepage/ (accessed [most recently] December 2010).

Baseball-Reference.com. http://www.baseball-reference.com/ (accessed [most recently] December 2010)

History of Colòn, Panama. http://www.coloncity.com/history1.html (accessed [most recently] December 2010)

Fitzgerald, Ray. “Ben Oglivie Finds Stardom in Another Uniform.” Baseball Digest, September 1980, 39: no.9. [online]  http://books.google.com/books (accessed [most recently] December 2010).

Maisel, Ivan. 22 Brewers. SI Vault. 1985 [online]. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1119345/index.htm (accessed [most recently] December 2010).

The New York Times. Sports People: Baseball:  Oglivie in Class AA. http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/30/sports/sports-people-baseball-oglivie-in-class-AA.html (accessed [most recently] December 2010).

The Silver People Heritage Foundation. http://thesilverpeopleheritage.wordpress.com/(accessed [most recently] December 2010).

Wulf, Steve. Swingo, Ergo Su: So Ben Oglivie, the philosopher-home run king of baseball, seems to be saying with his bat. SI Vault. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1124537/index.htm. 1981 [online].  (accessed [most recently] December 2010).

Ben Oglivie. Folder: Newspaper Clippings. A. Bartlett Giamatti Research Center. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Cooperstown, NY.

Lee, Bill with Dick Lally. The Wrong Stuff. (New York: The Viking Press, 1984)

Okrent, Daniel. Nine Innings. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1985)

Palmer, Peter and Gary Gillette, ed. The 2006 ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia. (New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 2006)

Pietrusza, David, Matthew Silverman, and Michael Gershman.  Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia. (Kingston, NY: Total/Sports Illustrated, 2000)

Wolf, Rick et al. The Baseball Encyclopedia. 8th ed. (New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1990)

“It gets to the point where you take him for granted. You never want to assume anything, but for the 12 years I have been here, he’s been the greatest assumption of my life. He has put himself in a place where nobody has ever been.” 1 — Joe Torre, 2007

The call on January 22, 2019, came from Jack O’Connell of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Everyone surrounding Mariano Rivera at his home in New Rochelle, New York, knew the call was coming. Rivera picked up the phone. As Nathan Maciborski recounted in Yankees Magazine, “Rivera’s reaction was barely detectable to the naked eye. As a player, he stood on baseball’s grandest stage, performing solo under the most intense pressure possible, and, win or lose, was always in complete control. His demeanor as the phone rang was no different; if his heart were racing, only he and God knew it.” But upon hearing that his selection to the Hall of Fame was unanimous, even the normally stoic Yankee closer let down his guard and broke into the biggest of smiles.2

Rivera, in 19 major league seasons, became the all-time leader in saves. He recorded 652 in the regular season plus another 42 in postseason action — converting a superior 89% of his save opportunities at both levels of competition. And he did it essentially relying on one pitch.

In 1997, he had been promoted to the closer role after being a dominant setup man when the Yankees won the World Series in 1996. On Monday, June 23, 1997, Yankee reliever Ramiro Mendoza halted a pregame catch with Rivera in Detroit out of anxiety, because he had to constantly move his glove to catch practice tosses. 3

When Rivera began warming up in the bullpen that evening, coach Mike Borzello was receiving his tosses. Like Mendoza, he could not anticipate the location of the pitch. He even thought that the ball may have been scuffed, but when he used another ball, the action was the same. That evening, Rivera entered the game in the ninth inning and recorded his 23rd save of the season. Over the coming days and weeks, Rivera worked with pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre and the result was a refinement of the cutting action on the ball. As Rivera wrote in The Closer, “As we tinker, I continue to pitch in games (he saved each of the three games in the Detroit series), and the more I throw this new pitch, the more I begin to get command of it. I am starting to throw it for strikes. And this is how my cut fastball, or cutter, is born. It is as if it dropped straight from the heavens.”4

Rivera’s cut fastball bored inside to a left-handed hitter and tailed away from a right-handed batter. As Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated reported in 2009, Rivera “holds the cutter just like a four-seam fastball. The ball is positioned with the seams forming a horseshoe shape with the closed end of the horseshoe facing to the right, or ‘outside’ of the ball in the released position. The index and middle fingers are held perpendicular to the horizontal seams of the horseshoe with the thumb underneath the ball.” Rivera changed the movement of each pitch by varying the pressure he applied to the baseball with his fingers as the ball left his middle finger. Borzello added that “he throws his four-seamer with two fingers together. There is almost no space between his fingers. Nobody else I know throws a baseball that way.” 5

Catcher and future manager Joe Girardi maintained that he had witnessed an “embryonic form” of Rivera’s cutter in 1996.6 Yet the deeply religious pitcher maintained that it all happened that evening at Tiger Stadium, saying, “Let me tell you where it (the cutter) comes from. First of all, it comes from the Lord. I know where I came from. I know what I have and what I didn’t have. I didn’t have anything. It was because God allowed it to happen, because he blessed me.”7

As Scott Miller of ESPN reported in 2013, “Rivera saved all three games in Detroit that series, career numbers 23-25, and one of the singularly most lethal weapons in baseball history had (been) launched.”8 His cut fastball, as writer Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times said, “moved with such velocity and wizardry that it seemed to defy the laws of physics, breaking hundreds of bats and shattering many more dreams.”9

Acclaimed Yankee historian Marty Appel added that Rivera’s work was defined by “fielding his position with precision, and calmly walking off after the final out. Hitters knew what to expect, with his (two-seam) fastball setting up his rising cutter, leaving them, lefty or righty, flailing away or making weak contact. He turned games into eight-inning affairs for Yankee opponents.”10

His effectiveness, dependability, and longevity amply demonstrated Rivera to be one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history. He spent his full 19-year career in Yankee pinstripes, always doing his job with businesslike efficiency. He shattered the major league records for games finished (952) as well as total number of regular season and postseason saves. He was named to 13 All-Star teams and was a five-time World Series champion. 11 And not only that, few players would be as respected by opponents as the humble Rivera.12

Regardless of where a batter stood in the batter’s box, catcher Sal Fasano noted that Rivera “never pitched to home plate. He pitched to the body line of the batter.”13 Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver said that the cutter lacks the sharp downward movement of a slider, but it has a sharp horizontal break near home plate. Despite a velocity decrease in his final five seasons, the effectiveness of Mariano’s cutter never diminished because of the movement. Tampa Bay’s Ben Zobrist testified to the tremendous deception in Rivera’s smooth delivery; the batter anticipated a four-seam fastball from the rotation of the ball, but it did not travel straight. 14 Coach Kevin Long estimated that Rivera’s cutter moved six to eight inches off the plate, a movement that could not be detected until the last moment, by which time the batter could not react. Boston Red Sox infielder Kevin Youkilis asserted that Rivera couldn’t control the sinking two-seam fastball the way he could the cutter, and the fastball would ride inside to right-handed batters. The only time Rivera got into jams, contended Youkilis, “is when he doesn’t have command of the cutter. Sometimes he gets the ball up, and it kind of floats,” and the batter could “battle him.”15

Mariano Rivera Girón was born in Panama City, Panama, on November 29, 1969. His parents were Delia Girón and Mariano Rivera Palacios, He has one older sister, Delia (born two years before Mariano), and two younger brothers, Alvaro and Giraldo. The Rivera family resided 25 miles west of Panama City, on a dirt road near a large gritty beach in the village of Puerto Caimito. Their dingy two-room house with a damaged tin roof had no water or electricity. Most of the population bought, sold, or caught fish from the Pacific Ocean. As a captain of a fishing boat, Rivera’s father toiled through 14-hour days to haul and drag the nets.

Mariano loved soccer as a child and played competitively until he seriously injured an eye during a match. Like the rest of the kids of Puerto Caimito, he played baseball without career aspirations, but with ingenuity. The baseball was wound from fish nets and electrical tape. Tree branches were the raw material for bats, and gloves were formed from milk cartons. Mariano’s formative years were happy ones; he didn’t realize he was poor. His dad bought him his first real glove when he was 16 years old, and it was purchased second-hand.16

Mariano’s maternal grandfather, Manuel Girón, took him to the sugarcane fields to teach him the technique to cut the smallish Rivera family lawn. Mariano learned to grip the machete, bend his knees, and swing the blade around his entire arm, movements that increased his momentum and allowed gravity to aid his arm motion. Instead of a random whack, he precisely flicked his wrist at the last second. Years later, these skills evolved into his effortless and fluid pitching delivery.17

After leaving school, Mariano worked with his father as a fisherman. As an 18-year-old he was involved in a sea accident. In the pre-dawn hours, a rope attached to a pulley came loose and careened into Mariano and his uncle Miguel Rivera. They went airborne. Mariano landed softly and suffered minor injuries. Unfortunately, his uncle Miguel suffered serious injuries, lost much blood, and died a week later from his injuries. 18

A few months later, Mariano was invited to play with the Panama Oeste Vaqueros (Cowboys), an amateur team in Panama’s top adult league. In his first season with the team, he played shortstop. In his second year, he had no set position, but his favorite position was the outfield because “there is nothing better in baseball than running down a fly ball.” In a 1989 league playoff game, the Vaqueros’ starting pitcher was ineffective, and the team fell behind. The manager summoned Mariano from right field to pitch. Other than hurling a few innings in a provincial game five years earlier, he had never pitched before. Remembering how he hurled rocks as a youngster at targets on a ballfield near his home, he gave it a try. His manager just wanted him to throw strikes. After entering the game in the second inning, Mariano, without a “dipsy-do” windup, “was getting ahead of everybody, hitting corners, pitching quickly.” Mariano didn’t allow a run and won the game, as the Vaqueros produced a comeback victory.19

Afterwards, two of his Vaqueros teammates, center fielder Emilio Gáez and catcher Claudino Hernandez, recommended Rivera to Yankee scout Chico Heron. Despite his having a relatively slow fast ball then (87 miles per hour), Rivera’s seamless delivery and accuracy impressed the scout. Heron arranged a tryout with Herb Raybourn, the head of Latin American scouting for the Yankees. Raybourn, who previously had scouted for the Kansas City Royals, had seen Rivera at shortstop during the prior season, but believed he could not hit big-league pitching. 20

Mariano took a 90-minute trip via two buses from Puerto Caimito to Panama City and walked 20 minutes to the ballpark. With nothing to lose, he wasn’t nervous. After nine or ten pitches, Raybourn stopped him and Mariano figured he was finished. 21 Raybourn, however, foresaw a future major league pitcher. In 2009, Raybourn remembered that “the fluidness of his arm is what I liked. He had one of those loose arms. Plus, his ball had a lot of movement. You could see him being a starter or reliever.”.22

Raybourn signed Rivera to a $2,000 bonus contract in his family living room on February 17, 1990. The scout confessed years later the Yankees would have needed to increase their contract offer to $50,000 if other teams had seen him pitch. Mariano was unaware of the Yankees’ illustrious history and was surprised to be signed as a 20-year old because most Latin American baseball prospects were spotted, scouted, and categorized as serious prospects early in their teenage years.23

Unheralded, undrafted, and with a modest bonus, Rivera was not considered a major prospect when his pro career began in 1990. When he joined Tampa, Florida, in the Gulf Coast League, he was dispatched to the bullpen at a time when the blue-chip pitchers were put in the starting rotation. As author Judith Levin observed, his manager, Glenn Sherlock, “saw Rivera as calm, professional, and competitive. Rivera was quiet and tough and wanted to win, and he seemed older than his age of 20.” 24 Hoyt Wilhelm, the first relief pitcher ever elected to the Hall of Fame, was Mariano’s first pitching coach. Unfortunately, Rivera could rarely understand anyone because he only spoke Spanish. Being away from home for the first time creates tension. In his instance, that uneasiness was compounded by unfamiliarity with the language in his new home. He made the time go faster by writing home to Clara and his family. As his mother Delia remembered years later, “At the time we didn’t have phones in this town, so he wrote us and told us how he was. I think it was hard on both of us.”25.

Rivera was stellar out of the bullpen with exemplary control. He could place his fastball anywhere in the strike zone with an average slider and changeup. He pitched exclusively from the bullpen in his first 21 games in the GCL and was five innings short of qualifying for the ERA title. Manager Sherlock petitioned the Yankees to allow Rivera to start the first game in the team’s season-ending doubleheader against Bradenton on August 31. It was his first professional start and he tossed a seven-inning no-hitter. Mariano won the GCL ERA title (0.17), allowing only one run in 52 innings pitched, but he was still not considered a top prospect.26

Rivera excelled as a swingman in Class A in Greensboro, North Carolina, during the 1991 season. He continued to learn English from teammate Tim Cooper, the squad’s third baseman, with whom he had first played in Tampa the year before.27 Manager Brian Butterfield swore Rivera was their best defensive outfielder after he saw Mariano shag fly balls during batting practice.28 He recorded 123 strikeouts and walked only 36 in 114 2/3 innings.

After the 1991 season, Mariano returned to Panama. He and Clara were married before a judge on November 6, 1991, and in a formal ceremony in front of friends and family three days later.29

The following spring, Rivera moved up to Class A+ in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He joined a starting rotation built around the number one overall draft pick of 1991, left-hander Brien Taylor. Rivera informed the organization of some elbow discomfort he’d been experiencing and was placed on the disabled list in July. Dr. Frank Jobe, a pioneer in orthopedic surgery, known for developing “Tommy John elbow surgery,” did not see a need to reconstruct Rivera’s ulnar collateral ligament. Instead, on August 27, Jobe cleaned up the joint, removing the bone fragments that were causing pain. 30 Rivera was left unprotected in the expansion draft after the season, but neither the Florida Marlins nor the Colorado Rockies drafted him.31

Rivera rehabbed his arm by playing long toss with Whitey Ford and Ron Guidry in the spring of 1993,32 He returned to Greensboro and began the season under a pitch count restraint. Limited to 10 appearances (all starts), he pitched just 39 1/3 innings, going 1-0 with an ERA of 2.06.

“I never saw him get mad. I never saw him sweat. When he pitched, it was like he was acting as if he were the only guy on the field. Even then you could see the easy mechanics and how the ball just exploded out of his hand. But more than anything, you could see Mariano had quiet confidence.”33 — 1993-1994 minor league teammate Mike DeJean.

During the offseason Rivera was protected on the Yankees’ 40-man roster, which included the other three main homegrown stars of the franchise’s next dynasty: Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, and Jorge Posada. In the 1994 season, he appeared in 22 games, each as a starter. Rivera logged 131 innings with an overall record of 10-2, ascending from Class A Tampa (3-0) through Class AA Albany-Colonie (3-0) to Class AAA Columbus (4-2). He began the 1995 season at Columbus.

After injuries cost the Yankees the services of pitchers Jimmy Key and Scott Kamieniecki for the 1995 season, Rivera got called up. He made his major-league debut as a starter on May 23, against the California Angels at Anaheim. He took the loss and a beating: five runs in 3⅓ innings. “Another shabby outing by another young pitcher,” wrote Jack Curry of the New York Times.34 But five days later in Oakland, Rivera earned his first major league victory, defeating future Yankee bullpen coach Mike Harkey.

Jeter and Rivera had played together on many levels of the Yankee farm system, and they were both were on temporary assignments with the Yankees in 1995. They were sent back to Class AAA on June 11. At the time, New York general manager Gene Michael was mulling a trade package with Detroit for lefty David Wells which included Rivera.35

On June 26, 1995, Rivera hurled a rain-shortened, five-inning no-hitter for Columbus against Rochester. His batterymate that day, Posada, said, “he kept pumping fastball after fastball, and they had no chance.” Future Oriole Gregg Zaun had faced Rivera before in the minors, but “then he added three to four miles per hour to his fastball, and everything changed. … he moved into the role he was born to be in.” 36 Gene Michael read the report of this game the next day in disbelief, but he soon received confirmation that Rivera’s fastball had suddenly soared to 96 mph. The phenomenon could not be explained; Rivera contends it was an act of God. He was now an asset who would not be traded. 37

Rivera returned to the Yankees in July and excelled at Chicago on July 4. He hurled eight innings, allowing only two hits and striking out 11 as the Yankees won 4-1. He had three more starts in July and ended the month with a 3-2 record. His first bullpen appearance was on August 1 at Milwaukee. He entered the game in the sixth inning with the Yankees ahead, 3-2, but by the time he left the game, the Brewers had a 5-4 lead. Fortune shined on Rivera as the Yankees regained the lead, and Rivera had his fourth win of the season, with Bob Wickman and John Wetteland wrapping up the mound chores. For the next five weeks Rivera moved back and forth between starting and relieving.

The Yankee brass believed that Rivera, with his wiry, 6-foot-2 frame, would be better suited to relief because his prior elbow problem might affect his endurance. Starter David Cone was acquired from Toronto on July 28, and Rivera’s move to the bullpen was made permanent on September 10. The Yankees won 11 of their final 12 regular season games to earn the first wild-card playoff spot in American League history — their first playoff berth in 14 years.

Rivera’s first postseason appearance was in Game Two of the 1995 American League Division Series against the Seattle Mariners. He entered the game with two outs and one on the top of the 12th inning. Yankee reliever John Wetteland had yielded a two-out homer to Ken Griffey Jr., giving the Mariners a 5-4 lead, and he left the game after Edgar Martinez singled. Rivera struck out the first batter he faced, Jay Buhner, and the Yankees retied the contest in the bottom of the inning. Rivera pitched 3 1/3 shutout innings and got his first postseason win when Jim Leyritz blasted a dramatic 15th-inning home run.

The Yankees eventually lost the heartbreaking series as Seattle came from behind to win the final three games. Yet as Mark Simon noted, the team “discovered a future star that could stand up to the most stressful situations.” 38 In the decisive fifth game. played at the Seattle Kingdome, Rivera fanned former Yankee Mike Blowers on three pitches with the bases loaded in the eighth to keep the game knotted. Rivera threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings in the ALDS, stranded all seven inherited runners, and whiffed eight.

Unsure about starting Jeter as a rookie in the spring of 1996, management was interested in a Seattle proposal to deal shortstop Felix Fermín for Rivera and Wickman. New Yankee skipper Joe Torre was concerned about Mariano’s flat fastball. Yankee executive Brian Cashman claimed the anticipation of the proposed trade was like “waiting for the papal smoke to appear.” The new Yankee GM, Bob Watson, read the reports on Rivera from Gene Michael, who also was a strong advocate of Jeter. Watson decided the pitcher was untouchable and rejected almost 20 offers.39

In 12 appearances which began on April 19 and extended through May 21, the Yankees went 10-2. Rivera pitched 25 scoreless innings, 13 of which were hitless. He struck out 24 batters and issued only four walks. He went 3-0 with four holds and two saves, including his first career save against California on May 17. His ERA, which was 3.52 at the beginning of the 12-game stretch, shrank to 0.83. Manager Torre had his setup man. In Rivera’s first save, he entered the game in the ninth inning with a three-run lead and held the Angels scoreless, securing the win for Andy Pettitte. Pettitte and Rivera would go on to set a major league record for career win-save combinations — 72. Baseball people took notice. Minnesota manager Tom Kelly said, “[Rivera] belongs in a higher league, if there is one. Ban him from baseball. He should be illegal.” 40

Torre described Rivera as the team’s “most indispensable” pitcher. He influenced outcomes several times a week because the Yankee starters didn’t have to pitch deep into games.41 When Rivera was used in tandem with closer John Wetteland, the Yankees were all but invincible Between them, the pair won 10 games and saved 48. All but one of Rivera’s 26 holds resulted in a save for Wetteland. Tim McCarver noted that “people were talking about a middle reliever who should have been on the All-Star team and who was a legitimate MVP candidate. It was unheard of.”42

The Yankees captured the American League East crown with a 92-70 record and went to the World Series for the first time since the split season of 1981. Rivera was a huge contributor. In 61 appearances, along with his league-best holds, he was 8-3 with 5 saves and a 2.09 ERA. He logged career highs in innings pitched (107 2/3), strikeouts per nine innings (11), and wins (8). He surrendered 73 hits, issued 34 walks, and yielded only one home run, He finished third in the American League Cy Young Award voting. Moreover, he surpassed Goose Gossage’s single-season strikeout record for Yankee relievers (122) by fanning 130. (This has since been surpassed by Dellin Betances in 2014 and 2015 with 135 and 131 K’s, respectively.) 43

The Yankees won the best-of-five Division Series against the Texas Rangers in four games and Rivera was dominant. In Game Two, he entered the game with one out in the seventh inning and the Yankees trailing 4-2. He retired the eight batters he faced, and the Yankees came from behind to tie the score. The game went into extra innings and the Yankees won in the 12th to even the series. In the Game Four clincher, Rivera was credited with the hold when he pitched two hitless and scoreless innings.

Game One of the American League Championship Series against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium went into extra innings. Rivera entered the game in the beginning of the 10th and recorded six outs. When Bernie Williams homered leading off the bottom of the 11th, the Yankees were on their way to winning the best-of-seven series in five games to advance to the World Series.

The Atlanta Braves easily won the first two games of the Series, played at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees then turned things around in Atlanta, sweeping three games on the Braves’ turf. Returning home, they made it four games in a row and became world champions for the first time since 1978. The Yankee bullpen was the difference. Working with World Series MVP Wetteland, David Weathers, Wickman, Jeff Nelson, and Graeme Lloyd, Rivera allowed only one earned run in 14 postseason innings. He never took the mound with more than a two-run lead in the seven playoff victories in which he pitched; in the World Series, he was credited with four holds.44

Wetteland departed through free agency in the winter. As the new closer in the 1997 season, Rivera blew three of his first six save chances. After Torre cautioned Mariano not to demand perfection, he reeled off 12 saves in as many opportunities. He collected his first All-Star save in his first All-Star appearance on July 8. He finished the regular season with a 1.88 ERA and 43 saves. 45

Rivera blew his first postseason save opportunity in Game Four of the 1997 ALDS at Cleveland when Sandy Alomar, Jr. tied the game with an opposite field home run. After Rivera left the game, Cleveland went on to win in extra innings. The Indians eliminated the Yankees by also winning the fifth game of the best-of-five series. In The Closer, Rivera said, “I have a strong mind, one that is not easily distracted or deterred or discouraged. I cannot bring Sandy Alomar’s ball back. I can’t change the outcome of the Division Series. But I do know that I hate the feeling that I have when I walk off the mound that night in Jacobs Field. And I’m going to do all I can to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”46 Rivera would not allow another postseason run for 23 games. He would toss 34 1/3 consecutive postseason scoreless innings to surpass the record of 33 2/3, previously set by Whitey Ford from 1960 through 1962.47

After Brian Cashman was appointed the Yankee GM, the team put together a phenomenal string of successes. They won three consecutive World Series (1998-2000) and nine consecutive American League East titles (1998-2006). The 1998 Yankees won 114 regular-season games, a franchise and American League record, which has since been broken. The bullpen had a sparkling 28-9 record. 48 The unsung heroes were the bridge to Rivera—Mendoza, Lloyd, Nelson, and Mike Stanton. Rivera overcame an early season groin injury, and from April 25 through May 13, he allowed no earned runs while saving seven games and winning one in eight appearances. During this stretch, he retired 26 of the 30 batters he faced, striking out eight and walking none. For the season, in 54 appearances, he stranded almost 90 percent of runners he inherited, was 3-0, had an ERA of 1.91, and was credited with 36 saves.

The 1998 postseason was a fitting conclusion to the Yankees’ season. After sweeping Texas in the 1998 ALDS, New York was matched up against Cleveland in the ALCS. The Yankees fell behind two games to one but stormed back to win the final three as Rivera redeemed himself from the prior year’s disappointment. After pitching two scoreless innings in a Game Two extra-inning loss, the closer got the last three outs in a Game Four 4-0 Yankee win. In the pivotal fifth game, with the Yankees leading 5-3, Rivera came on in the eighth inning with one out and runners at first and second. He threw a double-play ball to Cleveland’s Mark Whiten and pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his third save of the 1998 postseason. In the Game Six finale, Rivera wrapped things up with a scoreless ninth inning in a 9-5 win. 49

The Yankees swept the World Series from the Padres. Rivera registered saves in the first, third and fourth games, concluding a phenomenal 1998 postseason. In 10 appearances, he had allowed no runs in 13 1/3 innings and had recorded six saves. Leading off for the Padres in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game Four was Ruben Rivera, Mariano’s cousin. In 1990, after his first season in the minors, Mariano had tipped off the Yankees about his younger relative, and Ruben signed with New York in November 1990. He first came to the majors in 1995 and, after batting .284 in 46 games with the Yankees in 1996, was traded to the Padres. In his only career at-bat against Mariano, Ruben singled, but was quickly eliminated on a double play. One out later, the Yankees were the 1998 World Series Champions.

Rivera appeared in 66 games, had a 1.85 ERA, and led the majors with 45 saves in 1999. Posada remarked in his foreword to Mariano Rivera: Saving Grace that looking at his numbers from that season, you realized “how ridiculous this guy was going through people.”50 Rivera did not allow an earned run after July 21, during which time he appeared in 28 games, saving 20, losing none, and winning two, while holding opposition batters to a .136 batting average. In the World Series sweep over Atlanta, he earned the MVP Award by recording a win and two saves while pitching 4 2/3 scoreless innings. During the clinching game, Rivera broke Ryan Klesko’s bat three straight times during a single at-bat. He became the third pitcher ever and the first since Bob Kuzava in 1951-52 to record the final out in consecutive World Series. In 18 games of the 1998 and ’99 playoffs combined, nobody scored a run off Rivera.51

The Yankee closer had another stellar year in 2000. From July 8, 1999, to June 24, 2000, including the 1999 postseason, Rivera never allowed an inherited runner to score. He saved games against the Mets at Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium, on July 8, 2000. This was the first time that two major-league teams played games on the same day at different ballparks in 97 years. Rivera earned his third All-Star berth in 2000 and collected 36 saves for the season.

In the first Subway World Series since 1956, the Yankees disposed of the Mets in five games. The home run Rivera gave up to Jay Payton of the Mets in Game Two was the last he would yield in a postseason game. He denied the last 309 batters he faced. On the final play of the 2000 Series, when he got Mike Piazza to fly out to Bernie Williams in center field, Rivera became only pitcher to record the final out in three consecutive World Series. At the same time, he notched his seventh career World Series save to eclipse the record previously held by Rollie Fingers. Over the ensuing years, Rivera increased that mark to 11. 

Rivera arrived in the elite ranks of his profession in another way. Before the 2001 season, he signed his first career long-term contract: a four-year deal for $39.99 million. 52 He then proceeded to justify it by saving a league-leading 50 games in 2001, breaking the franchise record of 46 saves set by Dave Righetti in 1986. He also became the first Yankee reliever to collect three 40-plus saves in a season (1997, 1999, and 2001) — and he would go on to half a dozen more such years before he was done.

When Rivera struck out the side in the eighth inning of the final game of the 2001 World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, writer Scott Bordow described his signature cutter as “moving like a butterfly — if that butterfly travels 95 miles per hour.” 53. The Yankees, up by one, were 155-1 in franchise history when leading a postseason game after eight innings. In the bottom of the ninth, however, the slick-fielding Rivera gloved Damian Miller’s bunt but threw wide of the bag trying to force pinch-runner David Dellucci at second base. Tony Womack’s double then scored the tying run, followed by Luis Gonzalez’s game-winning single against a drawn-in infield. The Yankees’ streak of 11 consecutive postseason series won over a four-year stretch ended that Sunday night in the desert. Rivera suffered his first and only career postseason loss in 96 appearances. 54

Nonetheless, Rivera intended to move forward. He did, but haltingly at first. In 2002, he was “limited” to his lowest single-season save total since becoming closer, 28. He appeared in only 45 games, going on the disabled list three times.55 His first trip to the DL was prompted by a groin injury in June, and subsequent visits in July and August resulted from tightness in his shoulder.56

The Yankees successfully won playoff spots over the next two seasons; so did the Boston Red Sox, their bitter rivals. During the American League Championship Series in these seasons, Rivera experienced the highest of peaks and the lowest of valleys during two of the most riveting championship series in the history of America‘s national pastime.57

In the seventh game of the 2003 ALCS, Rivera put on the performance of a lifetime. With the score knotted at five after eight innings, manager Torre summoned his closer. Rivera pitched three shutout innings and in the 11th inning, struck out two of the three batters he faced. Would he come out to pitch the 12th inning? The matter proved moot as teammate Aaron Boone’s leadoff homer won the game and series for New York. As Boone circled the bases, an elated and exhausted Rivera bolted to the mound and collapsed there in the thrill of victory. After first-base coach Lee Mazzilli hoisted him from the mound, the team carried him off the field, leaving one of the most iconic images of his career. Rivera won the game and series MVP award and was sobbing as reporters reached him on the field.58

At the end of the 2004 season, tragedy struck the Rivera family. As the Yankees were completing their win over the Twins in the American League Division Series, Clara’s cousin Victor and his son Leo accidently drowned in the pool at Mariano’s house in Puerto Caimito. The Rivera family went to the funeral in Panama and returned just before the 2004 ALCS began.59 He recorded saves in the first two games of the series and wasn’t needed in Game Three, as the Yankees won easily. In Game Four, his team was leading the series 3-0 and up by a run in the ninth. The pennant was virtually in hand when Rivera took the Fenway Park mound for the save and a Yankee sweep. Kevin Millar coaxed a leadoff walk, and Rivera almost picked off pinch-runner Dave Roberts before he eventually stole second base. Bill Mueller followed with a game-tying single, and the Sox went on to win the game in 12 innings. Rivera blew his second save chance in as many nights by failing to close out the ALCS in Game Five, when he allowed an inherited runner to tie the score. Boston won the game, this time in 14 innings, and took the next two games. Advancing to the World Series, they proceeded to bury an 86-year-old curse.

After a career-high 53 saves and a 1.94 ERA in 2004, Rivera did not throw in the winter for the first time. He missed nine days of spring training with bursitis in his elbow. He began the 2005 season by blowing two save opportunities to Boston at Yankee Stadium, and the home fans booed. Despite the early setbacks, Rivera won seven of 11 decisions and saved 43 out of 47 chances with a 1.38 ERA.60

The remaining seasons of Rivera’s career were marked by the steady accumulation of relief pitching records. On June 6, 2006, he passed Dennis Eckersley for fourth place all-time in saves and six weeks later became the fourth major-league pitcher to reach 400 saves. The latter milestone was reached on July 16 against the White Sox. He finished the 2006 season with 34 saves in 37 opportunities and an ERA of 1.80—his fourth consecutive season below 2.00.

In 2007, Rivera had, by his standards, an off year. He saved just 30 games and his ERA expanded to 3.15. The Yankees once again advanced to the postseason but were eliminated by the Indians in the American League Division Series. Rivera was flawless in three appearances. In Game Two, he entered the game with the score tied in the ninth inning and pitched two scoreless innings. After he left the game, the Indians broke the tie and won, 2-1, to go up two games. He pitched a scoreless ninth in Game Three as the Yankees won their only game of the series, 8-4. In Game Four, he entered the game in the eighth inning with the Yankees trailing 6-4. He held Cleveland scoreless, but the Yankees were unable to mount a rally. Their season was over.

In November of 2007, the Yankees made Rivera the highest paid reliever in baseball history by signing him to a three-year, $45 million contract.61 Rivera pitched a personal high 15 consecutive scoreless innings at the beginning of the season during a 14-game stretch in which he recorded 10 saves. He converted 28 consecutive save opportunities between April 1 and August 7, another personal high. After that string was broken, he went on to convert another 11 opportunities in succession. On September 15 against the White Sox, he recorded his 479th save to surpass Lee Smith for second place on the all-time save list. 62 He converted 39 of 40 opportunities with an impeccable 1.40 ERA in one of his best seasons.

To paraphrase Mr. Longfellow, “’Twas the 18th of April” when Yankee Stadium opened in 1923. There were 74,200 fans there to witness the first Yankee win in their first championship season. The ballpark had gone through several renovations in its 86 years, but a majestic new ballpark was being constructed across the street. The House that Ruth Built would be vacated and demolished after the 2008 season. The last regularly scheduled game was held at the old Stadium, before 54,610 fans, on September 21. The Yankees’ prospects for returning to the postseason were not good and a win that day was needed to keep them breathing — barely. They took a 7-3 lead over Baltimore, and Rivera was called on to close the game and the ballpark. Three groundouts did the trick. The Yankees were eliminated from postseason contention the following day.63

Through 12 games of the 2009 season, Rivera had allowed the same number of home runs as he had the previous season, four. After seven appearances in which he recorded four saves and didn’t allow a run, he gave up homers in successive appearances on April 24 and April 29 at Boston and Detroit, respectively. Three games later, at Yankee Stadium on May 7, not only did Rivera yield two homers in a game against Tampa Bay, but the blasts by Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria came back-to-back. 64 Speculation arose about the 39-year old’s health since he had undergone offseason surgery on the acromioclavicular joint in his right shoulder. His cutter was clocked at 92 miles per hour, down from his norm of 96, but Rivera wasn’t worried. He was pitching in a new stadium that seemed to yield a disproportionately high number of home runs.65 He was able to get back on track; from June 7 through September 16, in 36 appearances, Rivera was flawless. 66 He was 28-0 in save opportunities, won three games, and didn’t lose any. In those games, the team went a perfect 36-0. He struck out 36 and walked only nine in 36 1/3 innings. His ERA during the stretch was 0.50 and opposing batters were held to a .130 batting average. The Yankees, under manager Joe Girardi, who had replaced Torre in 2008, won 103 regular season games en route to the AL East championship.

In a June 28 victory over the Mets in Queens, Rivera became the second player in history to earn 500 saves (Trevor Hoffman had reached the plateau on June 6, 2007). In the same game, he recorded his lone career RBI on a bases-loaded walk. That July in St. Louis, Rivera pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn a record fourth All-Star Game save.

The Yankees defeated Philadelphia on November 4, 2009, to claim the organization’s 27th World Series championship. On a makeshift podium in center field at Yankee Stadium, Rivera celebrated his fifth title. 67 He had been perfect in his five postseason save opportunities and yielded only one earned run in 16 innings—the only full-time closer who did not blow a save or lose a game in the 2009 postseason. After the previous playoff disappointments against Arizona and Boston, Rivera understandably reckoned this his favorite Series.68 It also marked a record fourth time he closed out the Fall Classic. On November 6, the ticker tape victory parade down the “Canyon of Heroes” in Manhattan marked the final one for “The Core Four”—Rivera, Jeter, Pettitte, and Posada. They had first played together at Columbus in 1994 and had won five rings together. Rivera went on to be named Pro Athlete of the Year by The Sporting News.

Rivera continued his supremacy at age 40 during the 2010 season, when he posted 33 saves with a 1.80 ERA. He notched his 42nd and final postseason save at Texas during Game One of the ALCS (which the Rangers won). He entered the game in the ninth inning after the Yankees had staged an improbable five-run rally to take a 6-5 lead. That offseason, Rivera signed a two-year, $30-million-dollar contract.69

The records continued to pile up. On May 25, 2011, Rivera pitched in his 1,000th game, the most by any pitcher with one team. On September 19 that year, against Minnesota, he recorded the 602nd save of his career, surpassing Hoffman for the all-time lead in that category. Panama’s President, Ricardo Martinelli, called Rivera to offer congratulations.70 By the end of that season, the 41-year-old had 44 saves, becoming the oldest pitcher to record 40 saves in one season.71

As the 2012 season began, Rivera and Jeter were entering their 18th season together as Yankees. They were closing in on the record for two teammates being together, set by the Detroit keystone combination of Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker. The following year, Rivera’s final season, they equaled the Tiger tandem — but it nearly didn’t happen.72 On May 2, 2012, during batting practice at Kauffman Stadium, Alex Rodriguez screamed, “Oh my God! Oh my God!” as Rivera, who was shagging fly balls, fell to the warning track in left field. he closer had torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), suffered meniscus damage in his right knee, and suffered a blood clot in his calf on top of the torn ACL. He would not return for the rest of the season, and his career was in jeopardy. 73

Rivera’s credo is that the Lord has a reason for everything, so after that terrifying evening in Kansas City, he chose to see a possible blessing in disguise when the blood clot was diagnosed. In less than two days, Yankee fans breathed a colossal sigh of relief when their indomitable closer announced he would pitch again.74 Once his recovery was complete, he and the Yankees agreed to a one-year contract, announced on November 29, worth $10 million.

Prior to his 24th spring training, Rivera formally announced that 2013 would be his last season. Teams around the majors paid tribute to him. In return, Rivera spent hours with selected groups of fans suffering disabilities and trauma and employees performing thankless jobs.75

In his final season, Rivera saved 44 games and went 6-2 with a 2.11 ERA.76 The last four outs he recorded in his career reduced his lifetime ERA to 2.209.

“It was tough. It was special. Seeing the fans sharing and both teams standing out of the dugout, managers, coaches, players — priceless.”77 — Mariano Rivera, July 16, 2013.

Rivera took center stage one more time at the 2013 All-Star Game at the Mets’ ballpark in Queens, Citi Field. At the beginning of the eighth inning, he entered to the sound of his long-running theme song, Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” Over the years, Rivera had acquired any number of nicknames, including “Mo” and “The Sandman.” As writer Will Levith noted, batters facing the cutter were “put right to bed.”78 During the 1998 World Series against the Yankees, San Diego’s Trevor Hoffman had been entering games with musical accompaniment, much to the delight of the spectators. In 1999, “Enter Sandman” was selected for Rivera.79

Rivera was the only man on the field. It was his moment. Players from both teams at the top steps of the dugout, along with fans in attendance gave Rivera a standing ovation. 80 Entering the game with a three-run lead, he tossed a scoreless inning in a game the American League went on to win. He became the only player be named MVP of a World Series (1999), League Championship Series (2003), and an All-Star Game (2013).

On September 18 at Toronto, with the tying and winning runs at second and third base, Rivera struck out J. P. Arencibia to collect the final save of his career. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared “Mariano Rivera Day” on September 22, 2013, and there was a pregame tribute for Rivera at Yankee Stadium. After Metallica performed a live rendition of “Enter Sandman,” Mariano became not just the only active Yankee to have his uniform number — 42 — officially retired, but the final player to wear Jackie Robinson’s universally retired number. The Rivera family and Rachel Robinson witnessed the ceremonies in Monument Park.81

The Yankees would finish the season on the road in Houston and would not be going to the postseason. It would have been wonderful for the New York fans to have seen Rivera’s last appearance at Yankee Stadium result in a save, but it was not meant to be. On September 26, against Tampa Bay, the Yankees fell behind 4-0, and with one out in the eighth inning, manager Girardi summoned his old teammate for the last time. Rivera retired the two batters he faced in the eighth and returned to the mound in the ninth inning with the Yankees still trailing. After he watched Yunel Escobar’s popup fall into the glove of Robinson Cano for the second out of the inning, Rivera turned around. Pettitte and Jeter had come to the mound to embrace him, and the crowd at the Stadium joined in spirit. As the most acclaimed relief pitcher departed for the final time, the tearful crowd of 48,675 repeatedly chanted “Ma-ree-ah-no!”82

Rivera struck out 1,173 opponents during regular season competition. He holds the all-time record for relief appearances by a Yankee with 1,105. He ranks fourth in major-league pitching appearances with 1,115, a record for right-handed pitchers. In seven World Series between 1996 and 2009, Rivera collected 11 saves and sported a 0.99 ERA. He recorded 42 saves in postseason play with an ERA of 0.70—both major league records. His 141 postseason innings are the equivalent of two seasons of work for a reliever. In postseason play, Rivera allowed only two homers, surrendered 21 walks (1.3 per nine innings), of which four were intentional, and struck out 110 batters (7.0 per nine innings).

Rivera’s 2.209 ERA at the 1,000-inning threshold ranks him 13th all-time. Of the 12 men ahead of him, only Walter Johnson pitched as recently as 90 years prior to Rivera’s last pitch. He pitched more than one full inning in 199 out of his 652 career saves to rank 11th in career “long saves.” 31 of his 42 postseason saves were long saves, putting him atop the list in this category as well.

Mariano and Clara reside in Westchester County, outside of New York City. In 2009 they founded the Iglesia Refugio de Esperanza (Refuge of Hope Church). Clara serves as the pastor. At first worship took place at one of the Riveras’ former homes, but in 2014 the congregation renovated and moved into a church building that formerly served as the home of the North Avenue Church in New Rochelle. The Riveras have raised three sons: Mariano III, Jafet, and Jaziel.83 Mariano III was drafted in the 29th round by the Yankees in the 2014 MLB draft, and in the fourth round by Washington in 2015. He signed with Washington and played parts of four seasons in their minor-league system before he decided to step away from baseball in May 2018.

Along with church involvement, Rivera is active in philanthropic causes for impoverished families in the United States and Panama. In 2018, he also was appointed to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition (PCSFN).

On January 22, 2019, Mariano Rivera was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first appearance on the ballot. Quite in keeping with his peerless career, and as the pitcher who forever defined the role as “closer,” he became the first member of the HOF to be elected unanimously. He received votes on all 425 ballots cast by members of the BBWAA.

This biography was brought to you by another number: 27. “You got to get 27 outs to win.” As Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant repeated this oft-quoted line, he reminded his readers that “no one has gotten the last out as often, as reliably, or with such matter-of-course efficiency as Mariano Rivera.”84 Four times, the last out came in the World Series, the last time on November 4, 2009 — the Yankees’ 27th World Championship.

And the final words go the man whose identity has been and will always be “The Closer.”

“I am a simple man who measures his impact by being a humble servant of the Lord and trying to do my best to treat people — and play the game — in the right way.”85 — Mariano Rivera, 2014.

Last revised: July 11, 2019

Acknowledgments

Preliminary research and identification of sources was done by Neal Poloncarz. This biography was reviewed by Warren Corbett, fact-checked by Kevin Larkin, and edited by Rory Costello.

Sources

In addition to the sources shown in the notes, the author used Baseball-Reference.com and the following books.

Florea, Jesse with Mike Yorkey. Playing with Purpose: Mariano Rivera, The Closer Who Got Saved, (Uhrichsville, Ohio, Barbour Publishing, 2013)

Jaffe, Jay. The Cooperstown Casebook: Who’s in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Who Should Be In, and Who Should Pack Their Plaques, (New York, St. Martin’s Press, 2017)

King, George. Unbeatable: The Historic Season of the 1998 World Champion New York Yankees (New York: Harper-Collins, 1998)

Rosen, Charley. Bullpen Diaries: Mariano Rivera, Bronx Dreams, Pinstripe Legends, and the Future of the New York Yankees (New York: Harper-Collins, 2011)

Notes

1 Alfred Santasiere III, “Enter Sandman,” Yankees Magazine, The New York Yankees, Vol. 28-3, May 2007, 36.

2 Nathan Maciborski, “Head of the Class,” Yankees Magazine, February 5, 2019.

3 Wayne Coffey and Mariano Rivera, The Closer (New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 2014), 88-89.

4 Ibid.

5 Tom Verducci, “Mariano Saves,” Sports Illustrated, October 5, 2009, https://bit.ly/2KCQNe1.

6 James Traub, “Mariano Rivera, King of the Closers,” New York Times Magazine, June 29, 2010, https://nyti.ms/2P87IWq;

7 Christian Red, “Modern Yankee Heroes. Yankees’ Humble Hero,” New York Daily News, March 14, 2010, https://nydn.us/2r7xZux; .

8 Scott Miller, “Mariano Rivera: Birth of the Cutter was ‘Gift from God’ (Part 4 of 5),” CBS Sports, July 14, 2013, http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mariano-rivera-birth-of-the-cutter-was-gift-from-god-part-4-of-5/

9 Michiko Kakutani, “Mariano Rivera: A Zen Master With a Mean Cutter,” New York Times, September 28, 2013. https://search.proquest.com/nytimes/docview/1728300472/BE8C777347C24A53PQ/1?accountid=46995

10 Marty Appel, Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss (New York: Bloomsbury USA, 2012), 501; .

11 A.J. Hermann, “Mariano Rivera Becomes All-Time MLB Saves Leader with 602nd Career Save Today in 2011,” YES Network, September 19, 2015 https://bit.ly/2SjWWhX,;

12 Appel, Pinstripe Empire, 501.

13 John Lott, “For Blue Jays’ Coach Sal Fasano, Catching Mariano Rivera was ‘an Absolute Pleasure’,” National Post, September 19, 2013, http://bit.ly/2OOmsuG;

14 Joe Smith, “Fame Hasn’t Changed Yankees’ Mariano Rivera,” The Tampa Bay Times, August 22, 2013, https://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/fame-hasnt-changed-yankees-mariano-rivera/2137811

15 Traub, “Mariano Rivera, King of the Closers”

16 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 15.

17 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 3.

18 Associated Press, “Tragedy at Sea Put Mariano Rivera on Path to Hall of Fame,” New York Post, September 20, 2013, https://nyp.st/2r9loXO.

19 Coffey & Rivera, The Closer, 31-32.

20 Jack Curry, “Scout Saw Effortless Ability in Rivera.” New York Times, July 5, 2009,

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/06/sports/baseball/06scout.html,.

21 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 34;

22 Curry, “Scout Saw Effortless Ability in Rivera”

23 Joel Sherman, Birth of a Dynasty: Behind the Pinstripes with the 1996 Yankees, (New York: Rodale Books, 2006), 5.

24 Judith Levin, Baseball Superstars: Mariano Rivera, (New York: Chelsea House, 2008), 20.

25 Jon M. Fishman, Mariano Rivera, (Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 2014), 13.

26 Phil Pepe, Core Four: The Heart and Soul of the Yankees Dynasty (New York: Triumph Books 2014), 4.

27 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 44

28 Sherman, Birth of a Dynasty, 18.

29 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 53

30 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 58-61

31 Joel Sherman, “Yankees Closer Rivera Took Unbelievable Journey.” New York Post. April 2, 2012, https://nyp.st/2BAEagG,

32 Sherman, Birth of a Dynasty, 18.

33 Ibid.

34 Jack Curry, “Last-Place Yankees are Playing That Way,” New York Times, June 7, 1995, https://nyti.ms/2KH8Sr9,

35 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 70-72.

36 Sherman, Birth of a Dynasty, 18-19

37 Dave D’Alessandro, “Gene Michael, the Yankees GM who Pondered Trading Mariano Rivera, Recalls the Early Days of an Iffy Prospect,” Newark Star-Ledger, September 22, 2013; https://www.nj.com/yankees/2013/09/gene_michael_the_yankees_gm_who_pondered_trading_mariano_rivera_recalls_the_early_days_of_an_iffy_pr.html .

38 Mark Simon, The Yankees Index, Every Number Tells a Story, (Chicago: Triumph Books, 2016), 66.

39 Nick Eaton, “Report: Seattle Mariners Almost Got Mariano Rivera in 1996,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 15, 2013 https://bit.ly/2SeOQHa; .

40 Corcoran, “42 Things You Need to Know about Mariano Rivera.”.

41 John Harper and Bob Klapisch, Champions! The Saga of the 1996 New York Yankees, (New York: Villard, 1996), 110  

42 Tim McCarver (with Danny Peary), Tim McCarver’s Baseball for Brain Surgeons and Other Fans, (New York, Random House, 1998), 137

43 Bryan Hoch, “Betances Breaks Mo’s Single-Season K’s Mark by Reliever,” MLB.com, September 18, 2014, https://atmlb.com/2QkJfSy.

44 Alfred Santasiere III, “Yankee’s Magazine: Enter Sandman,” MLB.com, August 12, 2016, https://www.mlb.com/news/mariano-rivera-dominates-in-bullpen-debut-1996/c-194939376.           

45 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 86-87.

46 Ibid., 92-93.

47 Corcoran, “42 Things You Need to Know About Mariano Rivera.”

48 Joe Torre and Tom Verducci, The Yankee Years, (New York: First Anchor Books, 2010), 64; .

49 AJ Cassavell, “Mo Put Past Behind Him in Clinching ’98 ALCS,” MLB.com, August 29, 2013, https://atmlb.com/2E0IJDs

50 New York Post, Mariano Rivera: Saving Grace (Chicago, Triumph Books, 2013), 6.

51 AJ Cassavell, “Mo Locked Down ’99 Series MVP with Game 4 Outing,” MLB.com; August 31, 2013. https://atmlb.com/2E4v9yQ

52 Buster Olney, “Yanks and Rivera Agree on $39.99 Million Deal,” New York Times, February 17, 2001, , https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/17/sports/baseball-yanks-and-rivera-agree-on-39.99-million-deal.html

53 Scott Bordow, “New York Yankees Closer Mariano Rivera Forever Tied to Arizona Diamondbacks Title,” azcentral. March 8, 2013, http://bit.ly/2LsuR80;

54 Torre and Verducci, The Yankee Years, 157-162.

55 Appel, Pinstripe Empire, 523.

56 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 156.

57 Christian Red, “Modern Yankee Heroes: From Humble Beginnings, Mariano Rivera Becomes Greatest Closer in MLB history”; New York Daily News; March 13, 2010;, https://nydn.us/2uS13az.

58 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 166-167.

59 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 171-173.  

60 Tyler Kepner, “Fellow Pitchers Feel Rivera’s Red Sox Pain,” New York Times, April 8, 2005.https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/08/sports/baseball/fellow-pitchers-feel-riveras-red-sox-pain.html

61 Mark Feinsand; “Mariano Rivera Takes a 3-year Deal for $4 million from the Yankees,” New York Daily News November 20, 2007,, https://nydn.us/2uA3AXW;

62 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 183;.

63 Associated Press, “For Final Game at Yankee Stadium, Yanks Win to Prevent Playoff Elimination,” ESPN; September 22, 2008 http://www.espn.com/mlb/recap/_/id/280921110

64 Tyler Kepner, “Rare Collapse by Rivera Sends Yankees to Fifth Straight Loss,” New York Times, May 7, 2009; https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/08/sports/baseball/08yankees.html

65 Appel, Pinstripe Empire, 565-566.

66 Lou Hernandez, Baseball’s Great Hispanic Pitchers: Seventeen Aces from the Major, Negro and Latin American Leagues (Jefferson, North Carolina, McFarland, 2014), 255.

67 Jack Curry, “Rivera Nearing 40, Wants to Play Five More Seasons,” New York Times, November 5, 2009. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/sports/baseball/06yankees.html

68 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 217.

69 Michael S. Schmidt, “Rivera and Yanks Near Two-Year Deal,” New York Times, December 3, 2010, https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/sports/baseball/03rivera.html.

70 Anthony McCarron and Kristie Ackert; “Mariano Rivera Proud of Saves Milestone but has Already Moved on with Focus on Yankees Playoff Hopes,” New York Daily News, September 21, 2011, https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/mariano-rivera-proud-saves-milestone-moved-focus-yankees-playoff-hopes-article-1.956444

71 Paul Casella, “Mo’s 40th Save in 2011 One for the Ages,” MLB.com, September 24, 2015. https://atmlb.com/2R3PWIY;

72 Wendy Thurn, “The End of an Era in the Bronx,” September 17, 2011 https://www.sbnation.com/2011/9/17/2427465/jeter-posada-rivera-end-of-an-era-yankees.

73 Bill Madden, “Yankees’ Mariano Rivera Grateful He Is the One Being Saved This Time as Blood Clot is Discovered,” New York Daily News, May 10, 2012 ;

74 Wallace Matthews, “Mariano Rivera Says He’ll be Back,” ESPN; May 4, 2012; https://es.pn/2M1ayQw;

75 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 244-248; .

76 Jayson Stark, “Mariano Rivera: A 21-stat salute,” ESPN, September 25, 2013.

77 Mike Fitzpatrick, “Mariano Rivera Enters Early, Helps American League Win All-Star Game,” Kansas City Star, July 16, 2013, https://bit.ly/2UY42dZ,

78 Will Levith,”Mariano Rivera’s ‘Enter Sandman’ and the History of the Baseball Walk-up Song,” InsideHook.com, May 23, 2017. https://www.insidehook.com/article/sports/exit-light-enter-game-enter-sandman-history-baseball-walk-song

79 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 106-107.

80 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 249-250.

81 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 257.

82 Ronald Blum, “Mariano Rivera Removed By Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte In Final Appearance at Yankee Stadium,” Huffington Post, November 26, 2013, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/26/mariano-rivera-cries-pettitte-jeter-video_n_3999748.html

83 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 261-264

84 Dom Amore. “The Master of the Final Out: Yankees’ Closer, Nearing His Final Game, Preaches and Practices ‘Mental Toughness’,” Hartford Courant, September 22, 2013: E-3.

85 Coffey and Rivera, The Closer, 219.