At 100, Cuban All-Star Marrero to get his pension at last
From Nick Miroff at NPR.org on March 23, 2012:
The oldest living former major league baseball player doesn’t live in the United States, but in Cuba.
His name is Conrado Marrero, but he was Connie Marrero when he pitched for the Washington Senators in the early 1950s. Today Marrero is blind and unable to walk, and next month he’ll be 101 years old.
The man who once struck out Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle lives in a small, modest apartment in Havana with the family of his grandson, who is also his caretaker.
Marrero wears dark sunglasses and a red jersey and cap with the logo of the Cuban national baseball team.
<snip>
Those five seasons in Washington didn’t make a lot of money for Marrero, and he never received a pension from Major League Baseball.
A new assistance program from the baseball players union has made him eligible for a $10,000 annual payment. The money has been held up by the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. But his grandson said the issue is finally being resolved.
Read the full article here: http://www.npr.org/2012/03/23/149080927/at-100-cuban-all-star-to-get-a-pension-at-last
Related link: View SABR.org’s coverage of Marrero’s 100th birthday celebration in 2011
Originally published: March 26, 2012. Last Updated: March 26, 2012.