Few people can say they saw Joshua Gibson, Johnny Bench, and Ivan Rodriguez play. One of those lucky ones is Freddie Thon Jr. A family member with solid roots in Puerto Rican baseball, his father, of the same name, was a prominent pitcher and ranger with the San Juan Senators. He also managed the championship …
Freddie Thon Jr. saw Joshua Gibson, Johnny Bench and Iván Rodríguez! Read More »
On December 16, 2020, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred announced that seven Organized Negro Leagues active between 1920 and 1948 constituted Major League Baseball. These seven new major leagues joined the six established in 1968 by the Special Committee on Baseball Records, bringing the total to thirteen. José “Gacho” Torres Puerto Rican baseball history changed because …
Part II concluded with Quincy Trouppe managing the 1956-57 Ponce Lions in Puerto Rico. Part III transitions to Trouppe and Joshua Gibson playing in Venezuela and Mexico. Gibson, his 1939-40 Santurce teammate Billy Byrd and Aguadilla pitcher-OF Leon Day traveled from Puerto Rico to Venezuela in early April 1940. They missed the final doubleheader of …
Joshua Gibson and Quincy Trouppe in Venezuela and Mexico: Part III Read More »
Part I concluded with Quincy Trouppe as catcher/manager for the 1947-48 Caguas Criollos, Puerto Rico Winter League (PRWL) champs. Part II highlights exploits by Gibson and Trouppe in Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Coincidentally, Gibson was born in Buena Vista, Georgia, December 21, 1911; Trouppe’s birthplace was Dublin, Georgia, one year later—December 25, …
Joshua Gibson and Quincy Trouppe in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico: Part II Read More »
Joshua Gibson managed and caught for the 1939-40 Santurce Crabbers, in Puerto Rico’s Winter League (PRWL). Quincy Trouppe did likewise for the 1947-48 Caguas Criollos, PRWL champs. Robert Clarke managed the 1945-46 San Juan Senators, as a catcher. Johnny Hayes performed catcher/manager double duty for the 1941-42 Aguadilla Sharks. Part I focuses on these talented …
Joshua Gibson, Quincy Trouppe, other catcher-managers in Puerto Rico/Caribbean: Part I Read More »
Eighty years ago today(March 8th, 1942), the Ponce Leones baseball team won their first Championship in the Puerto Rican Professional League Baseball history. OTD team #Ponce won their first baseball championship in 1942. The season was divided in two rounds, the winners of each half would face each other for the championship, Ponce won both …
Ten Negro League players were part of Ponce’s first baseball championship in Puerto Rico Read More »
Fernando Diaz Pedroso, big leaguer as of December 16, 2020, when his 1945-1947 seasons with the New York Cubans achieved MLB status, hit his most famous homer for the 1946-47 Ponce Lions, versus the New York Yankees’ Joe Page, on February 24, 1947, in a San Juan, Puerto Rico spring training game. Pedroso contributed to …
Fernando Diaz Pedroso, a big leaguer as of December 16, 2020, when his 1945-1947 seasons with the New York Cubans achieved MLB status, hit his most famous home run for the 1946-47 Ponce Lions, versus Joe Page of the New York Yankees, on February 24, 1947, in a San Juan, Puerto Rico spring training game. …
Fernando Díaz Pedroso: Águilas Cibaeñas, 1952 Dominican Summer League (Part III) Read More »
Part I highlighted Pedroso’s February 24, 1947 home run for the Ponce Lions, versus Joe Page of the New York Yankees, in a San Juan, Puerto Rico spring training game. Part II’s emphasis is Pedroso’s 1947 season for the New York Cubans, who bested the Cleveland Buckeyes in the Negro League World Series, along with …
Fernando Díaz Pedroso: New York Cubans and Caribbean Series Heroics (Part II) Read More »
Fernando Diaz Pedroso became a big leaguer on December 16, 2020, when his 1945-1947 seasons with the New York Cubans achieved MLB status due to the official position taken by Commissioner Rob Manfred. This decision positively affected players in seven Negro Leagues from 1920-to 1948. So, who was Pedroso, and what were some of his …
Fernando Díaz Pedroso: February 24, 1947, Homerun versus New York Yankees (Part I) Read More »
