Born: October 28, 1925 in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Died: March 1, 1988 in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Position: Of/Inf
Bats: Right Throws: Right
HT: 5-10 WT: 174 lb.
Rookie of the Year (1944-45)…Won batting title and MVP…led the league in hits 1952-53 (88) and 1953-54 (94)…first in doubles 946-47 (27) and 1957-58 (15)…leader in triples in 1945-46 (10) and 1949-50 (10), home runs 1946-47 (14), runs in 1946-47 (69), 1953-54 (51) y 1956-57 (56), and stolen bases in 1947-48 (20), 1948-49 (29) y 1953-54 (32)…one of five to win Rookie of the Year and MVP…only player with 10 triples in a season twice… the first player to bat 1000 hits (10/18/58 vs. Santurce)…one of two players with 20 doubles and 20 stolen bases in a season (the other one is Alex Díaz). Lifetime he is first in hits (1,206), doubles (235), runs (768) and total bases (1,864); second in triples (66), stolen bases (217) and runs batted in (500); and seventh in home runs (97)…first black player signed by the New York Yankees (1949) and first black Puerto Rican in the with the Boston Braves in 1951…named to the Puerto Rico Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991…in 2014 he was selected as one of the best 75 players of the Puerto Rico Professional League.
Photo coloration: Joe Torres
