Photo credit: @MH_Investment
By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez
Ted Williams, also known as Teddy Ballgame, is the last man to hit .400 over a full season. In 1941, Williams, as a member of the Boston Red Sox, played 143 games (the season was a total of 154 games) with an average .406, drove-in 120 runs, received 147 bases on balls and struck out just 27 times. By any measure, that was one of the greatest seasons for anybody in the history of the game. The Hall of Famer played his entire 19-year career with Boston. Many agree he was the best pure hitter ever.
Williams was born in San Diego, California. His mother was Maria Hernandez-Benzor, born in Ciudad Juarez — near El Paso,Texas. The El Paso–Juárez region is the largest bilingual, bi-national work force in the Western Hemisphere.
The Hispanic Baseball Museum is the only museum of its kind in the country. It was established in San Francisco, California in June 1999, as a nonprofit institution 501(c)(3). This Museum is dedicated to recognizing the contributions made to baseball by its Hispanic players. Ted Williams is in The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Hall of Fame — not only because he was a great player, but also because his mother was born in Mexico. When the museum first reported this, many ignored this fact, but when Williams played, this country was not really looking at people’s heritage. Williams was a very private man who dedicated himself to the game with a stellar career. In the 1940’s, US demographics were not what they are today — the amount of Hispanic-American players was just a handful unlike today’s 35%.
Some players still do not want to admit their heritage. For example, Reggie Jackson, whose full name is Reginaldo Martinez Jackson. He of Puerto Rican descent. He is also in Cooperstown and speaks a little Spanish. I have spoken to him on many occasions, like, say, when he played and after he retired. Some people do not feel comfortable admitting their heritage, but in today’s world, things have changed, and if you asked them directly, most players will not hesitate to tell you about how proud they feel of their lineage.
Decades ago, some players were shy, like the first Puerto Rican Ruben Gomez to pitch in a World Series. Gomez was with the New York Giants, who won Game 3 against the Cleveland Indians. Considering that, Jackie Robinson was the first to break the color barrier in 1947. Many Latin players, even those who are fair-skinned, were conscious that there was so much discrimination perpetuated on them. The media even made fun of how they spoke English. It was a tough environment for many of them. The great Roberto Clemente was often misquoted and he did not like it. Orestes “Minnie” Minoso, who was born in Cuba and dark-skinned, told me that he never complained, but lived and played during those very difficult times. Also, Orlando Cepeda told me it was very difficult and said: “During those days,the white player was #1, the black player was #2 and the Latino player was #3 in baseball.”
But those years are now in the past. It is a part of history, and even though some people do not want to talk about it, it happened and no country can erase its history. For Ted Williams, it was a totally different situation. Although he was of Hispanic heritage, he was also white, and one of the best players of his generation — a mega star. As a matter of fact, many who played with or against Williams during those years did not know about his heritage. They would have been very surprised if they learned Ted Williams’ mother was Mexican.
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