Luis Márquez

Luis Ángel "Canena" Márquez Sánchez (October 28, 1925 – March 1, 1988) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player. He was the third Puerto Rican to play in Major League Baseball (after Hiram Bithorn and Luis Olmo).[1] Márquez played in a total of 68 games in the major leagues, split in two seasons between the Boston Braves, the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates. His final game was on July 11, 1954.

Luis Márquez
Outfielder
Born: (1925-10-28)October 28, 1925
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Died: March 1, 1988(1988-03-01) (aged 62)
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Professional debut
NgL: 1945, for the New York Black Yankees
MLB: April 18, 1951, for the Boston Braves
Last MLB appearance
July 11, 1954, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
Batting average.182
Home runs0
Runs batted in11
Teams
Negro leagues

Major League Baseball

Career highlights and awards
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Márquez and the second or maternal family name is Sánchez.

Background

Márquez played in the Negro leagues with the New York Black Yankees, Baltimore Elite Giants and Homestead Grays. In 1949 he became the first black player to sign with the New York Yankees.[2] He played for 20 seasons in Puerto Rico's winter league. In a history of Puerto Rican baseball, Thomas Van Hyning described Márquz as "a complete ballplayer who could hit, run, throw, play good defense and provide power when needed."[3] He is the all-time leader in hits at the PRWL, with 1,206, runs (768) and doubles (235).[4]

Statue at Luis A. Canena Marquez Stadium in Aguadilla

Márquez played 14 seasons in the minor leagues. He played for the Portland Beavers in the Pacific Coast League and for the Milwaukee Brewers, the Toledo Sox, and the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers in the American Association.[5]

Márquez was involved in baseball throughout his life as a player, coach, trainer, and Little League coach. The municipal baseball stadium in Aguadilla, Estadio Luis A. Canena Márquez, is named for him.[6]

Márquez was murdered in Puerto Rico, as he was shot during a domestic dispute.[7]

See also

References
  1. Bjarkman (2005), p. 253.
  2. "Yank Farm Buys Negro Slugger". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 3 February 1949. p. 10. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  3. Van Hyning (1995), p. 119.
  4. Bjarkman (2005), p. 234; McNeil (2012), p. 214.
  5. "Luis Marquez Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  6. "Estadio Canena Márquez". XXI Central American and Caribbean Games Mayagüez 2010 Organizational Committee, Inc. Archived from the original on July 20, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. Riley (2002), p. 513.

Bibliography
  • Bjarkman, Peter C. (2005). Diamonds Around the Globe: The Encyclopedia of International Baseball. Greenwood Publishing Group.
  • McNeil, William F. (2012), Black Baseball Out of Season: Pay for Play Outside of the Negro Leagues, McFarland, ISBN 978-0-7864-6924-6
  • Riley, James A. (2002), The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, New York: Carroll & Graf, ISBN 0-7867-0959-6
  • Van Hyning, Thomas E. (1995), Puerto Rico's Winter League: A History of Major League Baseball's Launching Pad, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, ISBN 0-7864-1970-9
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