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Baseball in Puerto Rico

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The game was introduced to the island in the late 19th century and the first two clubs were founded in 1897, before the Spanish–American War. The sport was initially ridiculed as unmanly. However, when local Puerto Rican teams began to defeat more experienced American teams, the sport caught on.

As of 2016, over 100 Major League Baseball players were active in the Puerto Rico Baseball League.

Famous baseball players from Puerto Rico include Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Alomar, Iván Rodríguez and Edgar Martinez; as well as Jose "Cheo" Cruz; Juan González; Victor Pellot; Francisco Lindor; Yadier Molina; and Bernie Williams.

Early history

Baseball was introduced to the island in the late 19th Century, by a military captain named Cabán and his family. At first the sport was mocked by the farmers, tobacco workers and sugarcane cutters of the island, who considered it an effete, unmanly game.

The first two baseball clubs were founded in 1897: the Almendares Baseball Club owned by Francisco Alamo Armas, and the Borinquen Baseball Club owned by Santos Filippi. According to El País newspaper, the first organized baseball game was played on January 11, 1898, at the old velodrome in Santurce, San Juan. The Borinquen (mostly composed by locals) beat the Almendares (mostly composed by Cubans) by a score of 3 to 0. The first game to go a complete nine innings was played on January 30, 1898, when the Borinquen beat the Almendares again, by a score of 9 to 3. During this time, there was no known organization in charge of registering or sanctioning the games, with only some appearing in newspapers.

Later that same year, Puerto Rico became an American territory when the United States defeated Spain in the Spanish–American War. the influx of people from the United States combined with an increase of locals attending universities abroad, leading an increase in both the practice and the instruction of the sport. By way of recreation, the American soldiers stationed in Puerto Rico were permitted to organize a baseball club to play against the local Puerto Rican clubs. Classic teams like Almendares, joined novel teams like Habana and faced teams from San Cristóbal or El Morro (which also hosted the games). On November 4, 1900, the Almendares Baseball Club trounced the American Baseball Club of the Second Regiment of Infantry, by a score of 32 to 18.

The first formal league was organized in July 1901 and combined businesses and government agencies as components. Games were held at San Juan, in Puerta de Tierra, General Elliot's Place and in terrains near railroads. As it became more popular, new teams emerged and a makeshift park was created at Puerta de Tierra, where teams like Tesorería, Interior and Red D played. Millón and Unión were independent, Bancroft, Monengohela, Don Juan de Austria, Company I and Marines were military, High School and Lincoln were schools. At Ponce, Esparta (military) and Eléctricos (civilians) played. By 1908, it had become the most popular sport and was practiced by children. Later, a dispute over playing Sundays lead to the birth of the Porto Rico Baseball Association, which played throughout the weekend. Inter-municipal games were played with train transportation for both fans and players. On January 1, 1902, the Independientes and the Curiosities played their first game at San Juan.

On April 13, 1902, a night game was played under improvised torch lighting. The first university team was born the following year. With the onset of a new decade, Fridays became the day where school teams played, with Ponce High (Ponce) and Central High (Santurce) headlining. The School and Service League emerged to sanction these games. The municipalities of Ponce and San Juan were the dominant regions as military traffic was frequent in this route leading to the creations of amateur teams, but the sport was practiced throughout Puerto Rico. Team Ponce had Paquito Montaner among its members. The central region with a combination of tobacco plantations and a nascent military presence had Savarona in Caguas and Cayey had Plata. Chillo Ansuátegui and Santiagito Michelena in 1902, Mayagüez also swathe creation of the Pope Hartford in 1905 and other teams like Porto Rican Express, Yagüez, Pitirre and Hilton also emerged in the region. Cardenales de Mayagüez, POPE, Fisk, Army and Leones de Ponce were created during the 1910s.

Beginning in 1913, the government brought a team named All-Americans, which was a selection of American players. Three years later, the Linares Cuban Stars were brought from Cuba. With the emergence of the Negro Leagues, teams like the Brooklyn Royal Giants, Cuban Stars and Havana Stars played in the island. Other visitors included the Lincoln Giants and the Estrellas Dominicanas. The first female team in Puerto Rico was organized by professors in 1913, who defeated their male counterparts 6–5. Felipe Rodríguez and Antonio Luciano began bringing foreign teams, while Collectiva and Trolley gained local prominence. In 1916, Martín Gaudier took Team Ponce to a tour in the Dominican Republic. Two years later, the Borinquen Stars toured Venezuela.

During the 1920s, Porto Rico Sports was led by Cosme Beitía, José Torres, Pedro Faberllé and Francisco Faberllé. The amateur league was formally established and began competition. Teams from Puerto Rico, such as the San Juan Baseball Club and the Porto Rican Stars, would travel to New York City to play against some of the professional American teams. In 1925, pitcher and third baseman Agustín Daviú was the first Puerto Rican to play in the American system, competing for Allentown in Triple-A. William Guzmán y García became the first Puerto Rican to have a Major League Baseball (MLB) tryout, but ultimately choose to pursue a career in law. In 1936, the Cincinnati Reds trained in at Parque Sixto Escobar, where they faced several amateur teams including the San Juan Giants, Guayama Stars, Wrigley and the White Stars.

On October 8, 1938, president Teófilo Maldonado joined Enrique Huyke and Carlos García in founding the Semiprofessional League, featuring teams from Caguas, San Juan Ponce, Mayagüez, Humacao and the inaugural champion Guayama, which went on to win the Semiprofessional World Series over the Duncan Cementers. There was no racial segregation in the league and reinforcements of all races were brought in from other Latin American leagues, the minors and the Negro Leagues. Willard Brown and Satchel Paige were prominent among them. Gustama's shortstop Pedro Cepeda emerged as the first local superstar, batting .465 during the first year and winning two consecutive batting titles and becoming the first player to bat over .400 in two different positions following his move to first base. While Guayama won the title, Hiram Bithorn became the youngest coach in the league while managing San Juan at the age of 22. In 1939, the Liga de Futuras Estrellas de Puerto Rico was created for children, though it was interrupted by World War II.

Due to being white and speaking English, Bithorn and Olmos were able to circunvent the racial segregation prevalent in American baseball during the 1940s. However, the latter commented that he still experienced some discrimination for being Latin American. Niño Escalera was the first black player in the Cincinnati Reds. Despite the color barrier being broken, Latino and black players were still forced to eat in other rooms during the 1950s. For Puerto Ricans, this proved particularly puzzling given the absence of a color barrier in Puerto Rico, with players like Vic Power facing discrimination due to both race and origin. Consequently, they created collaboration ties between players. Roberto Clemente protested that blacks and Latinos were forced to stay in the bus while whites ate, managing to convince the Phillies to acquire a second vehicle so they could eat without delay.

In 1999, Pedro Cepeda was named the best shortstop of the 20th Century, while his son Orlando did the same at first base.

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