Andrés Fleitas

Andrés Fleitas [flei'-tasz] (November 8, 1916 – December 18, 2011) was a Cuban professional baseball catcher and first baseman. Listed at 5' 11", 175 lb., he batted and threw right handed.

Born in Las Villas Province, Fleitas came from a baseball family, as his older brother, Ángel Fleitas, played briefly for the Washington Senators of the American League. Despite never reaching the Major Leagues as his brother did, Fleitas enjoyed a solid career in the Cuban Winter League and Minor League Baseball. A member of the Cuban national team and two-time Most Valuable Player, he had several .300 seasons, and holds the distinction of being the only catcher ever to have caught a no-hitter in Caribbean Series history.

Early career Prior to his professional career in Cuba, Fleitas was a member of the Cuban National team that won two Amateur World Series in 1939 and 1942, earning MVP honors in the latter victory, after batting a top average of .405. He joined the Alacranes de Almendares during the 1942–43 campaign and stayed with them nine and a half seasons (1951-52[start]) before joining the Tigres de Marianao (1951-52[end]), Leones de la Habana (1952–53, 1953–54) and Elefantes de Cienfuegos (1954–55).

Mexican League After playing two seasons with the Giants, Fleitas was well on the path to the major leagues with the Senators before receiving an offer to play in the Mexican League. By that time, the multi-millionaire Jorge Pasquel had begun to raid American professional baseball for some of its talent. Pasquel and his four brothers spent around fifty million dollars to build the Mexican circuit, offering big leaguers and minor leaguers larger salaries, unique gifts, and various incentives to play baseball in the newly created league.

Fleitas spent three seasons with Monterrey, batting over a .300 average each year (.304/.342/.385). While the significant increase in salary allowed him to purchase a home in Santa Fe,

The next two seasons Fleitas posted averages of .236 and .188 respectively, while Almendares won easily the 1948–49 title. As the league champions, the team represented Cuba in the inaugural Caribbean Series played in Havana in 1949. He went 1 for 5 in the Series, while Cuba captured the competition with an undefeated record of 6-0.

He then became a part-time catcher/first baseman for Habana in 1952-53, batting .286 in 27 games during the regular season. Habana returned to the Series in 1953 and finished second with a 3-3 mark. Fleitas batted .333 (2 for 6) as a backup for catcher Dick Rand. The next season, he batted .133 in 21 games, mostly in pinch-hitting duty. He concluded his baseball career with Cienfuegos in the 1954-55 season, going 3 for 24 (.125) with a double and one RBI. He later was inducted into the Cuban Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

Fleitas was a long time resident of Miami, Florida, where he died in 2011 at the age of 95.