José Méndez

José de la Caridad Méndez Báez (March 19,1887– October 31, 1928) was a Cuban professional baseball right-handed pitcher, shortstop, third baseman and manager in the Negro leagues. Born in Cárdenas, Matanzas, he died at age 43 in Havana. Known in Cuba as "The Black Diamond" (Spanish: El Diamante Negro), he became a legend in his homeland. He was one of the first group of players elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 2006.

Dominating pitcher: 1908–1914 In 1907 Méndez was discovered by Bebé Royer of the Almendares team in the Cuban League. A relatively small man (5 feet, 10 inches, 152 pounds), he threw a hard fastball with a deceptively easy motion and a snapping curve. In his first Cuban League season (January–March 1908), he went 9–0, and, along with veteran Joseíto Muñoz, led the Almendares Blues to the Cuban League pennant. That summer he made his United States debut with the Cuban Stars and also went 3–0 for the Brooklyn Royal Giants.

In the fall of 1908, in the middle of the Second Occupation of Cuba, Méndez pitched the games that established him as a legend. The Cincinnati Reds were visiting Havana playing the Cuban League teams, and Méndez completely dominated, pitching 25 consecutive scoreless innings in 3 appearances. In his first start, he allowed just one single by Miller Huggins in the 9th inning, while striking out nine. His next appearance came in relief, where he held the Reds scoreless for 7 innings on just 2 hits. He concluded with another shutout. His statistics from the Cincinnati Reds series were W-2, L-0, earned run average (ERA)-0.00, games played (GP) - 3, games started (GS)-2, innings pitched (IP)-25, hits allowed-8, runs (R) allowed-0, bases on balls (BB)-3, strikeouts (K)-24. Several days later Almendares played a minor league all-star team from Key West, and Méndez pitched two more shutouts, the second a no-hitter, giving him 43 consecutive scoreless innings against major and minor league competition.

Over the next 6 Cuban League seasons Méndez continued to dominate, with records of 15–6, 7–0, 11–2, 9–5, 1–4, and 10–0, leading the league in wins 3 times. His Almendares team won pennants in 3 of 6 campaigns. In the United States during the summers, he pitched just as well. Some sources say that he achieved a 44–2 record with the Cuban Stars in 1909, though a recent partial compilation of box scores by Scott Simkus shows a more modest, but still impressive, 14–2 record (with 2 saves). He pitched a 10-inning no-hitter on July 24, 1909. One of his losses came on July 1 in Chicago when Rube Foster and the Leland Giants defeated him 1–0 when a dropped fly ball led to an unearned run against him.

Other major league teams visited Cuba over these years and Méndez continued to pitch against them. According to a compilation of box scores by Gary Ashwill, during 1908–13 against major league competition Méndez compiled a record of 9–11 in 24 games, pitching 18 complete games and 204 innings, with a total run average of 3.26. He allowed 150 hits and 51 walks while notching 123 strikeouts. His opponents were top major league teams, including the 1909 and 1910 Detroit Tigers, the 1910 and 1912 Philadelphia Athletics, the 1911 Philadelphia Phillies and New York Giants and the 1913 Brooklyn Dodgers. The average major league winning percentage of the opposing pitchers he faced was .595; he faced star pitchers including Eddie Plank, whom he beat twice, and Chief Bender, whom he beat once. His career Cuban League record was 76–28, and he ranks first all-time in career winning percentage (minimum of 40 wins) with .731.

Career pitching statistics

Comprehensive Negro league and Cuban League statistics for some seasons

Negro National League

Pre-league play in the United States The following statistics are from a compilation by Scott Simkus of the 1909 Cuban Stars games against all competition. The compilation is missing games during the first month of their tour and for some games is compiled from line scores rather than box scores.

YearTeamWLPctGGSCGSHOSVIPHBBSORA 1909 Cuban Stars 10 1 .909 17 11 9 3 2 106.0 54 31 108 1.19 1909 Cuban Stars 4 1 .800 Record from games with line scores but without box scores.Total 14 2 .875

Source: 1909 Cuban Stars statistics compiled by Scott Simkus.

Cuban League YearTeamLeagueWLPctGCGSHO 1908w Almendares p Cuban 9 0 1.000* 15 6 — 1908/09 Almendares Cuban 15* 6 .714* 28* 18* 5* 1910w Almendares p Cuban 7* 0 1.000* 7 7 1* 1910/11 Almendares p Cuban 11* 2 .846* 18* 12* 4* 1912w Almendares Cuban 9 5 .643 18 12* 2* 1913w Almendares Cuban 1 4 .200 7 2 — 1913/14 Almendares p Cuban 10 0 1.000* 12 7 3* 1914/15 Almendares Cuban 2 0 1.000 2 — — 1915/16 Almendares p Cuban 1 1 .500 6 1 — 1920/21 Almendares Cuban 1 2 .333 5 1 — 1923/24 Santa Clara p Cuban 3 1 .750 9 1 — 1924w Santa Clara p Special (Gran Premio) 1 2 .333 — — — 1924/25 Santa Clara/Matanzas Cuban 2 3 .400 19 2 — 1925/26 Habana Cuban 1 1 .500 6 1 — 1926/27 Alacranes p Triangular 3 1 .750 10 1 —Total14 seasons 76 28 .731† 162^ 71^ — w – winter; * – led league; † – all-time league leader; p = pennant; ^ = totals incomplete.

Source: Figueredo, pp. 72, 78–79, 86, 91–92, 98, 104, 108–109, 114, 118–119, 139, 148, 150, 154–155, 160, 165, 172, 503.

More comprehensive statistics for 1908–13 are available from Seamheads.com.