Paul Casanova

Paulino ("Paul") Ortiz Casanova (December 31, 1941 – August 12, 2017) was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1974 for the Washington Senators and Atlanta Braves.

Early life Casanova was born on December 31, 1941, in Perico, Cuba, and was raised in Colón. (Casanova corrected earlier reports that he was born on December 21 in Colón). in the Class-C Northern League, Casanova returned to Cuba and Cuban League baseball. On February 9, 1961, the day after the Cuban League season ended, he left Cuba for the United States, via the Mexican embassy.

Minor league career Casanova began his professional baseball career on January 1, , when he was signed as a free agent by the Cleveland Indians. After playing ten minor league games, he was released by the Indians. His third short minor league stint was with the Chicago Cubs, who signed him on September 21, and released him on April 26, after he had played two minor league games. – the team which had relocated from Washington less than five years earlier, paving the way for the expansion Senators. He played four more games that season. Casanova's first full season came in 1966, when he had career highs of 13 home runs and 5 triples. The 1967 season was Casanova's best, as he earned his only All-Star bid, though he did not play in the game. The game, which went 6 hours and 38 minutes, remains the longest night game in MLB history. The following season was a disappointment, as Casanova played in only 96 games and had a batting average of only .196. He played for three seasons on the Braves, serving primarily as a backup. He played behind Earl Williams for the 1972 season, then split time with Johnny Oates in 1973.

Legacy and death After baseball, Casanova created a baseball academy at his home in Florida. It also became a gathering place for his former teammates and fellow Cuban ball players like Mike Cuellar (a 1969 Cy Young Award winner ), Hall of Famer Tony Oliva, Orlando Peña, Cholly Naranjo, Jackie Hernández, José Tartabull, Bert Campaneris (a key player in the Oakland Athletics three World Series wins from 1972-1974 ), José Cardenal, Minnie Miñoso, as well as Dominican born batting champion Rico Carty and Puerto Rican born Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda.