Roberto Barbon

Roberto Barbon (March 13, 1933 – January 12, 2023), nicknamed "Chico", was a Cuban-born Japanese baseball second baseman who became the first Latin American player to play in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. He played majority of his career for the Hankyu Braves, from 1955 to 1964, before ending it with the Kintetsu Buffaloes in 1965.

Biography Born in Matanzas, Cuba, Barbon was one of twelve children and the son of a sugar cane farmer.

After playing in integrated, independent leagues in Canada, Barbon signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization and spent two years in the minor leagues. He signed with the Hankyu Braves of the NPB after learning he would be demoted to Brooklyn's Tennessee-affiliated team and did not want to play in the segregated American South. Barbon initially wanted to play three years and hoped to attract an MLB team but ended up staying as he felt "at home" there.

After his retirement, Barbon settled in Japan and married a local woman and worked as an interpreter for foreign baseball players. Barbon died on March 12, 2023, in Nishinomiya, Japan, one day before his 90th birthday.

In 2023, he was inducted in the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame and was posthumously awarded their Pioneer Award.