Tribilín Cabrera

Adolfo Alberto Mantecón Sánchez (24 February 1922 – 13 June 2019), better known as Adolfo "Tribilín" Cabrera, was a Cuban professional baseball outfielder and coach. Cabrera played in the Cuban League with Cienfuegos and in the Mexican League with the Charros de Jalisco and the Sultanes de Monterrey from 1949 to 1953. After retiring, he stayed in Mexico and worked as a coach for the Sultanes, Charros and the Guerreros de Oaxaca.

Early life Cabrera was born on 24 February 1922 in the Cienfuegos Province. He began playing baseball as a child on the beach with his friends. He left school at the age of 15 to help support his family by working at a Cuban company that also had a baseball team. He adopted the name Adolfo Cabrera due to an error at the Cuban passport office, where his name was mistakenly recorded as Adolfo Cabrera, confusing it with his father’s name, Adolfo Mantecón Cabrera.

Playing career Cuban League Cabrera made his professional debut in the Cuban League in 1949 with Cienfuegos, where he posted a .209 batting average in 43 at bats. That same year, he was invited to play professional baseball in both Canada and Mexico, but he chose Mexico due to the better economic conditions offered. He went on to play four additional seasons with the Charros.

On 13 August 1950, while playing for the Charros, Cabrera was involved in a violent altercation at Parque Delta after being hit by a pitch from Rufus Lewis of the Diablos Rojos del México. Cabrera charged the mound and struck Lewis with his bat, after which México outfielder Bill Wright struck Cabrera during the ensuing brawl. Both players were injured and later suspended.

In 1952, Cabrera signed with the Sultanes de Monterrey. On 15 July 1952, while traveling to Mexico City, the Sultanes' team bus was involved in a collision with a truck carrying corn near Linares, Nuevo León. The accident claimed the lives of two players, Vicente Torres and Adolfo García, and injured 12 others, including Cabrera.

Due to the accident, Cabrera was hospitalized and later underwent a rehabilitation process to regain his ability to walk. He never fully recovered and was forced to retire in 1953.

Death Cabrera died on 13 June 2019 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, aged 97.

Legacy Cabrera is regarded as an iconic figure with the Charros de Jalisco, both as a player and coach, and with the Guerreros de Oaxaca as a coach. In 2006, the Guerreros retired Cabrera's number 47.