José Leblanc Vargas (1894 – January 31, 1922), nicknamed "Cheo" and "Count", was a Cuban baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

. He played most of his career with the midwestern Cuban Stars, including in the first two seasons of the original Negro National League. His career

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

of 2.31, as well as 7.8 wins above replacement (WAR) per 162, are among the best marks for qualified pitchers in the recognized Negro major leagues. Despite his dominance of Negro league baseball, little trace of Leblanc exists in the historical record. In the

Cuban League The Cuban League ( Spanish: ''Liga cubana'') was one of the earliest and longest lasting professional baseball leagues outside the United States, operating in Cuba from 1878 to 1961. The schedule usually operated during the winter months, so the ...

, he played for Almendares (also managed by the Stars'

Tinti Molina José Agustín "Tinti" Molina Becerra (August 28, 1873 - January 10, 1961) was an American baseball catcher, first baseman and manager (baseball), manager in the Cuban League and Negro league baseball, Negro leagues. He played and managed from 1 ...

) and

Habana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

game in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, after being struck in the head with a bat by Antonio Susini during an extended argument and later altercation between both teams and the umpires over a close play at home in a local championship series.

References

External links

an
Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats
an
Seamheads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leblanc, Jose 1894 births 1922 deaths Baseball pitchers Cuban baseball players Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Cuban Stars (West) players Deaths by beating Negro league baseball players from Cuba People murdered in Cuba Philadelphia Giants players Sport deaths in Cuba