Baldomero "Mel" Almada Quirós (February 7, 1913 – August 13, 1988) was a Mexican
center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...
in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
who played from 1933 through 1939 for the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
(1933–1937),
Washington Senators (1937–1938),
St. Louis Browns
The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...
(1938–1939) and
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...
(1939). He batted and threw left-handed.
A native of
Huatabampo
Huatabampo () is a city in Huatabampo Municipality in the state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico. It is situated on the Gulf of California, near the mouth of the Mayo River. It is located at latitude . Huatabampo is southwest of Navojoa via ...
,
Sonora
Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...
,
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, Almada made history by
becoming the first Mexican baseball player to play in the major leagues.
Biography
Raised and educated in
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, Almada attended
Los Angeles High School
Los Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are royal blue and white and the teams are called the Romans.
Los Angeles High School is a publ ...
and was a teammate of another future major leaguer,
Bud Bates, on that team. Almada was a fine outfielder with strength and accuracy in his throws. Basically a line-drive hitter with an outstanding speed, he was a respected
leadoff hitter
In baseball, a leadoff hitter is a batter who bats first in the batting order (baseball), lineup. It can also refer to any batter who bats first in any inning.
Strategy
Traditionally, the leadoff hitter has been utilized as a contact-oriented ...
for his great ability to see a significant number of pitches, being also able to successfully execute in a bunt situation at any time in the game.
Almada was signed by the Boston Red Sox out of the
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
. He made his Major League debut with the Red Sox on September 8, 1933,
batting .344 in 14 game appearances. On October 1 of that season, Almada batted the last hit
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...
gave up as a
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, ...
. Overall, he had three hits and two walks off Ruth.
Almada then became an everyday player in 1935, appearing in 151 games and finishing with a .290 average and 20
stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...
s.
In the 1937 midseason, Almada was traded by Boston along with the brothers
Rick
Rick may refer to:
People
*Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name
*Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality
*Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...
and
Wes Ferrell
Wesley Cheek Ferrell (February 2, 1908 – December 9, 1976) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from 1927 through 1941. Primarily a starting pitcher, Ferrell played for the Cleveland Indians (1927– ...
to the Washington Senators in exchange for
Ben Chapman and
Bobo Newsom
Louis Norman "Bobo" Newsom (August 11, 1907 – December 7, 1962) was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Also known as "Buck", Newsom played for nine of the 16 then-existing big-league teams from 1929 through 1953 over all or ...
. At the time of the deal, Almada was hitting just .236, but he hit .309 the rest of the way, ending with a .296 average, 91
run
Run(s) or RUN may refer to:
Places
* Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia
* Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant
People
* Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...
s and 27
doubles. On July 25, during the first game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Browns, Almada scored five runs to tie a Major League record. When he added four runs in the second game, he set an 18-inning Major League record with nine runs scored in a double-header.
After a poor .244 start in 1938, Almada was sent by Washington to the Browns in exchange for
All-Star
An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry.
Sports
"All-star" as a sport ...
outfielder
Sam West. Almada hit .342 with St. Louis, ending with .311, 101 runs, 197
hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...
and 29 doubles, all career-high numbers. That season, he also had a phenomenal stretch in which he had a base hit in 54-out-of-56 games from June 21 through Aug 19 (second game), meaning he fell just two hitless games short of
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul DiMaggio (; born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, ; November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career ...
's record
56-game hitting streak. But he slumped to .239 in 1939 and was sold to the Brooklyn Dodgers. With Brooklyn, he was used as a backup outfielder and
pinch-hitting specialist. He made his last Major League appearance on October 1, 1939.
In a seven-season career, Almada posted a .284
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
with 15
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
s and 197
RBI in 646 games.
Almada returned to the Pacific Coast League for one season with the
Sacramento Solons
The Sacramento Solons were a Minor League Baseball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Pacific Coast League during several periods (1903, 1905, 1909–1914, 1918–1960, 1974–1976). The current Sacramento River Cats began ...
in 1940. He later
managed in the
Mexican League
The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country.
The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...
. In 1972, he was inducted to the
Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame
The Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Mexicano (in English, Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame), commonly called the Salón de la Fama (Hall of Fame) is a baseball hall of fame and museum located in Monterrey, Nuevo León, inaugurated on 10 ...
.
Personal life
Mel's older brother,
Lou Almada, was also a professional baseball player.
Mel Almada died in his home state of Sonora, Mexico, at age 75.
Sources
External links
SABR Biography Project article*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Almada, Mel
1913 births
1988 deaths
Algodoneros de Torreón players
Algodoneros de Unión Laguna managers
Baseball players from Los Angeles
Baseball players from Sonora
Boston Red Sox players
Brooklyn Dodgers players
Kansas City Blues (baseball) players
Major League Baseball center fielders
Major League Baseball players from Mexico
20th-century Mexican sportsmen
Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States
Mexican people of Portuguese descent
Minor league baseball managers
People from Huatabampo
Sportspeople from Sonora
Sacramento Solons players
Seattle Indians players
Los Angeles High School alumni
St. Louis Browns players
Washington Senators (1901–1960) players