Santos Amaro, better known as "Canguro" Amaro (14 March 1908 – 31 May 2001), was a

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n professional baseball player who played in both 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 ...

and 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 ...

. One of the most aggressive players in Cuban baseball, Amaro had thousands of admirers both in Cuba and

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 ...

. He was inducted into 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 ...

in 1977. Amaro initially played at the catcher position, which was difficult for him because of his height (). He then played third base, but his best position was right field, where he made good use of a strong throwing arm. He was one of the most consistent hitters that have passed through the

, playing for seventeen seasons and batting over .300 in eleven of them. When he hung up his spikes in 1955, he retired with a .314 overall average with 1,339

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 ...

. In 1951, he replaced

Martín Dihigo Martín Magdaleno Dihigo Llanos (May 25, 1906 – May 20, 1971), nicknamed "the Immortal" and "the Maestro", was a Cuban pitcher, utility player, and manager. He played in the Negro leagues and Latin American winter leagues from 1923 to 1945 as ...

as manager of the Veracruz Eagle, a team he led to the championship in 1952 and 1961. His son Ruben Amaro, played 11 years in American

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 ...

, and his grandson, Ruben Amaro, Jr., also played in the major leagues and was the general manager of the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

. Amaro died on 31 May 2001 in the city of Veracruz, Mexico.

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1908 births 2001 deaths Alijadores de Tampico players Cuban baseball players Leopardos de Santa Clara players Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Mexican League baseball managers Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Mexico
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