It Got Late Early

By: Alex Frey

At 38 years old, he was the oldest rookie pitcher in the 1950 season, and although 1952 and 1953 would be better years for the 5’7” Cuban firecracker know as "El Guajiro" (the Hillbilly), his baseball career would be short.  Sadly, he played for the Washington Nationals, a team that finished no better than 5^th place the entire decade, and due to his age, other teams would be wary of picking him up no matter how well he pitched…and he pitched well. 

Not only was Marrero selected for the 1951 All-Star team, but Ted Williams, one of the greatest hitters of all time, once said: “You got to swing at his first pitch. You let him get ahead of you in the count and you're dead."  Imagine how great Connie Marrero could have been had he only been able to start playing earlier, and perhaps with a better team!

Priceless Moments: Uncovering Al Kaline

It seemed that not too much had happened in Baltimore baseball since they sold their team to New York in 1903.  But little did anyone know that, in ’51, a future Hall-of-Famer was playing on a City League team called “Gordon’s Store” right in their own backyard. 

Two years later, in 1953, 18-year-old Al Kaline would leave Baltimore for Detroit where he would play over 20 years of excellent ball for the Tigers. Kaline would finish his exceptional career in 1974 with 16 All Star appearances, over 3000 hits and a World Series title.                           

Big Hitters Not Enough For Nats in '51

                                                             

Even though the Nationals had players like MVP Gil Coan hitting .303, Clyde Kluttz hitting .308 and Frank Campos coming in at .423 for the 1951 season, they still only managed to finish in 5^th place with a 73-81 record. 

Who Said That??

"Well, it's our game; that's the chief fact in connection with it; America's game; it has the snap, go, and fling of the American atmosphere; it belongs as much to our institutions, fits into them as significantly as our Constitution's laws; is just as important in the sum total of our historic life."                    

                                                 --Walt Whitman

"When money comes in at the gate, sport flies out at the window."          

                                          --Theodore Roosevelt

DC Metro Debate Forum: 

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Is Connie Marrero a Hall of Famer if he starts his career earlier?

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