Puerto Rican-born Ruben Gomez (July 13, 1927) was an erratic starter,
given to wildness, who went 17-9 for the 1954 World Champion New York
Giants (he was among the first Latinos to play in the major leagues)
despite a league-leading 109 walks. Late in his rookie a953 season,
Gomez hit Carl Furillo with a pitch, and the Dodger outfielder went to
Giant manager Leo Durocher, who the Dodgers accused of ordering bean
balls. Furrillo broke his hand in the ensuring melee, ending his season
while his .344 batting average stood to cop the NL crown.
The Braves’ Joe Adcock had hit seven HR’s in nine games coming to
the night game at Milwaukee on July 18, 1956. Gomez hit him on the wrist
in his first at-bat and they exchanged remarks as Adcock went to first
base. Adcock charged the mound. Gomes threw the ball, hitting him the
thigh, and then went to the Giants dugout.
Gomez was fined $250.00. He also had a bean ball war with Cardinals
pitcher Sam Jones in 1957, and on July 16, Gomez put Frank Robinson in
the hospital, hitting him in the head with a pitch.
Despite his wildness, Gomez was one of the best pitchers in the major
leagues for several years. In 1953 he pitched a total of 204 innings,
allowed 17 homers, struck out 113 batters and had an earned run average
of just 3.40. In 1954 he pitched over 120 innings and struck out 106
batters and ended with a 2.88 ERA.
Gomez was also known to hit the ball as a batter as well. In the 1955
season, he batted .300 with 2 home runs. He started over 115 games in
three seasons (1954, 1955 and 1956. He was the starting pitcher in the
first major-league game played out west in San Francisco on April 15,
1958, with his battery mate being non-other than Valmy Thomas who was
inducted into our hall in St. Thomas in 2001. He currently resides in
Puerto Rico with his wife Maria Ortiz.
Vic Power (Baseball)
Vic Power, like Ruben Gomez, was one of the first Latinos to play in
the major leagues. Vic was one of the most colorful players of the
1950s, as well as one of the most popular and controversial. He was a
fine batsman, a .300 hitter with power most of his career. He twice had
double figures in all the power categories, the best being 37 doubles,
and AL best 10 triples and 16 homers in 1958, along with a career high
.312 and 80 RBIs.
Originally a Yankee prospect, it was his sports personality that
prevented him from being the first black Yankee, an honor that would
eventually go to the quieter Elston Howard. The Yankees were loath to
sign the speak-his-mind first baseman. Nor was Casey Stengel going to
allow himself to be upstaged by an upstart. He went to where the Yanks
seemed to send all of their questionable property in those days: to the
Kansas City A’s. He made the All-star team his second and third
seasons, hitting .319 and .309 and delighted AL watchers with a brand of
first base theatrics that most hadn’t seen before.
He was a fantastic glove man. It is often pointed out that fielding
stats are deceptive, that the guy with the high fielding percentage
might just have it because his range is limited and thus catches only
the balls hit right a him, but doesn’t go after the tricky plays that
better fielders try for, and often miss. He is genuine. He had
tremendous range, was quick and lithe and was that rare commodity, an
exciting first baseman.
Power won seven Gold Gloves, hit 300 three times, and stole home
twice in one game in ’58, although he wasn’t a regular base stealer.
He was a wisecracker, which only made him more suspect to the
powers-that-were, including a majority of sportswriters, who seemed to
be stuck somewhere back in the 1930s. Power resides in Puerto Rico.
Ivan Calderon (Baseball)
