Hector Rodriguez, born June 13, 1920 in Alquizar,
Cuba, played Negro League baseball with the New York Cubans in the early
1940s. After playing in the Mexican
League, Rodriguez signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers at the start of the 1951
season. The Dodgers sent him to their
Triple AAA farm team in Montreal, same as they did Jackie Robinson in 1946, and
Rodriguez was named the league’s 1951 Rookie of the Year.
The Dodgers then traded Rodriguez, some say because
they feared negative reaction from their white players for having too many
African Americans on the team, to the Chicago White Sox. As the team’s starting third baseman in 1952,
Rodriguez hit .265 with one home run and 40 RBI. Former New York Cuban and fellow countryman
Minnie Minoso also played on the team. The White Sox sent Rodriguez to the minor leagues after the season where like many other former Negro League players over 30 in the 1950s, he spent the remainder of his career.
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