BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: ¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues

DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: ¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues:

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Description of Pictures: ¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues: En los barrios y las grandes ligas
July 2, 2021 – TBA
For nearly a century, baseball has been a crucial social and cultural force in Latino communities across the United States. And, for just as long, Latino/a players have had a huge impact on the game. ¡Pleibol! examines how generations of Latinos/as have helped make the game what it is today. From youth and community teams to the Major League, the exhibition reveals how baseball brings people together regardless of race, class, or gender. These inspirational baseball stories reflect larger themes in American history that connect us all, on and off the diamond.

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. PLEIBO_210723_011.JPG: Sounds of the Game Fans celebrate in a multitude of ways. One way is using musical instruments that symbolize shared cultural heritage with their favorite players. Walk-up songs, maracas, and Spanish chants in the stands are the rhapsody of baseball and leave a mark on how we hear the game.
2. PLEIBO_210723_013.JPG: Güira, early 2000s Güiras (metal scrapers used for percussion), can be heard at games across the country.
3. PLEIBO_210723_016.JPG: Cowbell, 1940s–1950s The Nuñez family of Miami rang this handmade cowbell at minor league games in Cuba, New York, and Florida.
4. PLEIBO_210723_029.JPG: ¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues Baseball is the national pastime. But it's also an American export, one with a tradition that's constantly evolving. ¡Pleibol! shares the experiences of Latinas and Latinos whose love for the game and incredible talent have changed baseball and transformed American culture forever. Throughout the last century, Latinas and Latinos have used baseball to chase their dreams, challenge prejudice, and build communities. Whether in the barrios or the big leagues, in rural backyards or barn-storming travel teams, they left a mark on how we see, hear, and play the game.
5. PLEIBO_210723_033.JPG: "Latinos have changed baseball. Period." -- Linda Alvarado, owner of Alvarado Construction and co-owner of the Colorado Rockies
6. PLEIBO_210723_036.JPG: Many would rather play with makeshift equipment than not at all. Handcrafting baseball and softball gear is a tradition found in Latino communities across the Américas. Baseball Handmade ball, Havana, Cuba, 1993
7. PLEIBO_210723_039.JPG: Sports Illustrated, August 30, 2004, featuring the gold-medal-winning U.S. softball team Women's Softball In 2004 Lisa Fernandez helped Team USA win the gold medal in softball during the Olympics in Athens, Greece. Although baseball is traditionally considered a male sport, women are trailblazing in multiple areas, changing the face of the game and highlighting softball as a major competitive sport.
8. PLEIBO_210723_043.JPG: Many Faces of Baseball In 2004, Lisa Fernandez helped Team USA win the gold medal in softball during the Olympics in Athens, Greece. Although baseball is traditionally considered a male sport, women are trailblazing in multiple areas, changing the face of the game and highlighting softball as a major competitive sport.
9. PLEIBO_210723_046.JPG: Ball signed by members of the 2004 Olympic softball team, including Lisa Fernandez, 2004
10. PLEIBO_210723_054.JPG: Styles of the Game Custom uniforms reflect cultural pride and signal Latino presence and excellence in baseball, America's pastime. Jerseys declare participation on a team, allowing players and fans to feel connected to something bigger than themselves. From California to Wisconsin, Pennsylvania to Kentucky, and Texas to Illinois, minor league and independent league jerseys proclaim Latino heritage and love for the game.
11. PLEIBO_210723_062.JPG: "When I put on my uniform, I feel I am the proudest man on earth." -- Roberto Clemente, Afro-Latino baseball legend
12. PLEIBO_210723_063.JPG: The Spanish Colonies of Colorado Between the 1920s and 1940s, sugar companies established over 100 segregated agricultural communities across the United States in states like Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska. These "Spanish Colonies," or colonias, were communities of primarily Spanish-speaking laborers and their families who came from the southwestern United States and Mexico. Work in the sugar beet fields (the primary crop) was arduous -- long, sweltering days of backbreaking labor for little pay -- but the men of the colonias found recreation and relief in baseball. In Colorado's sugar beet colonias, laborers often used their skills on the farm to enhance their baseball playing.
13. PLEIBO_210723_066.JPG: Field of Dream
14. PLEIBO_210723_075.JPG: "In baseball, the flaws of America and the strengths of America come through." -- Ben Sakoguchi, artist
15. PLEIBO_210723_076.JPG: Ben Sakoguchi's Mexican American Baseball series, 2004-2008, acrylic on canvas
16. PLEIBO_210723_113.JPG: Field of Dreams For over a century in the United States and Latin America, baseball provided a way for Latinos to reach for better futures by making and seizing opportunities. Playing the sport in local leagues brought freedom from discrimination experienced off the field, opportunities to be recognized for talent on the field, and communities that provided support and shared language. In agriculture and industry, workers used the baseball field as a space to organize for rights and justice.
17. PLEIBO_210723_116.JPG: Eagles Nest In Kansas City, the local American Legion post barred Mexican American GIs returning from World War II from joining the veterans' group. In response, they made their own Post #213, called the Eagles Nest, which included a baseball field. In 2016, seeing the beloved Eagles Nest baseball field falling into disrepair, Chris González spearheaded a revitalization that served as a testament to the Post #213's legacy and the power of baseball in a local community.
18. PLEIBO_210723_119.JPG: Freedom on the Field During a time of segregation and discrimination -- a period when major league baseball's segregation policy blocked Latinos from participating -- Latinos developed community, semiprofessional, and professional baseball leagues of their own. Baseball often provided a social network and a break from discrimination in the larger world. Wherever they lived, Latinas/os persistently made the baseball diamond their place to play and enjoy their freedoms. Finding freedom on the field, however, was more than a simple march toward acceptance.
19. PLEIBO_210723_122.JPG: Glove restitched with needle and cord, La Puente, California, 1965 Ernie Martinez restitched this glove three different times so the family could continue to use it.
20. PLEIBO_210723_124.JPG: Brothers Ernie and Howard Martinez ready for a game, La Puente, California, 1963 Handmade Equipment Many Latinas/os made do with what they had on hand to play the game. For some families, like the Martinez clan, fabricating their own equipment reflected deep appreciation for the game and afforded them a certain kind of freedom despite meager family finances -- they did not have to borrow or save money to purchase new equipment.
21. PLEIBO_210723_126.JPG: Stickball bat, made by Carlos "Charlie" Díaz, East Harlem, New York, 1990s This slugger's bat, made of a broom handle and bicycle inner tube, was used in leagues in New York, Florida, and Puerto Rico. Stickball When racism and discrimination barred Latinas/os from joining baseball leagues, they created their own teams. In the early 1900s in East Harlem, New York, primarily Puerto Rican, African American, and Dominican communities responded by creating their own game: stickball.
22. PLEIBO_210723_131.JPG: Spalding ball, used to play stickball in East Harlem, New York, 1950s Spalding balls were sold at bodegas around East Harlem and The Bronx, New York.
23. PLEIBO_210723_135.JPG: Bat handmade by Leopoldo and Howard Martinez, La Puente, California, 1978 The "Peace Keeper" bat was so named because whoever held the bat had the final say in any disagreements on the field. Look Closely Notice the markings on the bat? Young Howard Martinez and his father, Leopoldo, carefully blow-torched darkened patterns on the bat to make a tortoise-shell design. When it broke, Howard and his brothers hammered and glued it back together again.
24. PLEIBO_210723_141.JPG: Game Changers from Barrios to Big Leagues
25. PLEIBO_210723_144.JPG: This was the last jersey Clemente wore before his death on December 31, 1972. Roberto Clemente was committed to his communities in Puerto Rico and chose to play in the winter leagues on the island. He played for the Cangrejeros de Santurce and the Senadores de San Juan.
26. PLEIBO_210723_150.JPG: Linda Alvarado's owner's jacket, 1993 The back features a purple and black baseball field with an early team logo in the center. Linda Alvarado Linda Alvarado made Major League Baseball history in the 1990s. She was the first woman to ever win a bid on a team when she bought the Colorado Rockies, and in doing so became the MLB's first Hispanic team owner. She is also part of a frequently unrecognized tradition of Latinas in baseball. Latinas have tirelessly given their time, talents, and resources in support of the game and their communities. Women formed their own teams and leagues, sewed patches onto uniforms, cared for children while cooking and selling concessions, and often designed and created team uniforms. Linda Alvarado broke gender barriers in two primarily male industries -- construction and baseball. She was already a successful businesswoman as the owner of Alvarado Construction, Inc.
27. PLEIBO_210723_154.JPG: The Great One: Roberto Clemente Baseball fans celebrate Roberto Clemente as "The Great One." Family members called him "Momen." His accomplishments in the sport, hard work, fierce pride, and resilience in the face of racism and discrimination won him the admiration of countless fans in the United States and across Latin America. Clemente's death in a plane crash, while carrying supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua on December 31, 1972, shocked fans across the globe. His sudden death added mythology to the legacy Clemente had already built through his performance as a player and his leadership and philanthropy off the field.
28. PLEIBO_210723_162.JPG: Roberto Clemente and the Cangregeros de Santurce, 1954-1955, winter season Young Roberto Clemente (second from left) with Willie Mays (left) and other teammates.
29. PLEIBO_210723_165.JPG: Roberto Clemente giving a tutorial to children in Carolina, Puerto Rico, 1962 Roberto Clemente spent time during the off-season working with kids' baseball teams in his hometown in Puerto Rico. The arc of Clemente's story is familiar to many Latinos: humble roots, immigrant aspirations, strong bonds to birthplace, and fighting for the dignity of all people. He went from a family of modest means in Carolina, Puerto Rico, to one of baseball's biggest stars.
30. PLEIBO_210723_168.JPG: "Before I came here, you never had many outstanding players from the Caribbean. There were some good ones and now I won the MVP. This makes me happy because now I feel that if I could do it, then they could do it. The kids have someone to look up to and to follow." -- Roberto Clemente, National League Most Valuable Player, 1966
31. PLEIBO_210723_171.JPG: Sheet of Stamps Clemente became the first Afro-Latino baseball player featured on a stamp on August 17, 1984.
32. PLEIBO_210723_187.JPG: Roberto Clemente's Cangrejeros de Santurce contract, 1952–1953 Clemente's first professional contract was with the Cangrejeros for $40 a week.
33. PLEIBO_210723_191.JPG: Roberto Clemente's batting helmet, around 1960 Batting helmet worn by legendary Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Roberto Clemente. Roberto Clemente was an ultimate game-changer in Major League Baseball. In 1947 African American Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers dismantled the color line, opening the door for Latinos, regardless of skin color. A few years later, Clemente's stellar play and outspokenness against racism and discrimination commanded national and international attention.
34. PLEIBO_210723_195.JPG: In an 18-year tenure with the Pittsburgh Pirates begun in 1955, Roberto Clemente was a 15-time All-Star, 12-time Gold Glove winner, four-time National League batting champion, and the 1966 National League Most Valuable Player.
35. PLEIBO_210723_207.JPG: Cover of Denver Woman magazine, April 2007
36. PLEIBO_210723_210.JPG: Linda Alvarado Linda Alvarado made Major League Baseball history in the 1990s. She was the first woman to ever win a bid on a team when she bought the Colorado Rockies, and in doing so became the MLB's first Hispanic team owner. She is also part of a frequently unrecognized tradition of Latinas in baseball. Latinas have tirelessly given their time, talents, and resources in support of the game and their communities. Women formed their own teams and leagues, sewed patches onto uniforms, cared for children while cooking and selling concessions, and often designed and created team uniforms.
37. PLEIBO_210723_212.JPG: Linda Alvarado with first baseman Andrés Galarraga, Coors Field, Denver, Colorado, mid-1990s Linda Alvarado's role as a team owner demonstrates how Latinas are making their mark in baseball in extraordinary ways. Rain or shine and whenever she has the chance, Alvarado spends time talking with the players during warmups and batting practice at Coors Field.
38. PLEIBO_210723_215.JPG: Cover of Hispanic magazine, April 1993
39. PLEIBO_210723_225.JPG: Championship ring, 2007 This ring commemorates the Colorado Rockies' National League Championship in 2007.
40. PLEIBO_210723_242.JPG: Game Changers from Barrios to Big Leagues Throughout the last century, whether in urban barrios (Spanish-speaking enclaves), rural areas, or the big leagues, baseball and identity went hand in hand as the game became a place for men and women to express cultural traditions. Today, players, owners, fans, and teams continue to simultaneously change the game and express their identities. Women played significant roles throughout this history -- they formed their own leagues and cheered on family members, supporting and transforming the game.
41. PLEIBO_210723_250.JPG: Marge Villa Cryan's Garvey Stars girls' uniform, 1939 Marge Villa played for Garvey when she was just 13 years old. Look Closely Who sponsors your sports team? Sometimes Latinas/os earned money by playing baseball. More often, however, Latinas/os found ways to incorporate baseball into their work lives. Business sponsors provided funds for uniforms, field maintenance, equipment, travel, and encouraged participation. Company teams became part of a long tradition of baseball clubs formed by blue collar and agricultural industries across the country. Baseball clubs provided camaraderie and freedom on the field, even if one's everyday work experiences were oppressive. Can you spot the name of this team's local sponsor?
42. PLEIBO_210723_254.JPG: Marge Villa baseball card for the AAGPBL's Kenosha (Wisconsin) Comets, issued 1995 This official AAGPBL baseball card details Villa's statistics for her five-year career in the league.
43. PLEIBO_210723_260.JPG: All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Philip K. Wrigley, Chicago Cubs owner and chewing gum mogul, began the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) at the onset of World War II. With most able men away at war, Wrigley wanted to keep baseball in the public eye. For a brief moment in American history, professional baseball was reimagined as a woman's domain. Eleven Latinas played in the AAGPBL (1943–1954), including Mexican American Margaret "Marge" Villa (later Cryan), from Montebello, California. These fair-skinned Latinas were able to pass as white in an era of de facto segregation and would become some of the few women ever to play baseball in the United States.
44. PLEIBO_210723_265.JPG: Marge Villa (bottom row, center) with Garvey Stars team, 1939 Marge Villa Cryan In 1939, at age 13, Villa played for the East Los Angeles girls' community team, the Garvey Stars. Over the next few years, she played for the semiprofessional Orange Lionettes team in Southern California and was signed to play in the AAGPBL in 1946. Fluent in Spanish, Marge Villa served as her team's interpreter on tours in Latin America. She also had parental support in pursuing a baseball career, which was uncommon in many American households at the time.
45. PLEIBO_210723_269.JPG: Baseball Across Borders Before African American legend Jackie Robinson broke the color line in 1947, racial restrictions and segregation kept non-white players from playing in Major League Baseball. The Negro Leagues were professional baseball leagues made up of African American, and some Latino, players. Between the 1930s and 1950s, many Negro League players -- including stars like Buck Leonard -- made their way to leagues throughout Latin América, where they found a more accepting racial climate.
46. PLEIBO_210723_271.JPG: Buck Leonard In the first half of the 1900s, more than 240 Latinos played in the Negro Leagues because Jim Crow segregation blocked them from Major League Baseball. Players learned that talent alone did not result in acceptance. Latin American leagues also presented opportunities for African Americans and Latinos when Major League Baseball did not. Buck Leonard played baseball year-round, especially as he ended his career. He participated in the winter leagues in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Venezuela between 1935 and 1955, and in the Mexican League from 1951 through 1955. Buck Leonard playing for Negro Leagues team the Homestead Grays, Washington, D.C., 1940s Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
47. PLEIBO_210723_274.JPG: Buck Leonard In the first half of the 1900s, more than 240 Latinos played in the Negro Leagues because Jim Crow segregation blocked them from Major League Baseball. Players learned that talent alone did not result in acceptance. Latin American leagues also presented opportunities for African Americans and Latinos when Major League Baseball did not. Buck Leonard played baseball year-round, especially as he ended his career. He participated in the winter leagues in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Venezuela between 1935 and 1955, and in the Mexican League from 1951 through 1955.
48. PLEIBO_210723_276.JPG: Mexican professional baseball league contract signed by Buck Leonard. Buck Leonard's Mexican League contract, 1951 After his career in the Negro Leagues, Buck Leonard played in the Mexican Leagues. Look Closely How much was Buck Leonard paid in 1951? The Mexican League often paid more than the Negro Leagues, but neither paid their players as much as Major League Baseball. In more recent years, multimillion-dollar contracts look much different than the single double-sided page Buck Leonard signed with the Mexican League. Look at the details of this contract.
49. PLEIBO_210723_290.JPG: American All-Stars, Caracas, Venezuela, 1945 Buck Leonard (far right, top), Jackie Robinson (far left, bottom) and other Negro Leagues All-Stars on tour in Venezuela.
50. PLEIBO_210723_293.JPG: "We played fantastic games! ... We were turning double plays, even triple plays, which is a rarity even today." -- Marge Villa Cryan, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
51. PLEIBO_210723_299.JPG: Pastime of the Américas The distinctive sound of a bat connecting with a baseball; the sight of the diamond itself; fans and vendors clamoring around the stands. Throughout the 1900s, immigrants and migrants from the Caribbean -- Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico -- as well as from Mexico, Venezuela, the northern coast of Colombia, and Brazil, knew the sights and sounds of baseball before coming to the United States. Baseball was already a vibrant part of their home communities. At the same time, generations of Latina/o ballplayers are homegrown in the United States, playing in the U.S. and abroad.
52. PLEIBO_210723_305.JPG: When the Big Leagues Destroyed the Barrio The land on which the Dodgers would build their new Los Angeles stadium was once the home of the Latino neighborhoods of Chavez Ravine. In the 1950s, Los Angeles officials forced the working-class homeowners out of their residences and off of their land using eminent domain. For this baseball-loving community, the game came to represent physical displacement: families were forced to move and make way for Dodger Stadium. This dark chapter in Los Angeles history is an important, complicated layer of the past that the uprooted residents will never forget.
53. PLEIBO_210723_309.JPG: Dodger Stadium during the final stages of its construction, around 1961
54. PLEIBO_210723_315.JPG: The Forced Removal of the Arechiga Family, Los Angeles, 1959 In a two-hour melee, sheriff's deputies carried Aurora Vargas from her home. Children wailed and Avrana Arechiga, the matriarch of the family, threw stones in resistance. Los Angeles sheriff's deputies forcibly removed any remaining Mexican American families and their belongings from Chavez Ravine for the Dodgers to build a new stadium. From 1959 to 1962, construction leveled the neighborhood's hills and homes.
55. PLEIBO_210723_325.JPG: Jaime Jarrín at the broadcast booth, Los Angeles, California, 1959 Jaime Jarrín, shown here at the L.A. Coliseum during the Dodgers' inaugural season in Los Angeles, became the Spanish-language voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1959. Legendary Ecuadorian sports broadcaster Jaime Jarrín has brought Dodger games into Spanish-language homes since 1959. In the 1980s, many Latinas/os, including those displaced from Chavez Ravine, listened to Jarrín call Mexican superstar Fernando Valenzuela's games. Together, Jarrín and Valenzuela became baseball legends, symbolically reclaiming Dodger Stadium as a Latino space.
56. PLEIBO_210723_328.JPG: Jaime Jarrín's Foreign Language Sports Broadcaster of the Year award, 2009 Jaime Jarrín is the longest-serving Spanish language broadcaster and a Ford C. Frick Award winner honored in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
57. PLEIBO_210723_336.JPG: Ball signed by Fernando Valenzuela, 1991 Fernando Valenzuela's meteoric rise in American baseball history drew thousands of Latinas/os to Major League stadiums. Fernando Valenzuela's surging popularity was quickly dubbed "Fernandomania." No one could have predicted Fernandomania. Everywhere Fernando Valenzuela went in Los Angeles, pandemonium engulfed the beloved pitcher. According to Jaime Jarrín, only around 10 percent of fans at Dodger Stadium were Latino before Valenzuela -- today it is nearly half.
58. PLEIBO_210723_344.JPG: Fernando Valenzuela baseball card, 1991 Hailing from rural Sonora, Mexico, Fernando Valenzuela became the first to win the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards in the same season in 1981.
59. PLEIBO_210723_359.JPG: Richard Martinez and brothers in Chavez Ravine, around 1940s Richard (middle), Tony (right), and Robert (left) Martinez in their front yard in the Palo Verde neighborhood of Chavez Ravine. Before their neighborhoods were displaced, Latino youth of Chavez Ravine spent their days playing games, including baseball. After leaving the neighborhood, Richard Martinez kept playing baseball and lettered for Lincoln High School. Now grown, the children of Chavez Ravine call themselves Los Desterrados, The Uprooted.
60. PLEIBO_210723_361.JPG: Reynerio Tamayo's José D. Abreu, 2017, acrylic on canvas Cuban artist Reynerio Tamayo painted Chicago White Sox player and defector José Abreu guided by Cuba's patron saint, La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre. The baby Jesus in her arms also gestures to the son Abreu had to leave behind.
61. PLEIBO_210723_368.JPG: El Paso Shoe Store team, Los Angeles, California, early 1930s Rose Marie Salazar-Orozco kept this photo of her husband, Alonzo Orozco, and her brother, David Salazar. The teammates are indicated in marker.
62. PLEIBO_210723_372.JPG: Rose Marie Salazar-Orozco's silver bracelet, 1935 Rose Marie Salazar-Orozco received this bracelet from her younger brother, Ernesto, as thanks for writing to him during his time in the Mexican Baseball League.
63. PLEIBO_210723_376.JPG: Salazar and Orozco families' baseball scrapbook, California, around 1920s International Careers Baseball scrapbooks demonstrate international lives and, in this case, feature women's invisible work to remember the careers of male family members. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Rose Marie Salazar meticulously recorded baseball clippings of her husband, Alonzo Orozco, and brother David Salazar, in the U.S. Southwest and Mexico. photo, framed El Paso Shoe Store team, Los Angeles, California, early 1930s Rose Marie Salazar-Orozco kept this photo of her husband, Alonzo Orozco, and her brother, David Salazar. The teammates are indicated in marker. Gift of Elisa Orozco-O'Neil View object record bracelet Rose Marie Salazar-Orozco's silver bracelet, 1935 Rose Marie Salazar-Orozco received this bracelet from her younger brother, Ernesto, as thanks for writing to him during his time in the Mexican Baseball League. Gift of Elisa Orozco-O'Neil View object record Untitled
64. PLEIBO_210723_385.JPG: The Power of Baseball in Cuba In the late 1800s, Cubans became the "apostles of baseball," spreading the game across the Caribbean. The first Cubans to learn the game were children of the Cuban elite sent to study in the United States during the 1860s. They returned home with baseball equipment, knowledge of how to play the game, and enthusiasm for sharing what they acquired. This generation spread baseball across the island, teaching others how to play and forming baseball clubs that became the foundation for baseball's central place in Cuban national identity and culture.
65. PLEIBO_210723_391.JPG: Ball signed by 1953 Chicago White Sox, Chicago, Illinois, 1953 Minnie Miñoso's signature appears in the center, just over the stamp. Minnie Miñoso Minnie Miñoso was a key figure in the generation that bridged baseball from segregation to integration. From 1946 to 1948, he played in the Negro Leagues with the New York Cubans. In 1949 Miñoso debuted as the first Afro-Latino in the majors, just as the color line was dissolving. Pioneering integration meant enduring intense and sometimes violent racial animosity. He responded with exceptional on-field performance.
66. PLEIBO_210723_394.JPG: Minnie Miñoso baseball card, 1955 Minnie Miñoso batted a .320 average in the 1954 season with the Chicago White Sox. The Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution of the 1950s left diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States strained. Cuban baseball players who chose to play professionally in the United States had to defect and could not return to Cuba; exit visas were often denied to their families.
67. PLEIBO_210723_399.JPG: Luis Tiant signed baseball jersey Luis Tiant's career spanned 20 years, most notably with the Boston Red Sox from 1971 to 1978. Cuban-U.S. diplomatic relations broke down in 1961 and ballplayers had to choose between continuing their careers or returning to Cuba. Luis Tiant Jr. signed with the Cleveland Indians. Because of U.S. embargoes on travel to Cuba, 15 years passed before he would see his family on the island. The Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution of the 1950s left diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States strained. Cuban baseball players who chose to play professionally in the United States had to defect and could not return to Cuba; exit visas were often denied to their families.
68. PLEIBO_210723_402.JPG: "Just as in the United States, there were many sections of Cuba, where you only saw white people... And here in this country, the signs in restaurants and buses prohibiting Blacks applied as much to me as it did to them." -- Minnie Minoso, All-Star player
69. PLEIBO_210723_405.JPG: Luis Tiant, Jr. at the mound, 1977 Luis Tiant had a signature pitching style in which he would turn his back to the hitter.
70. PLEIBO_210723_412.JPG: Baseball card album from the Cuban Leagues, 1945–1946 Look Closely Who do you see on the pages of this book? Many famous baseball players made their debut in the Latin American leagues.
71. PLEIBO_210723_425.JPG: Tampa Smokers, Tampa, Florida, 1950s Cuban American brothers Reggie, Bennie, and Manny Fernandez of the Tampa Smokers relax after a game. The Tampa Smokers In Florida, the Minor League Tampa Smokers were named for the prolific cigar industry in the region. The team played across Florida, the southern United States, and Cuba. They also became known for developing several Cuban Major League players.
72. PLEIBO_210723_429.JPG: Tampa Smokers Team Picture, Tampa, Florida, 1947 The Tampa Smokers In Florida, the Minor League Tampa Smokers were named for the prolific cigar industry in the region. The team played across Florida, the southern United States, and Cuba. They also became known for developing several Cuban Major League players.
73. PLEIBO_210723_435.JPG: Baseball Today and Tomorrow The present and future of baseball is Latino, both on Major League rosters and in broadcast booths. Latinos are well represented among the game's stars with players like Francisco Lindor, Anthony Rendon, Javier Báez, and José Altuve leading the way. Players like Pedro Martínez, Mariano Rivera, and Ivan Rodríguez are changing the composition of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. And more Latino voices are sharing the game, with Jessica Mendoza, David Ortiz, and Alex Rodríguez broadcasting in English and Jaime Jarrín, Amaury Pi-González, and Eduardo Ortega broadcasting in Spanish.
74. PLEIBO_210723_438.JPG: Pedro Martínez's New York Mets game-worn jersey, 2005–2008
75. PLEIBO_210723_443.JPG: Baseball cards from notable Dominican players From the Alou brothers in the 1960s to the Boston Red Sox's Dominican trio of Pedro Martínez, David Ortiz, and Manny Ramírez, Dominicans have transformed Major League Baseball through their performance, style, and personalities.
76. PLEIBO_210723_458.JPG: Pedro Martínez came a long way from his one-room home in Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic. A 97-mph fastball, paralyzing change-ups, and precision pitches made Martínez a force on the mound. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.
77. PLEIBO_210723_464.JPG: Dominicans Dominate MLB As Cuban professional baseball was shutting down after the Cuban Revolution in the late 1950s, Major League Baseball began ramping up scouting efforts in the Dominican Republic. Baseball had already been an important pastime and major sport in the Dominican Republic since its introduction in the 1880s. Today, the country is still a key market for the Major Leagues. Over more than three decades, baseball academies for young Dominican players have sprung up all over the island, creating a system of exploitation as well as opportunity.
78. PLEIBO_210723_467.JPG: Freddy Rodríguez's "I'm Big Papi," 2008 David "Big Papi" Ortiz spent most of his 20-year career with the Boston Red Sox. He quickly became the "heart" of the team, helping them win the 2004 World Series after an 86-year drought. Portraits in silhouette by Dominican artist Freddy Rodríguez honor Dominican players who made history in Major League Baseball.
79. PLEIBO_210723_472.JPG: Freddy Rodríguez's "A-Rod Six of Thirteen," 2007 In 2007 Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez of the New York Yankees signed the largest contract in Major League Baseball history at the time: $275 million. The gold background represents Rodriguez's status as one of the highest paid baseball players of all time.
80. PLEIBO_210723_474.JPG: "Each individual will have their turn to step to the plate. And they use this as a metaphor for democracy and nation. That we all work together as a community." -- Adrian Burgos Jr. , baseball historian
81. PLEIBO_210723_480.JPG: "Holaaaaaaa!" -- Pedro Martinez, inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
82. PLEIBO_210723_482.JPG: A Note on Bilingual Baseball Terminology
83. PLEIBO_210723_496.JPG: Fans in the Stands and Beyond Like legendary players Roberto Clemente, Luis Tiant Jr., and Fernando Valenzuela did in the past, contemporary Latino stars Nolan Arenado, Javier Báez, Francisco Lindor, and others excite and inspire fans. They thrill fans with their ability to hit a home run, strike out an opponent, or make a big defensive play. The joy and charisma they emit while engaging with their teammates, the media, and the public makes them even bigger fan favorites. And it's not just in-game performance that gains them admirers; charitable work in their communities also contributes to their legendary status.
84. PLEIBO_210723_503.JPG: Nicholas Mariani's portrait of Francisco Lindor, 2017 Mariani drew this portrait of Francisco Lindor during art classes held at the Baseball Heritage Museum in Cleveland. Twelve-year-old Nicholas Mariani from Cleveland, Ohio, found inspiration in Puerto Rican shortstop Francisco Lindor, his favorite player on the Cleveland Indians. As a seventh grader, he drew a charcoal portrait of Lindor that impressed his art instructor, parents, and even "Mr. Smile" himself.
85. PLEIBO_210723_529.JPG: Community Driven ¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues is made possible through close collaborations with communities in 14 states; Washington, D.C.; and Puerto Rico to help bring visibility to Latina/o histories through baseball. In a series of collecting and preservation events over four years (2015–2018), communities shared stories, pictures, and artifacts. Generations of Latinas/os remembered why baseball was such an important part of their families' lives and how it brought them all together then -- and continues to bring people together in games, events, and exhibitions now.
86. PLEIBO_210723_537.JPG: Mapping Our Stories From 2015 to 2018, Smithsonian curators co-hosted events, collected over 150 new artifacts and 10 oral histories, and collaborated with partners across the country to document and preserve baseball stories at the heart of Latino communities.
87. PLEIBO_210723_539.JPG: Hometown Heroes Baseball games gather families, neighbors, and friends to foster support networks and community ties. Hometown team traditions have been particularly strong in areas with large Latino communities. The experiences of Major League Baseball star Anthony Rendon and broadcaster Jessica Mendoza resonate as stories of sacrifice and success. Their families and communities supported them along their paths. Though different, Rendon and Mendoza demonstrate what it means to be hometown heroes. Players and journalists build connections between baseball in the barrios and the big leagues, and between Latino players and fans. These barrier-breakers embody the passion and history that connects Latinas/os and America's game.
88. PLEIBO_210723_541.JPG: Jessica Mendoza in the ESPN broadcast booth, Nationals Stadium Jessica Mendoza In August 2015 Mendoza, from Camarillo, California, became the first woman to serve as commentator for Major League Baseball on ESPN. Later that year she became the first woman in MLB history to call a post-season game. From Clemente to Alvarado to Mendoza, Latinas/os are part of critical changes to the sport and often endured discrimination as they served as icons for others.
89. PLEIBO_210723_544.JPG: Anthony Rendon Anthony Rendon's story is one to which many aspiring athletes can relate. Born to a Mexican American, mixed-race family of modest means in Houston, Texas, Rendon honed his talents over many years. He is one of many Latino hometown heroes who inspire the next generation.
90. PLEIBO_210723_549.JPG: Jessica Mendoza's scrapbook made for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece
91. PLEIBO_210723_552.JPG: Jessica Mendoza playing for Team USA, Los Angeles, 2008
92. PLEIBO_210723_556.JPG: Jessica Mendoza has called games for the College World Series and Major League Baseball.
93. PLEIBO_210723_559.JPG: Softball player Jessica Mendoza's Olympic ring, Beijing, China, 2008
94. PLEIBO_210723_575.JPG: Anthony Rendon's YMCA baseball card Rendon's first baseball team sparked his drive to challenge himself to be better. Washington Nationals baseball card, 2011 The Washington Nationals drafted Anthony Rendon sixth overall in the first round of the 2011 Amateur Draft. Anthony Rendon Anthony Rendon's story is one to which many aspiring athletes can relate. Born to a Mexican American, mixed-race family of modest means in Houston, Texas, Rendon honed his talents over many years. He is one of many Latino hometown heroes who inspire the next generation.
95. PLEIBO_210723_579.JPG: Anthony Rendon's YMCA shirt and hat, Houston, Texas, 1995 Rendon's small Giants shirt and hat show the beginnings of a dream.
96. PLEIBO_210723_596.JPG: Credits This exhibition received generous support from the Cordoba Corporation and Linda Alvarado, with federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. The traveling exhibition was organized by the National Museum of American History in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.
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