Built like a beer keg on legs, Bartolo Colon always looked like he belonged slinging softballs in a Sunday league than on a Major League mound.  Boy, are looks deceiving.   Not only did the well-traveled Dominican Republic native enjoy a 21-year career with 11 different teams, on this day in béisbol, Aug. 6, 2018, the 45-year-old righty became the all-time leader in wins for a Latino pitcher. No. 246 came with the Texas Rangers in an 11-4 victory against Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez. It moved him past Nicaragua-born Dennis Martinez, who retired in 1998 at age 44 with

Say what you will about Jose Canseco's cartoon muscles, blatant steroid use and off-the-field antics, but the Oakland Athletics outfielder was a dynamic and exciting player early in his career who was always fun to watch at the plate. But the massive slugger’s size — 6’4” and 240 pounds — belied his speed, and on this day in béisbol, August 6, 1988, the Cuban-born Canseco became the 11th player to join the exclusive 30-30 Club: 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in one season. He already had 31 homers on the year when he stole second in the ninth

To say baseball was a different game way back in 1969 is an understatement. That year saw both leagues split into two divisions each for the first time, while the designated hitter in the AL was a couple of years away and free agency — not to mention the millions that would come with it — was just a fantasy. And back then the all-time hits list was dominated by white men who played in the dead ball era at the dawn of the 20th Century. Which is why Roberto Clemente’s 2,500th hit on this day in béisbol, Aug. 5,

Long before injuries, age and PEDs took their toll, the smart money was on Alex Rodriguez being the one player who would legitimately challenge Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record.  On this day in béisbol, Aug. 4, 2007, A-Rod took a huge step towards fulfilling that prophesy when he hit his 500th career homer — and was the youngest player to do so. Rodriguez was 32 years and 8 days old when he reached the milestone as a Yankee, hitting a three-run homer off Kyle Davies of the Royals in a win at The Stadium. Number 500 came in his

There was no doubt Albert Pujols was a special player from the time he broke into the bigs in 2001 as a 21-year-old first baseman with the St Louis Cardinals and was named Rookie of the Year for his spectacular 37 HR, .329, 130 RBI, 1.013 OPS season. Three years later, on this day in béisbol Aug. 3, 2004, the Santo Domingo native was still raking at a Hall of Fame rate. He hit his 30th homer in a game against the Montreal Expos to become the first player ever with at least 30 in his first four seasons. He’d

In 1961, few teams were as progressive as the San Francisco Giants, whose roster was rife with dynamic young Black and Latino players. The Giants, who already had Puerto Rican players Orlando Cepeda and shortstop Jose Pagan, had also successfully dipped into the Dominican Republic talent pool with the Alou brothers (Felipe and Matty) and especially young pitcher Juan Marichal. On this day in béisbol, Aug. 2, 1961, Marichal, a 23-year-old fireballing righty in his second season, hurled a gem against the rival Dodgers. He only allowed a harmless fifth-inning single to Tommy Davis in a 6-0 whitewash in Los

Most every team these days strives to have an Asdrubal Cabrera on the roster — a switch-hitting infielder with pop who can play small ball and man multiple positions when needed.  Now retired, the well-traveled Venezuela native played for eight MLB teams, including eight seasons with the Cleveland Indians over a 15-year career that included winning a World Series after joining the Washington Nationals as a free agent in August 2019. The 33-year-year-old veteran hit .323 with 6 homers and 40 RBI in just 38 games down the pennant stretch.  But on this day in béisbol, Aug. 1, 2011, Cabrera

When the Yankees signed pitcher Jose Contreras out of Cuba in 2003, they were hoping he’d at least be another Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, the popular righty from the island who’d been a major cog in the Bombers’ late 1990s machine. But it didn’t work out that way, as an inconsistent Contreras struggled in the Bronx to show what had made him a star in Cuba.  On this day in béisbol, July 31, 2004, the frustrated Yankees front office gave up on the then-32 Contreras after only a season and a half and shipped him to the White Sox for