Carlos Manuel Santiago (March 2, 1926 – December 21, 2008) was an infielder in
Puerto Rico and
Negro league baseball
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...
, and a long-time
scout
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
*Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
**Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
**Scouts BSA, sectio ...
and general manager. He is considered one of the best second basemen in Puerto Rican baseball history.
Negro league playing career
Santiago was selected in 1944 to play for the Puerto Rico All-Star team in the
Caribbean World Series, played that season in
Caracas, Venezuela. When he returned from Caracas, he signed a professional contract with the
Mayagüez Indians for the 1944–45 season. Following the 1945 season, Santiago traveled to
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
on a barnstorming trip with other Puerto Rican All-Stars. He was scouted by Negro league veteran
John Beckwith who signed him to play for the
Atlanta Black Crackers.
Midway through the 1945 season, Santiago left the Black Crackers and signed with the
New York Cubans of the
Negro National League. He played second base and shortstop for the Cubans in 1945 and 1946.
1947 to 1960
In 1947, Santiago signed with the
Stamford Bombers Stamford may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Stamford, Queensland, Australia, a town and location in the Shire of Flinders
Canada
* Stamford Township, Ontario, a former township first in Upper Canada, then in Canada
United Kingdom
* Stamford ...
of the Class B level
Colonial League. This was the same season that
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...
joined the
Dodgers; Santiago was the first Afro-Caribbean Puerto Rican to break the
color line in "organized" baseball. The Colonial League started in 1947 and folded on July 16, 1950. Santiago hit .341 during the abbreviated 1950 season.
In 1951
Bill Veeck
William Louis Veeck Jr. ( ; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was an American Major League Baseball franchise owner and promoter. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Br ...
and
Lou Boudreau
Louis Boudreau (July 17, 1917 – August 10, 2001), nicknamed "Old Shufflefoot", "Handsome Lou", and "The Good Kid", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 15 seasons, primarily as a ...
invited Santiago to
Cleveland's
spring training
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
camp. However, Santiago was drafted into the
U.S. Army and sent to
Korea. Santiago served for 25 months and was honorably discharged as a
sergeant
Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
. Santiago returned from Korea and continued playing professionally until 1960.
Post playing career
After his retirement as a player, Santiago held many positions in professional baseball. He served as a coach on the 1968–69 and 1969-70
Ponce clubs which won back-to-back championships. In 1968–69, he served as a coach to Ponce manager
Rocky Bridges and in 1969–70 to manager
Jim Fregosi. He was general manager of Mayagüez for three years. He served as National Instructor of Baseball in
Columbia
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* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
for four years. He scouted for the
California Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
for three years.
Santiago was elected to the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993. Until his death, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Negro League Baseball Players Association.
He is buried in the Vivaldi de Mayagüez cemetery in Mayagüez.
References
Further reading
*
External links
an
Seamheads*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santiago, Carlos Manuel
1926 births
2008 deaths
United States Army personnel of the Korean War
Atlanta Black Crackers players
Indios de Mayagüez players
Puerto Rican baseball players
People from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Leones de Ponce players
United States Army non-commissioned officers
Stamford Bombers players