Enrique Maroto (born September 7, 1935) is a former professional

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who played in Minor League Baseball and the

Negro leagues 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 ...

. Listed at 5' 6" , 165 lb. , Maroto batted and threw left handed. He was born in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

.Enrique Maroto profile
''Baseball Reference''. Retrieved on February 27, 2019. One of The Last Havana Sugar Kings – “Ricky” Maroto
''KL Mitchell Archives''. Retrieved on February 27, 2019. Although undersized, Maroto was a hard-throwing pitcher and fiery competitor. He started his career in his native Cuba, then in 1952 he went to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

to play for the Brandon Greys of the

Mandak League The Manitoba-Dakota League was an independent baseball league based in Manitoba and North Dakota that was founded in 1950. It became the home for many African-American and Latino players. The league lasted through the 1957 season. It was known inf ...

. Afterwards, Maroto pitched from 1955 to 1956 for the

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 193 ...

of the

Negro American League The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues created during the time organized American baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and disbanded after its 1962 season. Negro American League franchises :''An ...

, appearing in both the 1955 and 1956

East–West All-Star Game The East–West All-Star Game was an annual all-star game for Negro league baseball players. The game was the brainchild of Gus Greenlee, owner of the Pittsburgh Crawfords. In 1933 he decided to emulate the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, usi ...

. Known most for pulling double duty with the Monarchs, Maroto would often pitch the entire first game and play the outfield during the second game of a doubleheader. Eventually, he got used to pitch several times in both games the same day. In 1955, Maroto pitched a five-hitter,

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

victory against the Detroit Stars in the first game of a double header, only to return in the second game and hurled the final seven innings for the deuce. Three weeks later, he repeated this feat against the

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...

with a four-hit

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

in the first game and picked up another win in relief duties.Kelley, Brent (2010). ''The Negro Leagues Revisited: Conversations with 66 More Baseball Heroes''. McFarland. For good measure, Maroto also delivered a strong pitching performance in the 1955 East-West All-Star Game,

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

seven batters in two

innings of relief while saving the 2-0 victory for the West team.East–West All-Star Game
''Center for Negro League Baseball Research''. Retrieved on March 2, 2019. In the 1956 All-Star Game, Maroto opened at

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the Baseball positions, baseball and softball fielding position between Left fielder, left field and Right fielder, right field. In the numberi ...

for the West team and was placed fourth in the batting order. He led the West Stars with two hits in the 11-5 defeat to the East team. Thereafter, Maroto spent 1957 with the Rojos de Fresnillo of the

Mexican Center League The Mexican Center League was a Class C Minor League Baseball circuit that operated in 1956 and 1957. History By 1955, the outlaw Mexican League was struggling for survival during its confrontation against Major League Baseball. As a result, A ...

. He then was signed by the Washington Senators and assigned to their farm team in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, where he pitched from 1958 to 1959 for the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

, one of the first integrated professional baseball teams in the league and in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. In 1960 Maroto returned to his native Cuba to play for the Havana Sugar Kings of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

, a Triple-A affiliate of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. Nevertheless, his performance was interrupted by the calamitous effects of the political relations between Cuba and the United States. As a result, the Sugar Kings were notified that they would be relocating to

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Jersey City Jerseys {{unreferenced, date=January 2023 The Jersey City Jerseys was a minor league baseball team based in Jersey City, New Jersey that played in the International League for two seasons, 1960 and 1961. It was the AAA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. ...

. Maroto then opted to sign a contract to play for the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey ( en, Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monterrey, Mexico. They compete in the Northern Division. The team also joined the Mexican Pacific League for the 2019–20 season f ...

of the Mexican League. He spent one and a half season with the Sultanes before joining the

Diablos Rojos del México The Diablos Rojos del Mexico (English: Mexico Red Devils) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Mexico City, Mexico. The team was founded in 1940 by Salvador Lutteroth and Ernesto Carmona. The Diablos Rojos play their hom ...

in the 1961 midseason. In between, Maroto also played winter ball in Cuba for the Tigres de Marianao club in the 1956–57, 1957–58 and 1958–59 seasons. During this period he was part of pitching staffs that featured

Al Cicotte Alva Warren Cicotte (; December 23, 1929 – November 29, 1982), nicknamed "Bozo", was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player. Cicotte pitched in 102 MLB games, 16 as a starter, and compiled a record of 10–13. In 260 innings pitched, Cicotte h ...

Mike Fornieles : José Miguel Fornieles y Torres (January 18, 1932 – February 11, 1998) was a Major League Baseball pitcher from La Habana, Cuba. The right-hander pitched a one hitter in his major league debut on September 2, . Washington Senators Fornieles s ...

, Bob Mabe,

Connie Marrero Conrado Eugenio Marrero Ramos (April 25, 1911 – April 23, 2014), nicknamed "Connie", was a Cuban professional baseball pitcher. The right-handed Marrero pitched in Major League Baseball from to for the Washington Senators. Marrero made his m ...

, Rudy Minarcin, Bob Shaw and

Bill Werle William George Werle (December 21, 1920 – November 27, 2010) was a left-handed major league baseball pitcher from Oakland, California. He pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox from 1949 to 1954. His nicknam ...

, all of them with major league experience. Marianao clinched the 1956-57 pennant and advanced to the

1957 Caribbean Series The ninth edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') was played in 1957. It was held from February 9 through February 14, featuring the champion baseball teams of Cuba, Tigres de Marianao; Panama, Cerveza Balboa; Puerto Rico, Indios d ...

, winning the tournament title under

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Nap Reyes Napoleón Aguilera Reyes (November 24, 1919 – September 15, 1995) was a Major League Baseball third baseman–first baseman who played for the New York Giants from 1943 to 1945, and again in 1950. A native of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, ...

. After two seasons playing in Mexico, Maroto retired from professional baseball and settled in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. In 2008,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

staged a special draft of the surviving Negro league players, doing a tribute for those ballplayers who were kept out of the Big Leagues because of their race. MLB clubs each drafted a former NLB player, and Maroto was selected by the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

.2008 Special Negro Leagues Draft
''MLB.com.'' Retrieved on February 26, 2019.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maroto, Enrique 1935 births Living people Baseball pitchers Brandon Greys players Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Canada Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Diablos Rojos del México players Fresnillo baseball players Havana Sugar Kings players Jersey City Jerseys players Kansas City Monarchs players Marianao players Sultanes de Monterrey players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Mexico 21st-century African-American people Cuban expatriate baseball players in Nicaragua