Mirtha Marrero ''Fernándezis a Cuban born former pitcher who played from through in the

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...

. She batted and threw right handed.

Career

Born in Havana, Mirtha Marrero was one of seven girls born in Cuba to play in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in its twelve years history. Besides her, other ''Cubanas'' who played in the league were Luisa Gallegos,

Migdalia Pérez Migdalia Pérez (″Mickey″) was a Cuban pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted and threw right handed. After being married she played under the name of Migdalia Jinright. Born in H ...

Gloria Ruiz Gloria "Baby-Face" Ruiz (born June 25, 1928) is a former outfielder who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She batted and threw right handed. Biography Born in Havana, Ruiz was one of seven girls born ...

and Zonia Vialat. All of them debuted in 1948. The next year, Isora del Castillo and Isabel Alvarez were added. Nicknamed ״Mita״, Marrero became an instant favorite among her fellow players, who described her as a lively, intense and energetic. She entered the league with the Chicago Colleens, playing for them two years before joining the Kalamazoo Lassies (1950), Fort Wayne Daisies (1951) and

Battle Creek Belles The Battle Creek Belles were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The Belles represented Battle Creek, Michigan, and played their home games at Bailey Park. Histor ...

(1952). Marrero had a 32–62 career record, even though she collected a solid 3.42 earned run average. She quit baseball when she got married because her husband did not want her playing. Her most productive season in 1951 with Fort Wayne, when she posted a 17–8 record and a 2.24 ERA in 29 pitching appearances, while ending fourth in the league for the most

wins WINS may refer to: *WINS (AM), an all-news radio station in New York City *WINS-FM, a radio station in New York City *World Institute for Nuclear Security *Windows Internet Name Service *WINS (solution stack), a set of software subsystems *Wireles ...

, fifth in

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

(213) and seventh in

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s (87), tying for fourth in games and eighth in

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 ...

s (20).All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book In 1988, Mirtha and the other Cuban girls were honored during the opening of ''Women in Baseball'', a permanent display based at the

Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-re ...

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

, which was unveiled to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Another tribute to the AAGPBL players came with the

1992 film Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...

'' A League of Their Own'', featuring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, and directed by filmmaker Penny Marshall. In 2010, Mirtha gained induction into the Cuban Sports Hall of Fame. The next year, she and her AAGPBL teammates from Cuba were honored by having their names and photos presented at a ceremony in New York City. The event was presented by Leslie Heaphy, history professor at Kent State University of Ohio, during the Cuban Baseball Congress held on August 20 at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

. She currently lives in Miami, Florida.The Miami Herald – Cuban Player a Hit in Baseball Heyday. Article by Marino Martinez Peraza
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Career statistics

Pitching Batting Fielding

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marrero, Mirtha All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Cuban baseball players Cuban emigrants to the United States Baseball players from Havana Baseball players from Miami Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American women