Orlando de Jesús McFarlane Quesada (28 June 1938 – 18 July 2007) was a

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...

professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player. He played as a

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

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), ...

for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and

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 ...

in parts of five seasons spanning 1962–1968. Listed at 6' 0" ,180 lb. , he batted and threw right handed.Major League Baseball Statistics and History
''Baseball Reference''. Retrieved on 17 March 2016.Torres, Angel (1997). ''La Leyenda del Béisbol Cubano: 1878-1997'' (Spanish). Angel Torres Pub Co.

Early years

He was born and raised in Victoria de Las Tunas.Orlando McFarlane Biography
''Tiempo 21'' (Spanish). Retrieved on 19 February 2016.

Career

McFarlane signed a free agent contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1958. He spent two seasons in the Pirates minor league system before debuting in the

Cuban League The Cuban League was one of the earliest and longest lasting professional baseball leagues outside the United States, operating in Cuba from 1878 to 1961. The schedule usually operated during the winter months, so the league was sometimes known a ...

, where he played for the Alacranes de Almendares club during the 1959-60 and 1960-61 winter seasons. Shortly thereafter, the Cuban government replaced the former professional baseball system with new amateur baseball leagues. As a result, like many Cuban ballplayers, McFarlane decided to migrate to the United States to try his luck in a new environment. In 1961, McFarlane joined the Class A

Asheville Tourists The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in differen ...

, where he posted a solid

slash line S sabermetrics :Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics. The term is derived from the SABR – the Society for American Baseball Research. The term was coined by Bill James, an ...

of .301/.400/.528 with 74

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

in 114 games, including 21

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 27

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s, a remarkable total for a catcher, being named the best prospect 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 ...

. MacFarlane opened 1962 at Triple A

Columbus Jets The Columbus Jets were a Minor League baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, from 1955 to 1970. The team moved from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada where they were known as the Ottawa Athletics. The Jets were a member of the Triple-A (baseball), Tr ...

, hitting for them a .308 average with 11 homers and 61 RBI.Minor League Baseball Statistics and History
''Baseball Reference''. Retrieved on 17 March 2016. He would make his debut with the Pirates near the end of the year, appearing in eight games, but he never achieved the success predicted for him at Asheville. After that, MacFarlane spent one and a half season at Triple A and returned to the Pirates for a brief stint in 1964. He then battled with injuries and inconsistency throughout the next three years, as he split time between the Majors and the Minors with the Tigers and Angels organizations. MacFarlane later played parts of four seasons in the minor leagues, concluding in 1971 with 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 ...

which had acquired him from the

Tidewater Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

for

Francisco Estrada Francisco "Paquín" Estrada Soto (February 12, 1948 – December 9, 2019) was a Mexican Major League Baseball player for the New York Mets. Estrada, a catcher, appeared in one game for the Mets in 1971. Estrada was at the time of his death the ...

on 30 November 1970. In a ten-season minors career, he slashed .285/.372/.478 with 129 home runs and 544 RBI in 960 games appearances. In between, Mc Farlane played winter ball for the

Águilas Cibaeñas The Águilas Cibaeñas (English lit. ''Cibaoan Eagles'') is a professional baseball team in the Dominican Republic's Dominican Professional Baseball League, winter baseball league. Founded on January 28, and based in Santiago de los Caballeros, S ...

in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

, where he led the league in home runs in 1963-64 (10) and 1964-65 (8). Additionally, he played with the

Tigres de Aragua The Tigres de Aragua ( en, Aragua Tigers) is a baseball team that plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League and represents the state of Aragua. Founded in 1965, the Tigres plays its home games at the Estadio José Pérez Colmenares i ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Venezuelan Winter League
''Pura Pelota''. Retrieved on 18 March 2016. and the Leones de Ponce in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, where he lived for the rest of his life. Even more, Mc Farlane gained notoriety in Puerto Rico when he had his wedding ceremony performed at the

Estadio Francisco Montaner The Estadio Francisco ("Paquito") Montaner (English: ''Francisco ("Paquito") Montaner Stadium'') is a multi-use stadium in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is home to the Leones de Ponce team of the Puerto Rico Baseball League (LBPPR) and FC Leones of ...

, homestand of the Leones.

Death

McFarlane died in 2007 in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

, at the age of 69.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McFarlane, Orlando 1938 births 2007 deaths Águilas Cibaeñas players Cuban expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Almendares (baseball) players Asheville Tourists players Burials at Cementerio Civil de Ponce Burlington Bees players California Angels players Columbus Jets players Detroit Tigers players Diablos Rojos del México players Dubuque Packers players Grand Forks Chiefs players Hawaii Islanders players Leones de Ponce players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Puerto Rico Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from Cuba Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States People from Las Tunas (city) Pittsburgh Pirates players Salem Rebels players Seattle Angels players Tidewater Tides players Tigres de Aragua players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Venezuela 21st-century African-American people