Pablo García Álvarez (June 23, 1923 – December 30, 1997) was a

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 ...

n professional baseball player. Born in

Ranchuelo Ranchuelo is a town and municipality in the Villa Clara Province of Cuba. It was founded in 1734 and has a municipal population of 59,062, of which about 16,804 in the town itself. History Originally named Boca de Ranchuelo, the settlement was fo ...

Villa Clara Province Villa Clara is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is located in the central region of the island bordering with the Atlantic at north, Matanzas Province by west, Sancti Spiritus Province by east, and Cienfuegos Province on the South. Villa Clara ...

, he batted and threw right handed.Venezuelan Winter League Batting Statistics
''Pura Pelota''. Retrieved on June 29, 2016.

Career

Basically a line drive hitter with a good bat speed, García also was a smart, aggressive baserunner with decent range, good hands and arm strength at

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

and

corner outfield An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catc ...

spots.Gutiérrez, Daniel; Alvarez, Efraim; Gutiérrez (h), Daniel (2006). ''La Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela''. LVBP, Caracas. García played

sandlot ball Sandlot ball or sandlot baseball is a competitive and athletic sports game that follows the basic rules and procedures of baseball. It is often less organized and structured, as the name alludes to a makeshift field or an empty lot. History and ...

during his childhood, starting to play in the early 1940s in a semi-professional baseball club based in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, a tiny town in the province of

Sancti Spíritus Sancti Spíritus () is a municipality and capital city of the province of Sancti Spíritus Province, Sancti Spíritus in central Cuba and one of the oldest Cuban European settlements. Sancti Spíritus is the genitive case of Latin language, Lat ...

, central Cuba. At 23, García debuted professionally with the legendary Habana BBC of the

Cuban Winter 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 ...

in 1946, playing for them five and a half seasons, before joining the Elefantes de Cienfuegos (1950–1954) and Alacranes del Almendares (1956). In a ten-season career, he posted a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .261 (301-for-1153) with 12

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 135

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 388 games. Additionally, he amassed 44

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

s, nine

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

, 132

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

, and 16

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.Figueredo, Jorge S. (2011). ''Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, 1878-1961''. Macfarland & Company. In 1946, García was used sparingly by Habana in his rookie season, appearing in just 13 games while hitting 083 (1-for-12) with one RBI. Late in the year, he will found an opportunity to play regularly with the

Navegantes del Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes (Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It wa ...

in the

Venezuelan Winter League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

, where he batted .403 (31-for-77) and slugged .523 in 21 games, becoming the first batting average champion in the league's inaugural 1946 season. García returned to winter ball in Venezuela during the 1954–1955 season, dividing his playing time between Santa Marta BBC and Magallanes. He hit a combined .350 with 29 runs driven in and slugged .496 in 38 games during the two trips. As the league champion, Magallanes represented Venezuela in the

1955 Caribbean Series The seventh edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') was played in 1955. It was held from February 10 through February 15, featuring the champion baseball teams from Cuba, Alacranes de Almendares; Panama, Carta Vieja Yankees; Puerto ...

. The Venezuelan team finished in second place with a 4-2 record and was responsible for the only defeat suffered by

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 ...

's champion Cangrejeros de Santurce, a team which featured players as

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was pos ...

Buster Clarkson James Buster Clarkson (March 13, 1915 – January 18, 1989) was an American baseball player who played briefly in Major League Baseball and had a long career in the Negro leagues, the minor leagues, and the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball Leagu ...

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...

Bob Thurman Robert Burns Thurman (May 14, 1917 – October 31, 1998) was a professional baseball pitcher, outfielder and pinch-hitter. He played in the Negro leagues, the Puerto Rican winter league (where he was a star), and for a few years at the end of ...

, and Series' MVP

Don Zimmer Donald William Zimmer (January 17, 1931 – June 4, 2014) was an American infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Zimmer was involved in professional baseball from 1949 until his death, a span of 65 years, across 8 d ...

. For his part, García led the Magallanes offensive in the tournament, hitting .500 (6-for-12), including one double, a pair of triples, six RBI, three runs and a .917 slugging in part-time duties, while leading the Series in slugging and tying with teammate George Wilson for the most triples. In between, García played nine Minor League Baseball seasons spanning 1947–1956, all of them in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

, where he performed for the Industriales/Sultanes de Monterrey and the

Leones de Yucatán The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The team play its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in , , , ...

,Mexican League Batting Statistics
''Estadísticas del Béisbol Mexicano''. Retrieved on June 29, 2016. except for a brief appearance at Triple-A

Charleston Senators The Charleston Senators were an American minor league baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They were the first professional baseball team to play in Charleston, beginning play in 1910. The team was inactive during a few periods, playin ...

in 1955. His most productive season came in 1950 with Monterrey, when he hit a career-high .345 (112-for-325) and topped the league with 27 doubles. He also enjoyed a good season in 1951, hitting .320 (103-for-326), while leading the league in doubles (28) and triples (11). Overall, García sported a .306/.417/.446

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 e ...

with 556 runs, 467 RBI, and 114 stolen bases in 778 games.Treto Cisneros, Pedro (2002). ''The Mexican League/La Liga Mexicana: Comprehensive Player Statistics, 1937-2001''. McFarland & Company. A long time resident of

Monterrey, Mexico Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

, García retired in 1956 and returned to Cuba three years later. He died in 1997 in his homeland of Ranchuelo, at the age of 74, after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Pablo 1923 births 1997 deaths People from Ranchuelo Sportspeople from Villa Clara Province Almendares (baseball) players Baseball outfielders Baseball third basemen Charleston Senators players Cienfuegos players Habana players Industriales de Monterrey players Leones de Yucatán players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Santa Marta (baseball club) players Sultanes de Monterrey players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Mexico Cuban expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Cuban expatriate sportspeople in Trinidad and Tobago