Regino José Otero Gómez (September 7, 1915 – October 21, 1988) 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 Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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who had a long career in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

in the United States (1936–53), and played briefly with the Chicago Cubs of

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), ...

in 1945. He also played 13 years in the Cuban Professional League. A left-handed batting

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, he threw right-handed, and was listed as tall and . After his playing career ended, he managed in the U.S., Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela, spent eight years (1959–66) as a coach in the U.S. major leagues, then worked as a scout for two

MLB 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), ...

clubs for more than a decade.

Playing career

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.

, Otero made his organized baseball debut in 1936 with the

York White Roses The York White Roses was the name of a minor league baseball team in the city of York, Pennsylvania, US, that existed from 1894–1969. History Early years The York White Roses began as members of the short-lived Keystone Association in 1884. ...

Trenton Senators Trenton may refer to: Places Canada *Trenton, Nova Scotia, a town *Trenton, Ontario, an unincorporated community *CFB Trenton, a Canadian Forces Base near Trenton, Ontario United States *Trenton, New Jersey, the capital of the state of New Jers ...

club of the New York–Pennsylvania League, where he

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

.243 with no

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 22

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 ba ...

. He also played for the International League's Albany Senators that year, but hit only .111. The following year he returned to the Senators but still had trouble, hitting .136 with 0 HR and 3 RBI. In 1938 he moved south to the St. Augustine Saints ( Florida State League). There he hit .308, still with 0 HR, but with 52 RBI. Otero played for the

Greenville Spinners The Greenville Spinners was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams located in Greenville, South Carolina between 1907 and 1962. Greenville teams played as members of the South Carolina League in 1907, Carolina Association (1908–191 ...

in 1939 and 1940. In his two seasons in the

Sally 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 ...

he hit .325-2-57 and then .315-1-50. He moved back north in 1941, when he played for the Springfield Nationals of the Eastern League and hit .223-0-24. Otero played for the Springfield club's farm team, the Utica Braves of the

Can-Am League The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization ...

, in 1942, where he led the league in batting with a .364 average, 2 HR and 101 RBI. Inactive in 1943, Otero moved west in 1944, playing for the

Los Angeles 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 h ...

of the Pacific Coast League. At the end of the 1945 season he was called up to the Chicago Cubs, after hitting .344 with 23 RBI, following a .306-0-54 season. Otero appeared in 14 games for the Cubs, making his debut on September 2, 1945. He had 9 hits in 23 at-bats, good for a .391 average with 5 RBI. This was his only major league experience. He returned to the Angels for the 1946 and 1947 seasons. Otero could not continue to put up those numbers and hit only .273-1-46, and then .231-0-7 in the following year. After the 1947 season, he joined the

Portsmouth Cubs Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dense ...

of the

Piedmont League The Piedmont League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1920 through 1955. The league operated principally in the Piedmont plateau region in the eastern United States. Teams The following teams were members of the Piedmont ...

, where he would play for the next five years, also serving as manager in 1951–52. In the league Otero hit over .300 four times with a high of .353, and had 4 home runs and 312 RBI. He joined the

Springfield Cubs The Springfield Cubs, based in Springfield, Massachusetts, were a minor league baseball franchise that served as a farm team of the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball from 1948 to 1953. The team was a member of the Class B New England Leagu ...

(International League) in 1953 and hit .171-0-4 before retiring from the

. In his homeland, Otero played in 480 games in the Cuban Professional League for thirteen years from 1936 to 1953. He began his career with the Club Acción Republicana before joining Habana (1936–37), Santa Clara (1939–40), Cienfuegos and Almendares (1945–46) and then the Havana Reds of the Cuban National Federation before returning to Cienfuegos, where he played for seven years from 1947 to 1953. Otero hit .242 in the Cuban league with 499 hits in 2068 at-bats with 177 RBI.

Manager, coach and scout

After his playing career ended, Otero managed the

Havana Sugar Kings The Havana Sugar Kings were a Cuban-based minor league baseball team that played from 1946 to 1960. From 1954 until 1960, they belonged in the Class AAA International League, affiliated with Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds. Their home ...

from 1954 through mid-1956. He also managed in the Cuban league and 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 ...

, but gained the most notoriety in the

Venezuelan 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 ...

. There he led the

Industriales de Valencia The Industriales de Valencia was a baseball club who played from 1955 through 1968 in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. The Industriales joined the league as a replacement for the Santa Marta BBC. The Industriales were based at Valencia ...

to three titles (1955–56, 1957–58, 1958–59) and the

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

to four titles (1961–62, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1967–68). His seven championships are the most in the league's history. In Major League Baseball, he served as a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

for the Cincinnati Reds (1959–65) and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

(1966). In 1967, he became a scout, working for Cleveland and the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

into the 1980s. Otero died of a heart attack in

Hialeah, Florida Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Miami metropolitan area ...

, on October 21, 1988.

References

This article is based on the article
Reggie Otero
at Baseball-Reference.com's Bullpen, accessed November 7, 2006. The Bullpen is a wiki and its content is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

External links

Cubanball.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otero, Reggie 1915 births 1988 deaths Albany Senators players Caribbean Series managers Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds coaches Cleveland Indians coaches Cleveland Indians scouts Greenville Spinners players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Los Angeles Dodgers scouts Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Cuba Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball third base coaches Minor league baseball managers Portsmouth Cubs players St. Augustine Saints players Springfield Cubs players Springfield Nationals players Trenton Senators players Utica Braves players York White Roses players Baseball players from Havana

Playing career

Manager, coach and scout

See also

References

External links