Antonio María García Callaghan (1868 – July 24, 1923),

nicknamed A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

"''El Inglés''" ("The Englishman"), was a Cuban

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

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 ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

, and

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

in the

Cuban League The Cuban League ( Spanish: ''Liga cubana'') 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 ...

and the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

. He played from 1882 to 1905 with several Cuban ballclubs, including Almendares, the Fe club,

Habana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.All Cubans The All Cubans were a team of Cuban professional baseball players that toured the United States during 1899 and 1902–05, playing against white semiprofessional and Negro league teams. The team was the first Latin American professional baseball ...

. He was elected to the

Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame The Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame (''Salón de la Fama del Béisbol Cubano'') is a hall of fame that honors eminent baseball players from Cuban baseball. Established in 1939 to honor players, managers, and umpires in the pre-revolution Cuban League ...

in 1939. According to Cuban baseball historian Jorge Figueredo, García was "considered by many as the best all-around player of the early years" of the Cuban League. When

John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager (baseball), manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants (NL), New York Giants. He was also the ...

visited Cuba in 1889, he reportedly wanted to sign García to a contract with Baltimore. García refused because he was being paid more in Cuba than what Baltimore offered.

Playing career

García debuted with Almendares in the Cuban League in the winter season of 1882/83. The league was suspended the following winter, and when it resumed play in the spring of 1885, García was playing for Habana, which won the league championship. The following winter, he played for Fe, which finished third in the five-team league. In 1886/87, García returned to Habana, which again won the championship. The next season, he won the batting championship with 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 .448; he also led the league in

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 i ...

s (26) and

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

s (6). Nevertheless, his Habana team lost the pennant race to Fe, ending the season one game behind. In 1888/89, García's batting average dropped to .238, but his Habana team regained the pennant. The next season, he moved to Fe and won his second batting crown, hitting .369, and also led the league in hits (24) and

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * I ...

s (4), while tying for the league lead in

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s with one. His team finished in second place, two games behind Habana. In 1890/91, García hit .338 and his Fe team won the title, while Habana faded to fourth place. Figueredo 2003, pp. 18–25.

Notes

References

External links

1868 births 1923 deaths 19th-century baseball players 19th-century Cuban people 20th-century Cuban sportsmen All Cubans players Almendares (baseball) players Baseball catchers Club Fé players Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Cuban baseball players Cuban League players Habana players Negro league baseball players from Cuba Almendarista players {{negro-league-baseball-catcher-stub