Isidoro León Becerra (January 4, 1911 – July 25, 2002) was a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who played for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

in 1945. The 34-year-old

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

was a native of Cruces, Cuba. León is one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the major leagues during World War II. He made his major league debut on June 21, 1945, in a home game against the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

Shibe Park Shibe Park ( , rhymes with "vibe"), known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) from 1909 to 1954 and the Philadelphia Phillies of the Natio ...

. He was the starting and losing pitcher in a 9–2 defeat. Cy Buker was the winning pitcher. León's final big league appearance was on September 16. He was released by Philadelphia on February 26, 1946. Season and career totals include 14 games pitched, 4 starts, 0 complete games, a 0–4 record with 4 games finished, 23

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any Run (baseball), run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the ...

allowed in 38

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

, and an ERA of 5.35. In 1948, he played for the New York Cubans of the Negro National League. León died at the age of 91 in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

References

External links

1911 births 2002 deaths People from Cruces, Cuba Baseball players from Cienfuegos Province Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Cuba 20th-century Cuban sportsmen Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Philadelphia Phillies players Abilene Blue Sox players Dublin Green Sox players Havana Cubans players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Portland Beavers players Sherman–Denison Twins players St. Petersburg Saints players {{cuba-baseball-pitcher-stub