Lázaro Salazar Vázquez (February 4, 1912 – April 25, 1957) 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 ...

outfielder 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 catch ...

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 ...

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, ...

, and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

in 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 ...

, playing four major league seasons with the Western Cuban Stars (1930), Pollock's Cuban Stars (1932), and the

New York Cubans The New York Cubans were a Negro league baseball team that played during the 1930s and from 1939 to 1950. Despite playing in the Negro leagues, the team occasionally employed white-skinned Hispanic baseball players as well, because Hispanics pl ...

(1935–1936). He also spent much of his career outside the United States, playing and managing in Mexico and Venezuela.

Career

Salazar played for 21 seasons from 1924 to 1952, sometimes as a

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

, with the

Cuban Stars (West) The Cuban Stars were a team of Baseball in Cuba, Cuban professional baseball players that competed in the History of baseball in the United States, United States Negro league baseball, Negro leagues from 1907 to 1930. The team was also sometime ...

, Pollock's Cuban Stars, and

of the Negro leagues, and the Cafeteros de Córdoba,

Azules de Veracruz The Azules de Veracruz (English: Veracruz Blues) were a professional baseball team that played in the Mexican League from 1940 to 1951. Originally from Veracruz, Mexico, the team relocated to Mexico City shortly after its foundation, while keeping ...

Industriales de Monterrey The Industriales de Monterrey (English: ''Monterrey Industrials'') were a professional baseball team based in Monterrey, Nuevo León, the team participated in the Mexican League from 1990 to 1994. History The team was established in 1989, when t ...

and

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey (English: Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball club in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Monterrey, Mexico. Established in 1939 as Carta Blanca, the Sultanes have won ten LMB titles, most recently in 2018. Fro ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. 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 ...

, he won the batting title in the 1934–35 season, hitting .407. Salazar also played and managed in Venezuela for much of his career. While pitching for the Gavilanes club, he was part of the longest contest in Venezuelan baseball history, a 20-inning game that lasted 6 hours and 20 minutes. Salazar eventually lost the pitching duel to Andrés Julio Báez, who played for Pastora, 1–0. The game took place in

Maracaibo Maracaibo ( , ; ) is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the largest city in Venezuela and is List of cities in Venezuela by population ...

on May 5, 1938. He later managed the

Navegantes del Magallanes Navegantes del Magallanes B.B.C., commonly known as Navegantes del Magallanes (; ''Strait of Magellan, Magellan Navigators''), or simply Magallanes, are a professional baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP), based in ...

of the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (, or LVBP) is the top-level professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Background and predecessors Baseball had been play ...

for seven consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1956, leading the squad to championship titles in the 1949–1950, 1950–1951, 1951–1952 and 1954–1955 campaigns. Salazar's number 17 is retired by the

and 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 ho ...

, and he was inducted into the Magallanes. team hall of fame in 2012. Additionally, he has been enshrined in three national baseball Halls of Fame: 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 ...

(1954); the

Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame The Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Mexicano (in English, Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame), commonly called the Salón de la Fama (Hall of Fame) is a baseball hall of fame and museum located in Monterrey, Nuevo León, inaugurated on 10 ...

(1964); and the

Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The Salón de la Fama y Museo del Béisbol Venezolano (in English, the ''Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum'') is a nonprofit institution operated by private interests, which was founded on April 18, 2002, thanks to the vision of Carlos ...

(2010).

References

External links

an
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1912 births 1957 deaths 20th-century Cuban sportsmen Azules de Veracruz players Baseball first basemen Baseball outfielders Baseball pitchers Baseball player-managers Baseball players from Havana Cafeteros de Córdoba players Caribbean Series managers Cuban baseball coaches Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Cuban baseball players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Mexico Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Cuban expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Cuban Stars (East) players Cuban Stars (West) players Diablos Rojos del México managers Industriales de Monterrey players Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Minor league baseball managers Navegantes del Magallanes managers Navegantes del Magallanes players Negro league baseball managers Negro league baseball players from Cuba New York Cubans players Pollock's Cuban Stars players Sultanes de Monterrey managers Sultanes de Monterrey players {{Negro-league-baseball-pitcher-1910s-stub