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

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

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 50,708, of which about 15,000 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 on the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Matanzas Province to the west, Sancti Spiritus Province to the east, and Cienfuegos Province to the Sou ...

, 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 catch ...

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 less organized and structured, as the name alludes to a makeshift field or an empty lot. In the 20th centu ...

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

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

, a tiny town in the province of

Sancti Spíritus Sancti Spíritus () is a municipality and capital city of the province of Sancti Spíritus in central Cuba and one of the oldest Cuban European settlements. Sancti Spíritus is the genitive case of Latin ''Sanctus Spiritus'' ("Holy Spirit"). ...

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

Cuban Winter 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 l ...

in 1946, playing for them five and a half seasons, before joining the

Elefantes de Cienfuegos Elefantes de Cienfuegos (English: Cienfuegos Elephants) is a baseball team in the Cuban National Series. Based in the southern city of Cienfuegos, the Elefantes had their best season in their second year of existence, finishing fourth in the Nati ...

(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 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 and 135

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

in 388 games. Additionally, he amassed 44

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, nine

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

, 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 bal ...

, and 16

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions 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 out ...

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 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 ...

in the

Venezuelan Winter 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 ...

, 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 ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

'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 player who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a right fielder. On December ...

, Buster Clarkson,

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of ...

, Bob Thurman, 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 George Wilson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Balch Wilson (1927–2021), American composer, professor emeritus at the University of Michigan * George Washington Wilson (1823–1893), Scottish photographer * George Christopher (ac ...

for the most triples. In between, García played nine

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

seasons spanning 1947–1956, all of them in 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 ...

, 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 plays its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in 1957 ...

,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, playi ...

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 This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

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 (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

, 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 Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Pablo 1923 births 1997 deaths People from Ranchuelo Baseball players 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