Baseball in the Dominican Republic (much like in Cuba) is a national obsession.  In 1937 the DR’s dictator – Rafael Trujillo – sought to ride the wave of baseball’s popularity to feed his megalomania and win the hearts of his countrymen.  But before we talk about this Ciudad Trujillo baseball team, it is important to examine the man behind the team, Rafael …

“I say he was the best player of all-time, black or white.” – Buck Leonard

Martin Dihigo is a Cuban baseball legend.  He is also considered one of the greatest - if not the greatest – 2-way players in baseball history. Dihigo accumulated 250 pro wins as a pitcher and won 2 batting titles as a position player.  He was a 5-tool …

Latino Exhibit Unveiled at the HOF

Last August I took a trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. We at Mop Up Duty (okay, maybe just me) have a great affinity for Latino baseball (especially the way it influenced the Toronto Blue Jays teams of the 80′s).  Above, you can see I drunkenly took a picture of …

Cocaina Garcia

With the recent success of Rick Ankiel, I thought now would be a good time to take a look at a successful two way player from the Negro Leagues: Manuel “Cocaina” Garcia.