| Rubén Gómez | |
|---|---|
 Gómez with the Giants | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: July 13, 1927 Arroyo, Puerto Rico | |
| Died: July 26, 2004(2004-07-26) (aged 77) Carolina, Puerto Rico | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 17, 1953, for the New York Giants | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 2, 1967, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 76–86 |
| Earned run average | 4.09 |
| Strikeouts | 677 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Member of the Caribbean | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1999 |
Rubén Gómez (July 13, 1927 – July 26, 2004) was a Puerto Rican professional right-handedstarting pitcher who became the firstPuerto Rican to pitch in aWorld Series game. He was also the winning pitcher in the firstMajor League Baseball game played west ofKansas City. In 1954, Gómez became the first black Latino to win a World Series game.[1] Afterwards, he played in Canada, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Cuba.[1] In his homeland, Gómez was nicknamedEl Divino Loco ("the Divine Madman"), on account of his willingness to pitch in tough situations and #22.[2]
Gómez (birth name:Rubén Gómez Colón[note 1]) was born inArroyo, Puerto Rico. He debuted with theNew York Giants on April 17, 1953. He finished his rookie season with a 13–11 record. Gómez created some controversy when, on the order of Giants' managerLeo Durocher, hehitBrooklyn Dodgers playerCarl Furillo with a pitch. Gómez would hit other notables with pitches in his career, includingJoe Adcock andFrank Robinson.[3]
After going 17–9 in his second season, Gómez pitched and won Game 3 of the1954World Series in the Giants sweep of theCleveland Indians. He thus became the first Puerto Rican player to be a member of a World Series championship team, becoming a hero in his native country (schools closed the day he pitched in the World Series so students could watch the game).[4] When Gómez returned to Puerto Rico, he was greeted by thousands of fans at theSan Juan airport and a holiday was declared.[3]
After the 1957 season, the Dodgers and Giants moved to Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively. On April 15, 1958, Gómez made baseball history when he pitched an 8–0shutout against the Dodgers at San Francisco'sSeals Stadium in the first Major League Baseball game played on theWest Coast. He thus became the first pitcher to win a game played on the West Coast; the losing pitcher was futureHall of FamerDon Drysdale.[3][5]
In 1958, Gómez was traded to thePhillies. In the 1959 season he was only 3–8 in 72 innings, and went 0–3 in 1960. He was out of the major leagues in 1961 and returned in 1962 to pitch for both the Indians and theTwins, compiling a combined 2–3 record.[5] Five years later he returned to finish his major league career with11+1⁄3 innings for the Phillies.
Gómez later went to theMexican League, where he pitched withVeracruz, Mexico. One day a young boy begged Gómez to buy a lottery ticket that he was selling to make some badly needed money. The boy insisted that Gómez buy the ticket because his uniform number matched that of the ticket, and Gómez, who did not normally buy such tickets, agreed. To his great surprise the ticket was a winner of a $35,000 prize. Gómez attempted to share the money with the boy's family and when they refused, he went to a local bank and set up a trust fund for the lad, to be given to him at age 18.[citation needed] In 1967, Gómez was 39 years old and still playing with Veracruz, when the Phillies gave him another shot. He pitched only11+1⁄3 innings that season in seven games, making his last appearance on May 2, 1967.[3]
Between 1947 and 1977, Gómez played 28 winter seasons with theCangrejeros de Santurce andVaqueros de Bayamón of thePuerto Rican league, setting league marks for a pitcher inwins (174) and ERA (2.97).[5] In 1947, Rubén Gómez won the LBPPR's Rookie of the Year in his debut for the Cangrejeros de Santurce.[6] He led the league in wins in 1949–50 (14), 1951–52 (14) and 1958–59 (12).[1] As part of a series between Santurce and San Juan, he threw 17 no score games against the Senadores.[1] Gómez was the first LBPPR pitcher to reach 1,000 strikeouts and finished with 1,390.[1] He also led in innings played with 2,486, wins with 174 (ERA 2.97) and games pitched 417.[1] His longevity of 29 years also made him the pitcher with most losses with 119.[1] In addition, his six victories in theCaribbean World Series ties him withJosé Bracho andCamilo Pascual for the most all-time wins in the tournament.[7]
Gómez also pitched in theVenezuelan league for theNavegantes del Magallanes during the 1965–1966 season,[8] and from 1968 to 1970 in the Saguenay senior league for theChicoutimi Bombardiers.[9] He was the star of the league. His first year with Chicoutimi he got a perfect record of 12–0 and anearned run average of 1.20. Next year, 1969, he went 9–1 with a 0.82 ERA. Two other former MLB players also played in that league:Art Ditmar andWayne Granger.
Baseball historiansBill James andRob Neyer have ranked Gómez'sscrewball the tenth-best of all time.[10]
Gómez retired at the age of 50 and was inducted into the Puerto Rico Sports Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Puerto Rican Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Caribbean Series Hall of Fame in 1999.[1] He was also inducted in the regional hall of Santurce.[1] In 1999, Gómez was included in the LBPPR's 20th century team.[1]
In 2001, Gómez was hospitalized after a lengthy fight againstcancer,[3] and was about to receive surgery. A doctor fromMexico requested permission to attend the operation. When Gómez asked the doctor why he had come, he replied, "I was that little boy, the money that you left in trust was enough to pay for my medical school."[citation needed]
Rubén Gómez Colón died in Carolina, Puerto Rico, at the age of 77. Among those who attended his funeral services was his best friend and countryman, former big leaguerLuis Rodríguez Olmo. Gómez was buried in the Guayama Municipal Cemetery inGuayama, Puerto Rico.[5]
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