José Santiago, pioneering pitcher, dies in Puerto Rico
By Adrian Burgos
Early in his professional career, José Santiago was summoned from the Ponce Lions bullpen to face a bases-loaded, no out jam in the ninth inning. He struck out the side without allowing a run in that Puerto Rican Winter League game against Caguas Criollos. According to baseball historian Edwin Fernández Cruz, in the following day’s newspaper sportswriter Emilio Huyke wrote (in Spanish) “Santiago had a lot of pantalones” meaning he had exhibited a lot of guts to deliver such a performance.
The “Pantalones” nickname stuck with Santiago the rest of his career. Santiago died on Oct. 9 in his native Puerto Rico, just over a month after celebrating his 90th birthday on Sept. 4.
The Puerto Rico native first came onto the baseball scene as a teenager in the late 1940s. More significantly, he was a pioneering player, one of just three Puerto Ricans who moved from the Negro Leagues into the major leagues as baseball integrated.
Santiago spent parts of three major league seasons (1954 to 1956) with the Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Athletics. He appeared in 27 games and won three of five decisions.
Dates and numbers don’t fully tell the story of why “Pantalones” Santiago was regarded as a pioneer and a player worth remembering, however.
Some things get lost in translation when it comes to Latinos in baseball. A Latino player’s name or his nickname don’t always translate easily into English. Similarly, the historical context of why certain players are revered in Latin America is often not fully understood.
Whether as a teenaged pitcher or a veteran hurler, Santiago delivered performances that reminded observers why he had earned an unforgettable nickname.
Teen Sensation
Santiago, who was born in Coamo, started high school in Ponce but graduated from a Brooklyn high school in 1946. Like many others, his parents, in search of jobs and better opportunities, had joined the massive Puerto Rican migration to New York City that started during World War II.
A skinny right-hander, Santiago started playing semi-professional baseball with the Puerto Rican Stars while still attending high school in Brooklyn. Given his slender build, the youngster impressed with how hard he threw. Perhaps more impressive, no situation seemed to intimidate him, even when facing more experienced players in New York amateur ball.
It was a quality that would serve him well later in his career in both the Puerto Rican Winter League and the Negro Leagues.
Santiago drew notice when he traveled with a New York team to Puerto Rico in 1946. He pitched well in games against the well-established Juncos and Mayagüez teams. His one-hit shutout prompted the Ponce Lions to sign him to play in the Puerto Rican Winter League for the 1946-47 campaign. He continued to impress, winning eight of 10 decisions and was voted the circuit’s top rookie. He would become a popular figure in the Puerto Rican Winter League, playing 16 seasons and later becoming an owner of the Caguas Criollos franchise.
A Pionero
Santiago’s performance as a rookie in the Puerto Rican league validated what those in New York already thought of the right-hander.
Negro League team owner Alex Pompez signed Santiago to his New York Cubans for the 1947 season. The Cubans enjoyed their greatest campaign ever, winning the Negro League World Series over the Cleveland Buckeyes.
Santiago’s 1947 teammates included pitcher Luis “Lefty” Tiant (who went 10-0) and a quartet of future major leaguers – pitchers Lino Dinoso and Patricio “Pat” Scantlebury, catcher Rafael “Ray” Noble and then-third-baseman Orestes Miñoso.
The Puerto Rican’s baseball future would become intertwined with Miñoso’s. After the 1948 season, Pompez sold their contracts to the Cleveland Indians for a reported $15,000.
In joining Cleveland, the pioneering Latinos would have the ironic misfortune of becoming part of the American League organization that most aggressively acquired black talent.
Pioneering Paths
Several factors made the path to the major leagues challenging for black players signed by the Indians. There was an abundance of talent in the Cleveland farm system. This and the hesitation to have more non-whites than whites in their starting lineups limited the chances for blacks and Afro-Latino players like Miñoso and Santiago to make the major league roster.
In his first spring-training camp with Cleveland in 1949, Santiago met Satchel Paige, who was coming off his first season with the Indians. The Puerto Rican made an impression on Paige.
“You have a nickel curve, but your fastball’s worth a million,” Paige said to the young Puerto Rican, as Santiago recalled in a 2011 interview with Edwin Fernández.
While a 1951 trade to the Chicago White Sox created the opportunity for Miñoso to become a star, Cleveland’s starting pitching staff of Bob Feller, Early Wynn, Bob Lemon, and Mike García presented a formidable barrier to Santiago. Instead, the young Puerto Rican remained in the Cleveland farm system from 1949-1953 where he compiled a 77-47 pitching record with a 2.93 ERA
While his promise never fully materialized into a lasting major league career, Santiago pitched 16 seasons in the Puerto Rican Winter League and also participated in the Caribbean World Series.
Santiago would deliver another unforgettable performance for Puerto Rican fans in the 1957 Caribbean World Series. Facing a formidable Cuban team in Havana, he handed the Cuban side their only loss in the ’57 Caribbean Series, shutting them out 6-0. His commanding performance prompted Cuban sportswriter Eladio Secades to invoke the pitcher’s nickname in his write-up: “To blank the Cubans in their hometown you need to have pantalones.”
Featured Image: Courtesy of Jorge Fidel López