The Duel: Latino Managers Opening Day Faceoff

Sometimes we witness history without realizing it. That’s what happened on Opening Day 25 years ago today. The 55,456 fans who gathered at Riverfront Stadium arrived on an overcast, 41-degree day in Cincinnati to participate in what was then a Major League Baseball tradition: The start of each new season was marked by the first game being played at the home of its oldest franchise, Cincinnati.

But April 5, 1993, was more than the opening of a new season. Those who filed into Riverfront were set to witness a duel unlike any other in MLB history. Never before had the opposing managers in each dugout on Opening Day — as well as the starting pitchers they sent to the mound — been Latino. This was the sign of a new age, one in which Latinos were present not just in the coaching ranks but also as managers.

Today, three Latinos are managing in MLB: the White Sox’s Rick Renteria and newcomers Álex Cora in Boston and Dave Martínez in Washington. But 1993 was a different time. Latino managers were a rarity then. Coming into that season, only six Latinos had ever served as a team manager in MLB.

Miguel Angel González had been the first, serving on an interim basis for the Cardinals in 1938. It wasn’t until 1980 that two Latinos even managed during the same season. Mexican-American Pat Corrales and Cuban native Preston Gómez started that campaign as the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs managers, respectively. Managing teams in the American and National Leagues years before interleague play came into being meant these two never faced each other.

The Opening Day faceoff in Cincinnati between Latino managers Felipe Alou and Tony Pérez represented a first. Even still, their duel did not garner much attention in the sporting press; that focus was on the pageantry of Opening Day. Thus, as we revisit that day, we can acknowledge that the duel was more significant from a Latino perspective than from that of those who entered through the Riverfront gates and of those in the media covering the game.

Managerial Breakthroughs

Latino managers were still a baseball rarity in 1993. That season was the first time an MLB campaign opened with two Latino managers in the same league. It so happened that the MLB schedule called for Montreal to be visiting Cincinnati to open the 1993 season. So there was going to be no waiting to see the major leagues’ only two Latino managers in action against each other.

The two men filling out the lineup cards for the Reds and Expos on April 5, 1993, were Latino legends, one from Cuba and the other from the Dominican Republic. During their playing days, both had earned their pay by wielding a big bat that contributed mightily to their team’s offense, in addition to providing leadership. They were natural leaders of men, yet each waited years before their first opportunity to manage a big league club: one waited nine years from the end of his playing days to manage; the other waited twice as long — 18 years.

April 5 marked Atanasio “Tony” Pérez’s official debut as the Reds’ manager; he had been named to the position the previous October. The hire put the Cuban native in charge of the team for which he had played 16 of his 23 seasons. The first baseman for the Big Red Machine of the 1970s, he was wearing a Reds uniform when he retired as a player in 1986. A team legend was at the helm in his first major league managerial job.

Felipe Alou had finished the 1992 campaign as the lone Latino manager in MLB. He had started the previous season as Montreal’s bench coach. On May 22, the Expos hired him as manager to replace Tom Runnells. In so doing, Alou became the first Dominican to manage in the majors.

Montreal saw immediate dividends. The struggling Expos squad turned their season around, performing 15 games above .500 in 125 games under Alou’s direction to finish second in the NL East. The Expos were hoping that with that initial managerial experience, Alou might be able to improve on their 1992 season.

A Grand Opening

Alou penciled three Latinos into the Expos’ Opening Day lineup. Batting second and starting in left field was his son Moises, who had finished second in Rookie of the Year voting to the Dodgers’ Eric Karros the previous year. Another young Latino, Puerto Rican shortstop Wil Cordero, was in the seventh slot. And the honor of being the Expos’ Opening Day pitcher was given to Dennis Martínez. “El Presidente” was returning to the Opening Day mound following three consecutive All-Star Game selections. The Nicaraguan was still the Expos ace at age 39.

The Reds did not provide Tony Pérez with as many Latino choices for his lineup at the start of the 1993 season. That Opening Day, he had just one everyday player who was Latino, Panamanian Roberto Kelly in center field, who was batting second. On the mound for the Reds was José Rijo, the Dominican right-hander who had firmly established himself atop the Reds’ pitching rotation.

The game did not open well for Cincinnati. First off, a steady drizzle and 41-degree temperature were not ideal conditions for a baseball game. Then, the Expos’ speedy second baseman Delino DeShields singled. Rijo was able to strike out fellow Dominican Moises Alou on four pitches for the first out. However, DeShields swiped second during Marquis Grissom’s at-bat, putting himself in scoring position with just one out. The Expos were already threatening to break out on top in the first inning. The Reds’ ace had to take command, and he did, retiring Grissom on a flyball to center and then striking out the Expos’ clean-up hitter, Larry Walker. Threat averted.

The Reds’ offense was started by Roberto Kelly, who singled to center. However, unlike DeShields had done in the top half, Kelly was caught stealing when attempting to steal second. While Martínez was able to survive the first inning unblemished, the Reds did get to him in the second. Chris Sabo homered off the Expos’ pitcher, which was followed by a double by Randy Milligan. Martínez escaped without giving up another run, but the Reds had jumped out on top.

Throughout his outing, José Rijo demonstrated why he was the Reds’ ace and why Tony Pérez named him the Opening Day starter. Pitching eight shutout innings, Rijo struck out five without walking a batter and scattering five hits. He departed in the top of the 9th inning with a 2-0 lead, handing the ball over to Reds closer Rob Dibble.

The Expos finally got on the scoreboard with a Larry Walker home run, but it wasn’t enough. Tony Pérez had secured a 2-1 win in his Reds managerial debut over Felipe Alou’s Montreal squad.

Post-Game Wrap

The managerial careers of Pérez and Alou would go in opposite directions after Opening Day 1993. Pérez would only manage 43 more games before the Reds fired him. That ranked as the greatest disappointment for Pérez, a Hall of Fame player who is most strongly identified with the Reds. Upon his firing, the Cuban native told reporters “I don’t think it’s fair. It’s a quick hook. But it’s happened. I’m disappointed. I’ve never been more disappointed.”

Pérez’s midseason firing left Alou as the lone Latino manager in baseball. Alou would lead the Expos to a 94-win season in 1993, finishing in second place, three games behind the Philadelphia Phillies. The Dominican was named the National League Manager of the Year in 1994 and would manage Montreal until he was fired during the 2001 season. Those eight seasons (1993-2001), Alou remained the lone Latino manager in baseball.

When the San Francisco Giants hired Alou during the 2003 season, he joined two other Latinos who had been hired as managers, fellow Dominican Tony Peña (Kansas City Royals) and Cuban Carlos Tosca (Toronto Blue Jays). Venezuelans Ozzie Guíllen and Alfredo “Al” Pedrique joined them the following season (2004) when Guillén was hired by the Chicago White Sox and Pedrique served as the Arizona Diamondbacks interim skipper for 83 games, increasing the number of Latino managers to five, the highest total ever.

The Opening Day faceoff in 1993 was more than a quirk of the baseball schedule. Felipe Alou’s hire in May 1992 initiated a period in which there would be at least one Latino managing in the majors each season through this current season. 1993 also marked the first time a major league season opened with two Latino managers in the same league, making the Opening Day contest between two Latino managers possible.

However, the firing of Pérez during the 1993 season revealed the lack of patience owners sometimes have exhibited when it came to Latino managers. The offseason hiring of Álex Cora and Dave Martínez increased the number of Latino managers to three. Time will tell whether they will make history, and whether we will be more aware of it when it is happening.

Inset images: Topps