1896
Born June 6, 1896
Guanabacoa, La Habana, Cuba
José María Fernández Marquee
b. June 6, 1896 · Cuban Stars East 1916–1920, 1922–1929, Cuban Stars West 1929, Chicago American Giants 1930, New York Cubans 1939–1942, 1944, 1947
José María Fernández caught for Cuban clubs in the United States for the better part of twenty-five years, beginning with the Cuban Stars of the East in 1916, when Black baseball had no league to be part of, and finishing with the New York Cubans in the 1940s.
He managed the Cubans as well, and was in charge for part of the period around their 1947 Negro World Series title. His brother Rodolfo also played, and the family was a fixture of Cuban baseball on both sides of the water.
Born in Guanabacoa, Cuba in 1896, Fernández batted .283 with 484 hits and 233 runs batted in across 500 recorded games. He was seventy-six at his death, in July 1972.
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1916* | CSE | 8 | 26 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .192 |
| 1917* | CSE | 26 | 102 | 13 | 33 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 1 | .324 |
| 1918* | CSE | 25 | 93 | 11 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 1 | .344 |
| 1919* | CSE | 17 | 65 | 11 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 2 | .385 |
| 1920* | CSE | 14 | 56 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| 1922* | CSE | 16 | 51 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | .216 |
| 1923 | CSE | 32 | 113 | 13 | 26 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 1 | .230 |
| 1924 | CSE | 48 | 169 | 13 | 43 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 14 | 1 | 1 | .254 |
| 1925 | CSE | 35 | 133 | 13 | 37 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 2 | .278 |
| 1926 | CSE | 42 | 146 | 19 | 39 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 11 | 0 | 2 | .267 |
| 1927 | CSE | 55 | 186 | 18 | 49 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 15 | 0 | 2 | .263 |
| 1928 | CSE | 30 | 125 | 11 | 44 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .352 |
| 1929 | CSE/CSW | 57 | 193 | 22 | 55 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 12 | 0 | 0 | .285 |
| 1930 | CAG | 32 | 103 | 13 | 41 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 8 | 0 | 0 | .398 |
| 1939 | NYC | 5 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .071 |
| 1940 | NYC | 17 | 52 | 9 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | .231 |
| 1941 | NYC | 23 | 59 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .220 |
| 1942 | NYC | 11 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .105 |
| 1944 | NYC | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
| 1947 | NYC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| Major leagues | — | 394 | 1319 | 134 | 364 | 53 | 7 | 3 | 175 | 84 | 2 | 10 | .276 |
| All seasons | — | 500 | 1712 | 182 | 484 | 68 | 11 | 4 | 233 | 113 | 2 | 18 | .283 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1918* | CSE | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8.1 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2.16 |
| Major leagues | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| All seasons | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8.1 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2.16 |
Seasons outside MLB's recognized major leagues appear in All seasons, but not in Major leagues or the leaderboards. For José María Fernández, that is 1916–1922. Why totals can differ.
On this day & linked events
1972
Died July 20, 1972
Image: Díaz (Tomás Gutiérrez brand), public domain