1927
Born July 13, 1927
Arroyo, , P.R.
Rubén Gómez Marquee
b. July 13, 1927 · New York Giants 1953–1957, San Francisco Giants 1958, Philadelphia Phillies 1959–1960, 1967, Cleveland Indians 1962, Minnesota Twins 1962
He went 17-9 with a 2.88 earned run average and four shutouts for the 1954 Giants and started and won the third game of the World Series they swept from Cleveland — the first World Series game a pitcher from Puerto Rico had won.
Four years later he threw the first pitch in a major-league game on the West Coast, starting the Giants' opener in San Francisco on April 15, 1958, and beating the Dodgers 8-0. Ten seasons gave him 76 wins against 86, a 4.09 earned run average, 1,454 innings and 15 shutouts.
He threw at hitters and admitted it, which produced a famous fight with Carl Furillo in 1956 and a suspension. He pitched in Puerto Rico's winter league for two decades and is in that island's sports hall of fame. He died in 2004, at seventy-seven.
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | NYG | 61 | 72 | 15 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 0 | .208 |
| 1954 | NYG | 49 | 81 | 11 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .173 |
| 1955 | NYG | 42 | 60 | 9 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | .300 |
| 1956 | NYG | 52 | 60 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | .183 |
| 1957 | NYG | 54 | 87 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 16 | 0 | .184 |
| 1958 | SFG | 48 | 70 | 8 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 1 | .200 |
| 1959 | PHI | 24 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | .176 |
| 1960 | PHI | 22 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .083 |
| 1962 | CLE/MIN | 22 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .167 |
| 1967 | PHI | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 381 | 477 | 58 | 95 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 14 | 61 | 2 | .199 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | NYG | 13 | 11 | 29 | 26 | 0 | 204.0 | 166 | 77 | 101 | 113 | 3.40 |
| 1954 | NYG | 17 | 9 | 37 | 32 | 0 | 221.2 | 202 | 71 | 109 | 106 | 2.88 |
| 1955 | NYG | 9 | 10 | 33 | 31 | 1 | 185.1 | 207 | 94 | 63 | 79 | 4.56 |
| 1956 | NYG | 7 | 17 | 40 | 31 | 0 | 196.1 | 191 | 100 | 77 | 76 | 4.58 |
| 1957 | NYG | 15 | 13 | 38 | 36 | 0 | 238.1 | 233 | 100 | 71 | 92 | 3.78 |
| 1958 | SFG | 10 | 12 | 42 | 30 | 1 | 207.2 | 204 | 101 | 77 | 112 | 4.38 |
| 1959 | PHI | 3 | 8 | 20 | 12 | 1 | 72.1 | 90 | 49 | 24 | 37 | 6.10 |
| 1960 | PHI | 0 | 3 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 52.1 | 68 | 31 | 9 | 24 | 5.33 |
| 1962 | CLE/MIN | 2 | 3 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 64.2 | 67 | 32 | 36 | 29 | 4.45 |
| 1967 | PHI | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 11.1 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 3.97 |
| Career | — | 76 | 86 | 289 | 205 | 5 | 1454.0 | 1436 | 660 | 574 | 677 | 4.09 |
On this day & linked events
2004
Died July 26, 2004
1953
Major-league debut: Rubén Gómez
Rubén Gómez made a major-league debut on April 17, 1953.
1967
Final major-league game: Rubén Gómez
Rubén Gómez played a final major-league game on May 2, 1967.