MLB’s all-time Puerto Rican born team
Puerto Rican culture is rich, vibrant and colorful. Over five million people who identify themselves as being such inhabit the United State’s mainland — almost two million more than the number of residents that call the small Caribbean island home.
Such a small space geographically and in terms of its populace, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has produced a number of valuable contributors to the world stage. Among many other distinguished people, Academy Award winning actor Benecio del Toro was born in San Juan, as was musician/humanitarian Ricky Martin. To name another, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Nicholas Dante was born in NYC to Puerto Rican parents.
But beyond the mainstream arts and other worthy causes that have put many people of Puerto Rican heritage in a revered class, the nation is also well recognized for producing world-class baseball players.
In honor of the 59th annual Puerto Rican Day Parade that has taken place every year in New York City’s Manahattan borough since 1958, here is an all-time team composed of Puerto Rican-born superstars who have left (or are leaving) their mark on MLB.
Next: Starting Pitcher
1. Javier Vazquez: 1998-2011
No Puerto Rican born pitcher has made it to Cooperstown, so this selection was not necessarily cut and dried. While Tim Raines is pictured above, Javier Vazquez was drafted and signed by the Montreal Expos in 1994.
He debuted April 3, 1998 for them and played six seasons with there. Well traveled, Vazquez followed those years up with one in New York for the Yankees, one in Arizona, three for the White Sox, one in Atlanta before going back to the Bronx for another season and finally, ending his career in 2011 with the Florida Marlins.
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House That Hank Built
No Puerto Rican born pitcher has more games started (443), wins (165), innings pitched (2840) or strikeouts (2536) in their MLB career than does Vazquez. Five times in his career he struck out 200 or more batters in a single season and in 2009 with the Braves, he had his finest season on record. Going 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA and 238 punch outs, Vazquez finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting.
Nicknamed the Silent Assassin, Vazquez has a lifetime wins above replacement mark of 43.3. Keep in mind, he played during a time when home runs were flying out of ball parks at a rate faster than any in history because of baseball’s steroid era, where most batters had a distinct advantage.
To put Vazquez’s WAR in perspective, he played 14 seasons in the majors. Bartolo Colon, a three-time All-Star and Cy Young award winner is in his 19th season. His lifetime WAR number is 46.8.
Vazquez might have hung up his cleats before was necessary, too. Consider this — he retired after his age 34 season, when he posted a 13-11 record for the Marlins with a 3.69 ERA, 3.57 FIP and 162 strike outs. He started 32 games that season and proved to be very efficient.
Next: Catcher
2. Ivan Rodriguez: 1991-2011
Perhaps the position with the most talent coming out of Puerto Rico, Ivan Rodriguez tops the class. Catcher’s like Yadier Molina, Sandy Alomar, Jorge Posada and Benito Santiago definitely deserve mention here with 23 All-Star seasons between them, but Pudge takes the cake.
A 14-time All-Star with multiple Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards on his resume, Rodriguez is widely regarded as one of the finest defensive backstops to play the game. He was pretty good offensively, too.
Pudge was MVP of the American League in 1999 and boasts a .296 lifetime batting average. His 311 career home runs rank seventh all-time at his position and his 68.9 WAR ranks third behind Hall of Famers Johnny Bench and Gary Carter.
Next: First Base
3. Carlos Delgado: 1993-2009
At a position renowned for the man playing it having the ability to go yard, no Puerto Rican is more deserving of being the starting first baseman than is Carlos Delgado. True, there is a Hall of Fame talent that manned this position for many years hailing from Puerto Rico, but he also qualifies as a left fielder, so we’ll slot him there to improve the overall reputation of this team.
Delgado’s 473 homers, 1512 runs batted and .929 OPS all rank first amongst his fellow countrymen for lifetime production. In terms of the all-time home runs list, Delgado ranks 32nd, just behind HOF Willie Stargell.
A .280 career batting average isn’t too shabby either for a power hitting first baseman. Seven times Delgado appeared on an MVP ballot, yet he made only two All-Star Games in his career, mostly because he played for a middling Toronto Blue Jays team that never once made the playoffs in the 12 seasons he appeared for them. Even still, in his prime from 1996-2008, the Aguadilla native averaged 35 home runs and 112 RBI per season.
Next: Second Base
4. Roberto Alomar: 1988-2004
The first Hall of Famer to appear on this list and the second player most identified with Blue Jays baseball, Roberto Alomar is a runaway candidate for this spot. From his glove to his arm to his bat, Alomar did it all. 12 All-Star appearances, 10 Gold Gloves and four Silver Slugger awards make this Puerto Rican a true generational talent.
Robbie Alomar’s .300/.371/.443 career slash line is impressive and his lifetime batting average ranks second for any Puerto Rican born player with 1000 games played in their career.
His 474 stolen bases ranks first on that same list, sixth all-time amongst second baseman and 44th overall though history. Alomar’s switch hitting approach made him an even more valuable asset to the clubs he played for, which is evident by his 2724 hits, good for 60th all-time, and his two World Series rings.
Next: Third Base
5. Mike Lowell: 1998-2010
Third base was not a tough decision like some of the other ones were. For lack of avoiding a drawn out explanation, we’ll just say the position isn’t deep with quality Puerto Rican’s to have played it.
Mike Lowell played mainly for the Marlins and the Red Sox. He won a World Series ring with both organizations and had some pretty fine seasons mixed in there. A .279 career hitter, his 223 round trippers rank 13th amongst men born in Puerto Rico.
The San Juan native had his finest statistical season in 2007 with Boston, hitting .324 with 21 homers and 120 RBI. He finished fifth in AL MVP voting that year and posted a WAR of 5.0. The four-time All-Star overcame a lot of odds en route to making this list. He was a 20th round draft pick in 1995 by the New York Yankees.
Next: Shortstop
6. Francisco Lindor: 2015 -Present
It may be going out on a limb to name Francisco Lindor the starting shortstop on this squad, but it’s pretty apparent right now that the Cleveland Indians have a very special player on their hands.
A native of Caguas, the 22-year-old Lindor burst onto the scene in 2015 and arguably had a better season than the AL ROY that season, fellow shortstop Carlos Correa. Lindor had a WAR of 4.6, a UZR of 10.5 and hit .313 in 99 games. Correa’s WAR amounted to 4.1 with a UZR of -6.0 and a .279 BA, also in 99 games.
Jose Valentin and his 1348 career hits deserves some consideration here. But at the end of the day, he’s just not as special as Lindor. Valentin is a career .243 hitter whose lifetime WAR is 31.6. With only 141 games to his name, Lindor is already 1/5 of the way there with a career WAR of 6.7.
Next: Left Field
7. Orlando Cepeda: 1958-1974
Naturally a first baseman by trade, Orlando Cepeda was bumped to left field in order to get Carlos Delgado’s powerful bat into the lineup. Cepeda started 199 career games in left during his 17 years in MLB.
The second Hall of Famer to make this squad and its oldest member at 78, Cepeda was Rookie of the Year in 1958 for the Giants when he led the league in doubles while hitting .312 with 25 home runs and 96 RBI. Then in 1961, he had an incredible year hitting .311 and leading the NL in home runs (46) and RBI (142), but finished second to Cincinnati’s Frank Robinson in MVP voting.
Cepeda would redeem himself, winning an MVP award with the Cardinals in 1967 at age 29. Inducted into Cooperstown in 1999 by the Veteran’s Committee, Cepeda’s 50.3 lifetime WAR , seven All-Star seasons, .297 BA and 379 career dingers are very deserving of a spot on Puerto Rico’s all-time squad.
Next: Center Field
8. Carlos Beltran: 1998-Present
One of two active players on this team, Carlos Beltran continues to make a strong case for enshrinement in Cooperstown. He recently surpassed the 400 career home runs milestone earlier this year. That ranks him third amongst Puerto Rican born players.
Beltran came up through the Kansas City Royals’ system as a five-tool center fielder. Though his 39-year-old knees have since caused him to start playing more and more games in right field and at designated hitter, Beltran’s four Gold Gloves at the position speaks for itself.
The native of Manati has eight 20-20 seasons to his credit as well as eight All-Star Game nods. Though his best days are behind him, a 68.7 career WAR sits real pretty when one considers some of the other Puerto Rican born stars to have manned center field.
Next: Right Field
9. Roberto Clemente: 1955-1972
Roberto Clemente isn’t just the best right fielder for this team, he’s arguably the greatest right fielder to ever play the wonderful game of baseball. A legend who is well respected by the masses, the native of Carolina was a wizard in the field and a treat to watch on the base paths.
Clemente’s .317 batting average ranks first amongst qualified Puerto Rican born players and his 94.5 WAR ranks 26th all-time across MLB. He captured his only MVP award in 1966, which statistically in terms of WAR, was actually his second best season.
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The year afterward, Clemente was on another level, posting an 8.9 WAR and hitting .357 with 23 home runs and 110 RBI. That was the year Cepeda beat him out on the ballot, as Clemente finished a controversial third in voting.
The Great One spent his entire career in Pittsburgh. As it is well known, he had his life taken prematurely while doing charity work in the offseason as he typically did. On December 31, 1972 his cargo plane crashed over the Atlantic Ocean immediately after takeoff. It was overloaded with supplies en route to Nicaragua to help aid earthquake victims.
Clemente was inducted into the HOF the year following his death. Four times he was the NL batting champion and his 3000 hits rank 29th in MLB history. In his honor, MLB has given the Roberto Clemente Award every year since 1973 to the player who “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team.”
Next: Designated Hitter & Relief Pitcher
DH Juan Gonzalez: 1989-2005
CL Roberto Hernandez: 1991-2007
Juan Gonzalez played alongside Pudge for the majority of his career and was a central part of Texas’ lineup. He was an AL MVP twice and his 434 bombs is second only to Delgado by Puerto Rican born players. A right fielder by trade, he was not the defensive talent Clemente was at the position. But five times he hit more than 40 home runs in a season and in 1998, he drove in 157 base runners. That mark stands as the fourth highest total by any major leaguer since the 1950 season.
Roberto Hernandez put up 326 saves in his career, ranking him 16th overall amongst MLB closers in history. He didn’t crack a big league roster until he was 26 and managed to pitch until his age 42 season. Hernandez played for 10 teams and has a career ERA of 3.45. The Santurce native was an All-Star twice in his career.
The Lineup Card: Reserves:
- Francisco Lindor – SS – CF Bernie Williams (2336 H, 49.4 WAR)
- Roberto Alomar – 2B – RF Ruben Sierra (5x AS, 306 HR)
- Roberto Clemente – RF – LF Jose Cruz (2251 H, 317 SB)
- Juan Gonzalez – DH – INF Carlos Baerga (.291 BA, 19.5 WAR)
- Carlos Delgado -1B – C Yadier Molina (7x AS, 31.3 WAR)
- Orlando Cepeda -LF
- Ivan Rodriguez – C
- Carlos Beltran – CF
- Mike Lowell – 3B
Next: MLB History: 5 biggest outlier seasons by active hitters