St. Louis Browns outfielder and pinch hitter, Bobby Estralella, was born on April 25, 1911 in Cardenas, Cuba. Estalella was one of the first Cuban-born stars in the Major Leagues during the1930s. He would enjoy an 18-year career that included six years in the minors, two years playing in Mexico, a season in both Cuba and Canada. At the ti
St. Louis Browns outfielder and pinch hitter, Bobby Estralella, was born on April 25, 1911 in Cardenas, Cuba. Estalella was one of the first Cuban-born stars in the Major Leagues during the1930s. He would enjoy an 18-year career that included six years in the minors, two years playing in Mexico, a season in both Cuba and Canada. At the time of his rookie season, Estralella spoke very little English having grown up on the island of Cuba.
Estralella was discovered playing semipro baseball for company teams made up of sugar cane workers in Cuba. He was playing winter baseball with Washington Nationals' outfielder Ismael Morales, who spread the word to the Washington scouts. Estralella arrived in the United States in 1934 with a note stating "Albany, New York: Pleas deliver to baseball park".
He would play within the Washington system for the first six years of his career. Estalella suited up for the Albany Senators (1934-36), Harrisburg Senators (1935), Chattanooga Lookouts (1937), and the Charlotte Hornets (1937-38). During this time he would see action in 110 games with Washington (1935-36, 39) after making his MLB debut on September 7, 1935.
After pending the 1940 season with the Minneapolis Millers, the Browns would obtain Bobby Estalella on October 15, 1940 in the Rule 5 draft. He would spend the 1941 season between the Browns and their minor league affiliate, Toledo Mud Hens. Estralella would see action in just 46 games with the Browns, primarily in the pinch hitting role (30 games). Unfortunately, he was not able to see much playing time in the outfield with the Browns solid combination of Wally Judnich, Chet Laabs, and Roy Cullenbine. He would record 20 hits for the Browns including six doubles, and a triple. He was able to tally a .241 batting average while driving in 14 runs. On September 10, 1941, the Browns traded Estralella back to Washington for OF George Archie.
Over the next few years, he would play for the Nationals (1942), Philadelphia thletics (1943-45), San Antonio Missions (1950), and the Havana Cubans (1951). The gap in time from 1946-49, resultd in Bobby Estalella's time playing in the Mexican League. He was recruited to play within the Mexican League, dissolving his eligibility with Major League Baseball. Many players jumped at the opportunity to play for larger paychecks in Mexico during this time. Estralella played for the Tunerus de San Luis (1946-47) and Azules de Veracruz (1946). Officially banned from MLB , and waiting for his reinstatement, he played for the St. Jean Braves in Provincial League. He would finally make it back to the majors with the Athletics, playing in eight games in September of 1949.
After his retirement for baseball in 1951, Bobby Estralella would often be called on by Washington to teach English to new latin-borm players. Throughout his career, Estralella's dark skin would often classify with the Negro players of the era. He was one of the first Cuban-born players to feel the brunt of racism due to the color of his skin. He fought through these injustices and built a very respectful baseball career. His grandson, also named Bobby Estralella, played in Major League Baseball from 1996-2004.
HEADLINE
"LEFTY STEWART IS ALMOST PERFECT IN HIS WIN OVER THE CHISOX"
FEATURED GAME
1930 - Lefty Stewart brings a no-hitter into the seventh inning in the Browns 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Stewart would give up his first hit to Chicago's SS Smead Jolley in the seventh inning. The only runs he would give up would come from a eigh
HEADLINE
"LEFTY STEWART IS ALMOST PERFECT IN HIS WIN OVER THE CHISOX"
FEATURED GAME
1930 - Lefty Stewart brings a no-hitter into the seventh inning in the Browns 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Stewart would give up his first hit to Chicago's SS Smead Jolley in the seventh inning. The only runs he would give up would come from a eighth inning, two-run homer by PH Dave Harris, who was batting for White Sox catcher Johnny Riddle. The Browns hit the scoreboard first with runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. RF Ted Gullic would go 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. In the seventh inning, SS Red Kress would drive a single that scored LF Red Badgro. The next batter, CF Fred Schulte, would bring Kress in with his RBI triple. The early season victory would bring Lefty Stewart's record to 3-0, and would be the Browns fourth win in a row
BROWNS' ALL-TIME RECORD ON THIS DAY
14 WINS, 27 LOSSES
1902-09: 1-4
1910-19: 2-4
1920-29: 5-3
1930-39: 3-7
1940-49: 2-6
1950-53: 1-3
DOUBLE-HEADERS:
2 split series
TRANSACTIONS
1928 - Browns traded SS Wally "Spooks" Gerber to the Boston Red Sox for LHP Hal "Whitey" Wiltse. Wally Gerber was the cornerstone of the Browns infield, playing shortstop for St. Louis for 12 years (1917-28) He would play in 1284 games for the Browns, with 1189 hits, 432 RBIs, while batting a solid .264. He would gather MVP votes in three different campaigns (1923, 24, 26). Looking for veteran leadership the Red Sox targeted Gerber to improve their team. At the time of the trade, Hal Wiltse had a 0-2 record in two starts with Boston with an ERA of 9.00. The lefty did not bring much success to the Browns as they hoped. He would spend the rest of the 1928 season in St. Louis primarily out of the pen, pitching to a 2-5 record. He would appear in 72 innings with his ERA dropping to 5.25. Wiltse would be sent to the Browns minor league affiliate, Wichita Falls Spudders for the next two seasons.
DEBUTS
BROWNS' BIRTHDAYS ON THIS DAY
1918 - RHP Tex Shirley (1944-46)
1885 - RHP Hack Spencer (1912)
1911 - OF/PH Bobby Estralella (1941)
The 1911 St. Louis Browns team would lose 100 games for the second straight season. The record of 47-107 reflected a team that had lost their leadership and winning identity.
Early Browns leaders, George Stone and Rube Waddell, were no longer with the team. Manager Bobby Wallace would be looking at his last full season as the St. Louis sk
The 1911 St. Louis Browns team would lose 100 games for the second straight season. The record of 47-107 reflected a team that had lost their leadership and winning identity.
Early Browns leaders, George Stone and Rube Waddell, were no longer with the team. Manager Bobby Wallace would be looking at his last full season as the St. Louis skipper. While trying to put together a winning team, he would use 19 pitchers and five different first basemen. The Browns relied on the speed and scrappy hitting of 3B Jimmy Austin and CF Burt Shotton.
The Browns best offensive weapon was 2B Frank LaPorte who batted .314. Browns prospect Dave Rowan would hit .385 in his first 18 games, but would fail to make the 1912 team. The biggest statistic for this team was the 385 errors made by the Browns defense. of the 107 losses, starting pitchers Barney Pelty, Joe Lake, and Red Powell would record 49 losses.
As one of the worst seasons in the history of MLB, the Browns would slowly improve through the decade.