Hispanic Heritage Month 2014: Top 10 Greatest Latino MLB Baseball Players of All Time
With Hispanic Heritage Month in progress and the 2014 Major League Baseball regular season coming to an end, we decided to compile a list of the greatest Latin American players in MLB history.
10. Mariano Rivera
Panama gave MLB the greatest closer of all time. Mariano Rivera recorded the most saves in MLB history with 652. Rivera spent his entire 19-year career with the New York Yankees. There, Rivera would win five World Series titles and three Delivery Man of the Year Awards.
9. Dennis Martinez
Arguably the most underrated pitcher in baseball history. Nicaragua's own Dennis Martinez had a tremendous career for multiple teams. In 1991, he pitched a perfect game, the single greatest accomplishment for any pitcher.
8. Tony Perez
What a great career Perez had with the Cincinnati Reds.
To this date, Perez is the only Cuban-born player in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Perez won two World Series titles with Reds in 1970s and was a seven time All-Star. His greatest moment came in the 1975 World Series, when he hit a two-run home run in Game 7 against the Boston Red Sox.
7. David Ortiz
The Dominican Republic is home to many great baseball players. David Ortiz has a fantastic playoff resume with three World Series titles and a lot of clutch hits. Ortiz has also won the World Series MVP award, and shows little signs of slowing down.
6. Albert Pujols
One of the best players of the 21st century. Pujols made his mark in St. Louis with the Cardinals winning two World Series titles. Pujols now has 518 career home runs--putting him at No.21 on the all-time MLB home run leaders list--and an impressive .317 batting average. Pujols has also been a great first baseman.
5. Rod Carew
Rod Carew has the most career hits of any Latin American player with 3,053. He was voted in to the Hall of Fame in 1991. Although not a power hitter, just 92 home runs, Carew was a magician at the mound batting an outstanding .328 at the plate. He also won a Rookie of the Year award and an MVP award.
4. Sammy Sosa
"Slamming Sammy" has the most career home runs by a Latin American born player with 609. Sosa only batted .278 at the plate, but nobody hit the long ball like he did. Sosa is the only player in baseball history to hit 60 home runs in three separate seasons.
3. Manny Ramirez
Probably the most entertaining player in recent memory. "Manny being Manny" gave baseball fans a lot of great moments at the plate and in the field. Ramirez is one of the greatest hitters of all time in the postseason and with the bases loaded. His 29 postseason home runs are a Major League record.
2. Juan Marichal
The Dominican Republic has had some of the best hitters in recent memory, but during the 1960s, Juan Marichal was one of the best pitchers in baseball. Marichal is currently the only Dominican-born player in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1. Roberto Clemente
Puerto Rico's own Roberto Clemente is one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Clemente helped the Pittsburgh Pirates win two World Series titles and made 15 All-Star appearances in the process. He finished his Hall of Fame career with exactly 3,000 hits. There's nothing Clemente couldn't do on the field. For his off-the-field contributions, MLB has the "Robert Clemente Award," which is handed out every year.
Best of the Rest
With so many other great players from various Latin American nations, 10 players just isn't enough to honor everyone. Here are some of the best Latin American baseball players of all time.
Jose Reyes, Luis Aparicio, Bobby Abrea Jose Canseco, Vladimir Guerrero, Ivan Rodriguez, Pedro Martinez, Rafael Palmero, Chili Davis, Orlando Cepeda and Roberto Alamor.
Check out the Top 10 Latino Born Pitchers of All-Time here!