Mel Almada
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Baldomero (Mel) Almada (February 7, 1913 - August 13, 1988) was a center fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1933 through 1939, Almada played for the Boston Red Sox (1933-37), Washington Senators (1937-38), St. Louis Browns (1938-39) and Brooklyn Dodgers (1939). He batted and threw left handed.
A native of Huatabampo, Sonora, Mexico, Almada made history by becoming the first Mexican baseball player to reach major league status.
Raised and educated in California, Almada was a fine outfielder with strength and accuracy in his throws. Basically a line-drive hitter with an outstanding speed, he was a respected leadoff hitter for his great ability to see a significant number of pitches, being also able to successfully execute in a bunt situation at anytime in the game.
Almada was signed by the Boston Red Sox out of the Pacific Coast League. He made his majors debut with the Red Sox on September 8, 1933, batting .344 in 14 games. He became an everyday player in 1935, appearing in 151 games and finished with a .290 average and 20 stolen bases.
In the 1937 midseason, Almada was traded by Boston along with the brothers Rick and Wes Ferrell to the Washington Senators for Ben Chapman and Bobo Newsom. At the time of the deal, Almada was hitting just .236 but he hit .309 the rest of the way, ending with a robust .296, 91 runs and 27 doubles. On July 25, in the first game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Browns, Almada scored five runs to tie a major league record. When he added four runs in the second game, he set an 18-inning majors record with nine runs scored.
After a poor .244 start in 1938, Almada was sent by Washington to the Browns in exchange for All-Star outfielder Sam West. Almada hit .342 with St. Louis, ending with .311, 101 runs, 197 hits and 29 doubles, all career-high numbers. But he slumped to .239 in 1939 and was sold to the Brooklyn Dodgers. With Brooklyn, he was used as a backup outfielder and pinch-hitting specialist. He made his last majors appearance on October 1, 1939.
In a seven-season career, Almada posted a .284 batting average with 15 home runs and 197 RBI in 646 games.
Almada returned to the Pacific Coast League for one season with the Sacramento River Cats in 1940. He later managed in the Mexican League. In 1972, he was inducted to the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame.
Mel Almada died in his hometown of Sonora, Mexico, at age 75.
