Bobby Marcano

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Roberto "Bobby" Marcano (June 7, 1951 — 1990) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player who made a name for himself playing in Japan.

Born in Caracas, Marcano played minor league baseball in the United States from 1969 to 1974. In 1975, Marcano went to Japan where he joined the Hankyu Braves as a second baseman (the team has since become the Orix Blue Wave, and then the Orix Buffaloes). The next three years, the Braves won the Japan Series.

Marcano played for Hankyu for eight years, then joined the Yakult Swallows for another three. Over the course of his career, Bobby Marcano was awarded four Gold Gloves, and was named to the Best Nine four times. He is noted by many sources as being one of the best foreign-born players in Japanese baseball.

Bobby Marcano died at age 38, shortly after being diagnosed with cancer.