Latino Legends Team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Latino Legends Team was an all-time all-star baseball team selected in 2005 to honor the history of Latin American players in Major League Baseball. The players were chosen by fan voting. Ballots were available both online at MLB.com and at Chevrolet dealerships, and over 1.6 million total votes were cast. The team was announced at a ceremony hosted by actor Edward James Olmos prior to Game Four of the 2005 World Series. The selected players were:
- Iván Rodríguez, catcher
- Albert Pujols, first base
- Rod Carew, second base
- Edgar Martínez, third base
- Alex Rodriguez, shortstop
- Roberto Clemente, outfield
- Manny Ramírez, outfield
- Vladimir Guerrero, outfield
- Pedro Martínez, starting pitcher
- Juan Marichal, starting pitcher
- Fernando Valenzuela, starting pitcher
- Mariano Rivera, relief pitcher
Despite being the only native of South America in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Venezuela native Luis Aparicio was not selected. Another former White Sox star was snubbed- Cuban born outfielder Minnie Miñoso. In what was vindication for the organization, Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén became the first Latin-born manager to win a World Series later that night.[citation needed]
Other significant snubs from this team were Puerto Ricans Orlando Cepeda and Roberto Alomar, Cuban-born Tony Perez and Negro League star Martín Dihigo.[citation needed] Dominican Sammy Sosa, a then still-active member of the 500 home run club was left off, as were Rafael Palmeiro and José Canseco, renowned Cuban-born sluggers caught up in the steroid scandals of the time.
[edit] External links
|