René Monteagudo Miranda was born in Havana on this day in 1916. He came to the majors as a pitcher but became a pinch-hitter, part-time outfielder and reliever. The Washington Senators signed Rene as a pitcher and proceeded to make the major league team in 1938. Unfortunately, he hurt his arm and was out of baseball for a year. Down in the minors, he started hitting, playing the outfield and came back to the majors with the Philadelphia Phillies, known for a short time as the Blue Jays. He hit .301 in 193 ABs. Rene got the nickname of “versatile” because he could do so many things on the diamond.
So what happened to Rene? He was banned from baseball. Rene and another 13 major-leaguers signed a contract with Jorge Pasquel, a promoter for a new Mexican League actively trying to compete with the majors. The 13 became the “jumpers!” Monteagudo played for a while in Mexico but was never given a chance to play in the majors again.
Rene died in Miami in 1973.
