Friday, April 28, 2023

Happy # 88 to Pedro Ramos



We remember Pedro Ramos, who was born in Pinar Del Rio, Cuba, on this day in 1935. 

Ramos was 19 when he made his debut in 1955 and beat New York 6-0.   He went on to win 83 games over 7 seasons.      

Over a 4-year span, Ramos was an "innings eater" starting 142 games, throwing 1,030 innings and leading the American League in starts twice.   He also gave up Mickey Mantle's famous HR in 1956 or the one that almost left Yankee Stadium.

My father was a huge fan of Pedro Ramos.  He would laugh and say that Ramos was known for enjoying the Havana night life when he played for Cienfuegos in the pre-Castro winter league.   

Up here, he was known as "The Cuban Cowboy" or a reference to his wardrobe and lifestyle.

My late father would also say:   "If Pedro Ramos had only pitched for the Yankees.....he'd won 200 games".

I don't know about 200 games but he'd won a lot more than the 117 he put up pitching for some very bad teams, such as the Washington Senators and a few others. 

Ramos finally made it to the Yankees in 1964-66 and saved 39 games.    Unfortunately, he was signed too late to qualify for the post season and did not play in the World Series despite being a key factor in winning the pennant.

Unfortunately, the Yankees went into decline in 1965 and did not return to the post season until 1976.   So Ramos did play for the Yankees but never got to pitch in The World Series!

Happy birthday to Pedro Ramos, a pretty good pitcher and another pride of Havana!

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