Carlos Manuel Santiago, Negro League Infielder
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Leagues baseball, died Sunday in his Caribbean homeland. He was 82.
Santiago died of cardiac failure at his home in the western Puerto
Rican city of Mayaguez, according to one of his two sons, Carlos
Manuel Santiago Feliciano.
"He was a great father to us, a citizen much beloved and outstanding
in baseball in many facets," his son said Sunday.
Santiago played second base and shortstop for the Negro National
League's New York Cubans in 1945-46.
The Negro leagues existed from the late 1800s until the mid-1950s,
providing a professional outlet for black players that were barred
under an agreement among club owners from playing in the two leagues
in Major League Baseball. After Jackie Robinson broke the "color
barrier" in 1947, more blacks were signed by MLB teams and the Negro
leagues faded.
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Zealand pushes on against WindiesSantiago never made it to the big
leagues. He was invited to the Cleveland Indian's training camp in
1951, but was soon drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to Korea. He
was honorably discharged as a sergeant about two years later.
During much of his retirement, Santiago worked as a baseball coach and
scout. He was a general manager for three seasons at Puerto Rico's
Mayaguez Indians club, where he got his start playing in 1944.
He was inducted into Puerto Rico's Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Earlier this year, Santiago was among the former Negro Leaguers
invited to attend a ceremonial draft organized by MLB.