[MLB] "Who's Hiram Bithorn Stadium named for?" (AP)
CHD tpm
By BEN WALKER
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - As the Montreal Expos settle into their part-time
home in the Caribbean, fans all over are becoming more familiar with Hiram
Bithorn Stadium.
Bouncy, odd-colored artificial turf. Enormous foul territory. Booming salsa
music. Chanting fans and gyrating cheerleaders.
Only one question: Who was Hiram Bithorn?
Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda seems surprised that anyone would need to ask.
Because when he was growing up here in the 1940s, everyone knew.
``He was the first person from Puerto Rico to make it to the major leagues,''
Cepeda said. ``He did so much for the island.''
Top players such as Roberto Clemente, Felix Millan and Willie Montanez came
later, and now the likes of Puerto Rican stars Javy Lopez, Roberto Alomar, Ivan
Rodriguez, Carlos Delgado, Bernie Williams, Carlos Beltran and Juan Gonzalez
fill big league rosters.
But they all followed Bithorn.
He made his debut in 1942 and pitched four seasons with the Chicago Cubs and
White Sox. His career was interrupted when he spent two years with the U.S.
Marines during World War II.
Bithorn was 34-31 with a 3.16 ERA in 105 games. The right-hander led the NL
with seven shutouts in 1943, going 18-12 and completing 19 of his 30 starts.
He tried a comeback a few years later in the Mexican winter league. But on Jan.
1, 1952, at age 35, he was shot to death by a policeman in Mexico. Reports on
the shooting were sketchy, and the circumstances have always been a mystery.
``I remember watching him pitch against my father in the winter league and
meeting him,'' Cepeda said. ``When I was about 10, I played for him on a team
he ran. He was a big star.''
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Montreal pitcher Javier Vazquez was well aware
of Bithorn.
``Being a ballplayer, we all knew about him and what he meant to Puerto Rico,''
Vazquez said. ``He was the first, and that's history right there. But a lot of
people, I don't think they know who he was.''
Count Chris Barnes among them. A big baseball fan from Nashville, Tenn., he was
on vacation this week and visited Hiram Bithorn Stadium to watch the Atlanta
Braves play the Expos.
As he approached the front of the park, he circled an 8-foot statue of a
pitcher. There was no name or plaque, however, and Barnes was curious.
``When I walked up, I saw the high leg kick and I could see where it said 'San'
on his jersey, so I thought it was Juan Marichal,'' Barnes said. ``But when I
saw that it was 'San Juan,' I had no idea.''
Bithorn played for the San Juan Senators and at age 22 became the youngest
manager in the history of Puerto Rican winter ball. Soon enough, he was
pitching at Wrigley Field.
His promising start, though, did not last once he returned from military
service. After going 6-5 in 1946 for the Cubs, he moved to the White Sox and
only pitched two innings in 1947, developing a sore arm that ended his career.
Bithorn's achievement of making it to the majors remained a source of pride in
Puerto Rico, and he was honored in 1962 when the biggest ballpark on the island
was built and named for him.
Two years ago, the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers played the major league
season opener at the stadium, which has Bithorn's name spelled out in big, blue
letters above a main gate.
This season, fans will have more opportunity to hear his name while the Expos
play 22 games in San Juan.
``He was an important man,'' Cepeda said. ``I wish more people now knew about
him.''
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