The History of Latinos in Major League Baseball
and Their Growing Influence on the Game
This web page is dedicated to the history of Latinos, from both the United States and foreign countries, and their historical and current significance to the game of baseball. Within this site, we will examine historical trends of Latino players within professional baseball, such as places of origin, prominence, and longevity, across several different generations. From this, we hope to gain a better understanding of the current state of affairs regarding baseball in predominantly Latino cultures. Finally, we will explore the recent boom in professional Latino baseball players within the U.S. and how this has affected professional baseball, the cultures from which these players hail, and American culture in general.
Though the influence of African Americans such as Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays are well documented, the impact of Latinos such as Adolfo Luque, Minnie Miñoso, and Louis Aparicio, as well as others, have made on the sport is often overlooked. Through this website, we hope to highlight the importance of Latinos throughout the 20th century to the game of baseball. By exploring the introduction of the game to Latin America to illustrating the importance of Latino players in the game today, perhaps these players, so very instrumental to baseball, can get the recognition they deserve.
A project by Carson Witte and Alex Weick