Carlos Morán

Carlos Morán
(Chino)

• Bats Left, Throws Left

Biographical Information

Carlos Morán was a star Cuban third baseman of the Deadball Era. He is the brother of Francisco Morán and Angel Morán. He led the league in runs three times and OBP twice.

He debuted with the San Francisco team in the 1899-1900 Cuban Winter League, the first team in league history to field black players. He hit .269, 4th in the circuit. In 1900-1901, Morán hit .318, second to Julian Castillo in the CWL. In 1903, Carlos batted .301 as a third baseman/outfielder for Club Fe. His 3 doubles tied for the lead in the league.

Morán batted .281 in the 1903-1904 season for Habana. In 1904-1905, he hit just .099 (7 for 71) as the second baseman for Habana. During 1906, the left-handed batter hit .295/.330/.398 and scored 18 runs in 23 games to lead the loop. According to Gary Ashwill's research, Morán led the league in average, OBP and slugging. Jorge Figueredo lists him at .297, second to Regino Garcia.

In 1907, Morán hit .250/.404/.277 and led the league in walks (28), runs (24) and OBP. He stole 16, two less than leader Rogelio Valdés (Valdes had tied him for the walk lead). His OBP was 20 points better than runner-up Regino Garcia.

Morán fell to .192 in 1908 and .179 in the 1908-1909 season. In 1910, he hit .304 and scored 15 runs in 14 games. He tied Al Cabrera for second in the CWL in runs behind Gervasio Gonzalez. In 1910-1911, Morán batted .308 and scored 26 runs in 28 runs for Habana. He led the league in runs, four more than Armando Marsans. In 1911, he came stateside with the All-Cubans and hit .349 against top black teams. He had the fourth-best average in the eastern black leagues behind George Wright, Pete Booker and Pop Lloyd.

In the 1912 winter league season, Morán batted .336. He scored 32 runs to lead the league for the third time (at least) and stole 19 bases, one less than leader Bruce Petway. In 1913, Carlos returned to Fe after his decade with Habana. He batted .393, second to Marsans, as league offense levels were rising. He stole 21 bases, tying Spot Poles for second behind Judy Gans. He also scored 32 runs, second to Poles. In 1913-1914, he hit .261. He finished up with San Francisco in 1915-1916, going 2 for 11.

In 1945, he was inducted into the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame.

Morán is listed in numerous sources as a left-handed third baseman, including a 1910 New York Times article.

Sources: Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History by Jorge Figueredo, research by Gary Ashwill, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues by James Riley, The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John Holway

Related Links

• Hall of Merit discussion about Moran