Connie Marrero

Conrado Eugenio Marrero Ramos

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 158 lb.

• Debut April 21, 1950
• Final Game September 7, 1954
• Born April 25, 1911 in Sagua La Grande, Villa Clara, Cuba
• Died April 23, 2014 in Havana, Cuba

BR page

Biographical Information

Connie Marrero, known as "El Guajiro" (the Hillbilly), was a Cuban who became a major league rookie at the age of 39. He pitched for five years, with decent ERA's until the last season. He threw many sliders, and one magazine called him "Slow Ball Señor".

Marrero went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA for Cuba when they won the 1939 Amateur World Series. He was MVP of the 1940 Amateur World Series, going 2-1 with a 1.15 ERA for the champs. He had a 3-0, 0.46 record going into the finals of the 1941 Amateur World Series but lost to Venezuela and Daniel Canónico, 3-1, as Cuba failed to take Gold for the first time in an international tournament.

In the 1942 Amateur World Series, Marrero was 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA as the worst pitcher for Cuba. His win was a big one, though, defeating the reigning champion Venezuelan national team, 8-0, in the opener. In the 1944 Amateur World Series, Marrero was 2-1 with a 2.20 ERA for the Bronze Medalists.

From 1938 to 1945, his record in the Cuban Amateur league was 128-40, with ERAs of 1.22, 1.13, and 1.21.

He was named to the All Star team in 1951, at the age of 40. He also pitched a one-hitter that year.

In America, his main teammates were Eddie Yost, Mickey Vernon, Bob Porterfield, Pete Runnels, Jackie Jensen, Jim Busby and Irv Noren.

Quote: "Nice play, Mickey. Now you pay." - Connie Marrero, after Mantle threw him out at first base on a ball hit to right field, and before Marrero struck out Mantle three times

Quote: "You got to swing at his first pitch. You let him get ahead of you on the count and you're dead." - Ted Williams, speaking about Connie Marrero

Different sources disagreed as to the age of Connie Marrero. Some said he was born in 1917, while others said 1911 or 1913. A Cuban passport issued to Marrero prior to the Cuban Revolution provides a birthdate of April 25, 1911 and that is considered the most likely date of birth.

After the death of Juan Delis in 2003, Marrero was the only former major leaguer living in Cuba. Marrero did not contribute to the major league pension plan and was not entitled to a pension despite playing the requisite five years in the big leagues. In 2012, he received his first installment from a fund established for major leaguers who were not vested in the pension plan.

Marrero lived with his grandson and great-grandchildren in Havana and followed both major league and Cuban baseball. While his eyesight was gone, he still had all of his mind and regularly impressed visitors with his complete recall of games that happened more than half a century earlier. On February 8, 2011, when Tony Malinosky passed away at age 101, he became the Oldest Living MLB Player. When he celebrated his 102nd birthday on April 25, 2013, he was only the second major leaguer to reach that age, after Chet Hoff­. He died almost exactly a year later, two days shy of his 103rd birthday.

The first Latino to throw a shutout in a Caribbean Series, he had a 2-2, 1.59 record in four Series and made the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.

Notable Achievements

• AL All-Star (1951)

Further Reading

• Michael Clair: "The amazing tale of the 39-year-old rookie: Connie Marrero started late and never stopped", mlb.com, January 29, 2021. [1]
• Doug Miller: "Oldest living player celebrates 102nd birthday: Conrado Eugenio 'Connie' Marrero pitched for Senators from 1950-54", mlb.com, April 26, 2013. [2]

Related Sites

• Connie Marrero at the SABR Bio Project
• A photo of Marrero at age 94 can be found here: [3]
• Obituary