Hiram González

From BR Bullpen

Hiram Rene González

  • Bats Left, Throws Left
  • Height 5' 9", Weight 175 lb.

BR Register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Hiram González played for the Cuban national team and made it to AAA.

González hit .200 for Cuba when they won Bronze in the 1946 Central American and Caribbean Games. [1] He made his pro debut the next summer, batting .265/.360/.369 with 12 triples for the Havana Cubans. He had 15 outfield assists. He led the Florida International League in three-baggers. He fell to .186 with a .209 slugging for the Almendares Blues of the Cuban Winter League as the 5th outfielder behind Sam Jethroe, Gene Benson, Cleveland Clark and Monte Irvin. [2] In '48, he hit .300/.374/.406 with 33 doubles, 14 triples, 99 runs, 21 steals and 71 walks to 18 whiffs for Havana and had 18 outfield assists. He was 5th in the FIL in runs, 8th in hits, tied for 2nd in doubles (11 behind Gil Torres), tied for 2nd in triples (4 behind Anthony Mazurek) and tied Val Heim for 8th in walks.

He was only 5 for 33 that winter for Almendares, again the #5 outfielder, this time behind Al Gionfriddo, Jethroe, Irvin and Sandy Amoros. [3] The team won the title and made the first Caribbean Series but Hiram did not appear in the 1949 Caribbean Series. [4] With the Havana Cubans in 1949, he hit .286/.388/.373 with 88 K to 14 K, 97 runs, 11 triples and 17 swipes. He again threw out 18 runners from the outfield. He was 5th in runs, led in triples again, tied for 10th in steals and tied Art Rebel for 5th in walks. After spending the summer with Havana, he moved to the Havana Reds for the winter, hitting .211 and slugging .237; as with Almendares, he was #5 in the outfield as Pedro Formental, Don Lenhardt, Don Thompson and Pablo García were the top four. [5]

In 1950, he played both for the Havana Cubans (hitting only .222/.357/.259 in 28 G) [6] and Galveston White Caps (.132/.132/.263 in 13 G) [7] The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues lists Hiram Rene Gonzalez as playing in the Negro Leagues in 1950; the reference seems to be to René González but it is not 100% clear. The two also are listed with the same birthdate, adding to the confusion. [8] He split the winter between Habana and the Marianao Tigers, with a composite average of .232 and slugging of .286. [9] He moved to the Sherbrooke Athletics for 1951 and produced at a .319/.401/.473 clip with 31 doubles, 66 walks and 101 runs, plus a career-high 12 homers. He tied Silvio García for second in runs in the Provincial League (5 behind Johnny Davis), was 4th in doubles (between Al Pinkston and Roger Breard) and made the top ten in batting average.

Hiram hit .238 and slugged .288 for Marianao in 1951-1952, backing up Jim Basso, Claro Duany, Frank Kalin and Minnie Miñoso. [10] With the Tampa Smokers in 1952, he batted .279/.384/.327 with 85 walks and 93 runs. He tied Jesse Levan for the FIL lead in runs and was 6th in walks. [11] With Marianao that winter, he hit .263/?/.289 in his usual role as a regular backup. [12] He was part of a Cuban contingent that played the Pittsburgh Pirates that spring. [13] He fielded .988 and had 17 outfield assists for Tampa in 1953, hitting .297/.376/.372 with 8 triples and 61 walks to 11 strikeouts. He He tied for 6th in the FIL in triples; among outfielders, he was second in fielding percentage and 4th in assists. [14]

The Havana native was the fifth outfielder for the Cienfuegos Elephants in 1953-1954, hitting .269 and slugging .313 while backing up Chuck Diering, Lloyd Merriman, Oscar Sierra and Pablo García. [15] He bounced around that summer, playing for the Fayetteville Highlanders (.262/.355/.379 in 35 G) and two FIL teams, Tampa and the St. Petersburg Saints; between the latter two, his batting line was .317/.436/.377 with 77 walks and 15 steals. He had appeared in all but one season of the FIL's history. He was 5th in average in 1954, was second in walks and presumably among the OBP leaders. [16] With Cienfuegos in the winter, he was a starter for the first time in his CWL career. He struggled at .228 with a .309 slugging. [17]

González split 1955 between the Highlanders (.368/.488/.412 in 19 G) and Oklahoma City Indians (.267/.337/.329 in 64 G), making it to AA at age 31. He batted a solid .318 (slugging .400) for Habana in 1955-1956, backing up Amoros, Jack Brandt and Pedro Almenares. [18] He was 4 for 18 with two walks for the 1956 Oklahoma City club, then hit .272/?/.342 as Habana's 4th outfielder again in the winter; he backed up a whole new trio in Román Mejias, Bobby Del Greco and Oscar Sardinas. [19]

Making it to AAA with his hometown Havana Sugar Kings in 1957, he batted .266/.339/.301 in 192 plate appearances over 91 games at age 33. He was the 4th outfielder behind Ultus Alvarez, Angel Scull and Daniel Morejon. He hit .193 that winter (slugging .217) for Habana, as their 5h outfielder after Mejias, Bob Will, Sardinas and Aldo Salvent. [20] That ended his CWL career. He ended his pro career by batting .207/.294/.241 in 20 games for the 1958 Sultanes de Monterrey.

Sources[edit]

  1. ↑ A History of Cuban Baseball by Peter Bjarkman, pg. 237
  2. ↑ Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History by Jorge Figueredo, pg. 296
  3. ↑ ibid., pg. 310
  4. ↑ ibid., pg. 316
  5. ↑ ibid., pg. 329
  6. ↑ 1951 Baseball Guide, pg. 256
  7. ↑ ibid., pg. 342
  8. ↑ The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues by James Riley, pg. 325
  9. ↑ Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, pg. 343
  10. ↑ Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, pg. 356
  11. ↑ 1953 Baseball Guide, pg. 265
  12. ↑ Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, pg. 370
  13. ↑ ibid., pg. 377
  14. ↑ 1954 Baseball Guide, pg. 281-282
  15. ↑ Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, pg. 384
  16. ↑ 1955 Baseball Guide, pg. 261
  17. ↑ Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, pg. 400
  18. ↑ Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, pg. 412
  19. ↑ ibid., pg. 425
  20. ↑ ibid., pg. 38
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