Lucas Boada

Lucas Boada Gómez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10"

• Debut 1921
• Final Game 1924
• Born 1893 in Matanzas Cuba

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Biographical Information

Lucas Boada was a two-way player (though primarily a pitcher) in Cuba and the Negro Leagues.

Boada was 2-2 with a 2.85 ERA (122 ERA+) for the Cuban Stars in 1919 in the Negro Leagues. He hit only .094/.134/.094 despite also playing regularly in the outfield. He was 4th in ERA among top black eastern teams (between Tom Williams and Joe Williams) and 5th in ERA+ (between Otis Starks and Joe Williams). For the America team in the 1919-1920 Cuban Winter League, he went 0-5 and hit .265. He tied Oscar Tuero and José Leblanc for the league lead in losses.

With the Cuban Stars in 1920, he was 1-4 with a 4.28 ERA (60 ERA+) and hit .222/.255/.267. He played for the Cincinnati Cuban Stars in 1921, posting a 7-8, 3.18 record (125 ERA+) and batting .241/.286/.291. He was 10th in the Negro National League in ERA. In 1922, he was 7-11 with a 5.39 ERA (101 ERA+) and produced at a .250/.317/.320 rate. He tied Jim Jeffries, Bill Drake and Pedro Silva for second in the NNL in defeats and he tied Bill Force, Juan Padrón and Deacon Meyers for 6th with 13 complete games.

The Matanzas native played for the new Mariano team in the 1922-1923 CWL and fared much better than in his prior go at the circuit. He was 11-4 with a 3.06 ERA (122 ERA+) and hit .231/.286/.231. He was 6th in ERA (between Dick Redding and Oscar Levis), tied Dolf Luque for the win lead, tied Levis and Eddie Lepard for second with 11 complete games (one behind Luque) and only walked 29 in 135 1/3 IP (1/3 IP behind leader Luque). It was a far cry from his 0-5 and league lead in losses in 1919-1920. He helped spark the new team to the title.

In 1923, he struggled at 4-13, 5.30 (89 ERA+) and hit .288/.345/.388 (95 OPS+). He tied George Boggs for second in the NNL in losses, two behind Joe Strong. His roller-coaster career in Cuba continued in 1923-1924 as he fell to 4-8, 4.36 (87 ERA+) a season after being the win leader. He was second in losses (one behind Jack Ryan and tied Jesse Petty and Dave Brown for 4th with 7 complete games. He moved to Almendares for the Gran Premio season and went 0-3.

His last season in the Negro Leagues was 1924; he was 4-6 with a 4.50 ERA (98 ERA+) and hit .385/.447/.590 for a 193 OPS+ in 49 plate appearances. He would pitch one more time for Almendares, going 1-4 in 1926-1927.

Sources

• Seamheads database
• Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History by Jorge Figueredo