Rafael Rúa

Rafael Julian de la Rúa

• Bats Unknown, Throws Left

• Born ~1847 in Matanzas Cuba

Biographical Information

Left-hander Rafael Rúa was born in Cuba around 1847 or so, and grew up in Newton, MA. He played in 12 games for the Troy Haymakers in 1868 as a pitcher, and was known for throwing a pitch similar to a screwball. This pitch proved to work well for him, as the Troy Times reported on August 4, 1868 that “Rúa’s pitching was the acme of perfection — not too swift to be unreliable, and with just enough of the ‘twist’ to prevent the Mutuals from making their heaviest batting".

There is some evidence that points to Rúa possibly being the first Latin baseball player, due to the fact that he was already playing organized ball before Esteban Bellan even left Fordham University. Despite his talent, he never played another game of baseball after 1868. In 1874, he was living in New York, NY and apparently became a United States citizen that year. After this, he seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth.