Ramón Arano

Ramón Arano Bravo
(Dos Pantalones/The Man Who Wears the Big Pants)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 160 lb.

• Born August 31, 1939 in Cosamaloapan, Veracruz Mexico
• Died May 5, 2012 in Veracruz, Veracruz Mexico

BR minors page

Biographical information

Along with Hub Kittle, one of only two pitchers in the history of Organized Baseball to pitch in six decades, Ramón Arano holds the Mexican League record with 32 seasons played. He broke into the pro ranks at the age of 17 or 18 with the Rieleros de Aguascalientes of the Central Mexican League, losing his only decision. Two years later he began his long Liga career with an 8-9 mark for the Petroleros de Poza Rica and Veracruz Eagle, posting a 4.47 ERA. He was shelled in 1960, losing all five of his decisions and having a 6.53 ERA. It did not look like a promising career for the short moundsman.

Arano began to improve in 1961, going 11-3 with a 3.72 ERA for the Eagle, though he allowed 198 hits in 172 innings. He led the league in winning percentage and Veracruz won the pennant. He continued to improve in 1962 and at the age of 22 went 16-7 with a 2.60 ERA and completed 17 of 24 starts. He got his only glance in the US-based minors that year, going 1-1 with a 9.82 ERA for the Oklahoma City 89ers. Arano again had the best winning percentage, was third in wins and won his only ERA title that year.

Ramón went to the Mexico City Red Devils in 1963 and led in winning percentage for the third year in a row, going 13-4 with a 3.35 ERA. Ramon went 16-9 with a 4.06 ERA the next season for Mexico City, then 9-8 with a 4.80 ERA in 1965. With four straight years of decline it appeared that the 26-year-old hurler had peaked. While this is arguably the case, he clearly bounced back.

Arano went 48-32 from 1966-1968, going 16-11, 15-11 and 17-10 with ERAs of 2.96, 2.78 amd 2.02. He was second in the Liga in wins and third in ERA in '68. In '67 he shut out the Cleveland Indians 4-0 in an exhibit and beat Jim Bouton and the New York Yankees a year later. He fell to 5-7 with a 3.18 ERA in 1969 and appeared in just 14 contests, but was back in regular action the next year, though his 15-14 record and 3.95 ERA was not up to his prior level. In '71, he split time between the Red Devils and Saltillo Saraperos and went 12-15 with a 2.95 ERA.

Arano spent the rest of the 1970s with the Cafeteros de Cordoba. He went 13-13, 3.65 in '72, 6-4 with a 1.66 ERA in just 10 starts in '73, 12-10 with a 2.55 ERA in '74, 15-8, 3.14 in '75, 14-9, 2.89 in '76, 15-14, 2.85 in '77, 19-19, 2.51 in '78 and 19-13, 2.34 in '79. He remained one of the top hurlers in the Liga, a reliable #1 or #2 pitcher, but not the star pitcher in Mexico any given year. At the age of 39 he now had won 15 or more games 10 times, losing 15 or more just once. His career was far from over, though.

In 1980 Ramón went to the Reynosa Broncos in 1980 and went 14-15 in the strike-separated season, with a 2.96 ERA in the first section and completed 21 of 29 starts that year at the age of 40. The diminutive veteran went 14-5 with a 2.93 ERA for the Red Devils in returning to the team in 1981 after a 9-year absence. He led the team in wins and was second in ERA as he remained a staff ace. He fell to 9-9 with a 3.87 ERA for Mexico City in '82 then went to the Azules de Coatzacoalcos in 1983 and was 8-14 with a 3.48 ERA that year. He had his 19th win with double-digit wins (he had 11 with double-digit losses) in 1984 as the 44-year-old pitcher went 11-9 with a 3.45 ERA for the Eagle, a team he had last pitched for 22 years earlier. He led the team in wins and ERA. It was his last good season.

In 1985 the veteran fell to 4-9 with a 4.45 ERA then went 5-8 with a 4.97 in 1986, still respectable in a league being dominated by offense at that point in time. Arano retired at the age of 47 with 332 wins in Mexico. He was inducted into the Salon de la Fama in 1993.

As a Hall-of-Famer Ramón returned to active duty in 1995 but his comeback fell short as the 55-year-old went 2-2 with a 6.86 ERA for Veracruz. Three years later he had a 3.18 ERA in one start (a no-decision) for Cordoba. That wasn't it, though. As the 62-year-old pitching coach of Veracruz in 2001 he pitched 3 1/3 innings, allowing one run. He became Mexico's only six-decade player.

With 335 career minor league wins, Arano ranks 5th all-time. As of 2000, he held Mexican League records for games pitched (811), starts (675 or 676), innings (4,770, over 900 ahead of Alfredo Ortiz), wins, losses (264), complete games (297), shutouts (57), strikeouts (2,380) and earned runs allowed (1,730). In 2004, Jesús Ríos broke his strikeout record.

Ramón's nephew, Victor Arano, also a pitcher, reached the major leagues in 2017.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1977	Cafeteros de Córdoba	Mexican League		--	none	--	replaced by Wilfredo Calvino
1983	Azules de Coatzacoalcos	Mexican League	54-63	11th	none
1986	Rojos del Águila de Veracruz	Mexican League		--	none	--	replaced Alfredo Ortiz / replaced by Jose Leyva
1994	Rojos del Águila de Veracruz	Mexican League		6th	none	Lost in 2nd round	replaced Jorge Tellache
1997	Potros de Minatitlán	Mexican League	42-76	16th	none
1998	Cafeteros de Córdoba	Mexican League		16th	none		replaced Antonio Pulido
1999	Cafeteros de Córdoba	Mexican League		--	none	--	replaced by Jose Ruiz

Related Sites

• Salon de la Fama page for Arano

Main source: The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros