Roque Contreras

Roque Virgilio Contreras Jane (Ray)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 175 lb.

• Born August 16, 1927 in Havana Cuba

BR register page

Biographical Information

Roque Contreras pitched 11 seasons in the minors (8 in AA) and was on the Cuban national team.

Contreras was 1-0 for Cuba when they won Gold in the 1950 Central American and Caribbean Games. He turned pro in 1951, going 2-2 for the Havana Cubans and 8-7, 3.72 for the Galveston White Caps (hitting .291/.316/.400).

He was 22-10 with a 3.52 ERA for Galveston the next year, hitting .260/.271/.315 with 20 RBI. He led the Gulf Coast League in wins (two ahead of Earl Caldwell and Ervin Liberton), was a distant second to Caldwell in ERA, was second to Liberton in complete games (20), tied Liberton for the most IP (263) and was 5th with 140 K (between Bart DiMaggio and Liberton).

The right-hander was 0-1 with a 5.71 ERA for the Almendares Blues in the 1952-1953 Cuban Winter League, his CWL debut. When the Pittsburgh Pirates visited Cuba in March 1953, he got the win over Bob Garber. He was in the Pirates' chain that summer, going 11-9 with a 3.82 ERA for the Denver Bears. He was 9th in the Western League with 39 appearances (21 starts).

He went 1-1 with a 5.61 ERA when Almendares won the CWL title in 1953-1954. He split 1954 between the Dallas Eagles (5-10, 3.80 in 27 G) and Galveston (10-4, 4.42). In the winter, he had a 2-1, 4.06 record for Almendares and 2-1, 3.19 for the Marianao Tigers. He pitched in 1955 for Dallas (3-4, 3.16 in 24 G), Texas City Texans (0-1) and the Sultanes de Monterrey (9-3, 3.71; hitting .300 to boot). His final CWL appearance was with Marianao in 1955-1956; he went 1-1 with a 5.97 ERA in 19 games.

For the 1956 Sultanes, he posted a 16-12, 2.95 record with four shutouts. Only Francisco Ramírez won more games in the Mexican League that year. Roque tied Gil Guerra for 3rd in games pitched (38), tied for the lead with four shutouts, led in complete games and was 3rd with 116 K. He fell to 11-16, 4.35 for them in '57. He tied Rene Vega for 9th in wins, led with 32 starts, was second to Roman Ramos in losses and was 3rd with 11 complete games (trailing Eddie Locke and Julian Ladera).

Contreras was 2-1 with a 3.66 ERA in the 1958 Mexican League, appearing for Monterrey and the Petroleros de Poza Rica. He was also 4-6 with a 7.20 ERA for the Juarez Indios. The next summer, he was 1-2 in seven games for Monterrey. He was 1-1 with a 4.67 ERA for them in 1960 and 1-1 in '61 to end his career.