Rolando Pastor

Rolando Pastor Rodríguez

Rolando Pastor was a top Cuban amateur pitcher of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Pastor tossed a no-hitter on August 5, 1956 and was the top pitcher in Cuba's amateur leagues in 1957. He went 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA for the Cuban national team in the 1961 Amateur World Series, as Cuba won the Gold Medal. When the Cuban Serie Nacional started in 1962, he tossed three shutouts for the Occidentales. With the Industriales in 1962-1963, he led the league in walks (50), games pitched (15) and starts (10, tied with Manuel Alarcón).

He had a 2.25 ERA in the 1963 Pan American Games, when Cuba took home the Gold Medal. Back with the Occidentales in 1963-1964, Rolando led in starts (13), complete games (5, tied with Alarcón), hits allowed (74) and strikeouts (97). In three Serie Nacional campaigns, Pastor was 9-16 with a 2.89 ERA, 197 strikeouts and 131 walks in 199 innings. He held opponents to a .199 average.

He later defected from Cuba.