Connie Marrero

Conrado Eugenio Marrero Ramos (April 25, 1911 – April 23, 2014), nicknamed "Connie", was a Cuban professional baseball pitcher.

He played for various teams in his rural region, then in 1938 at age 27, he was invited to pitch for the Cienfuegos team of the Cuban Amateur League.

The league played on Sundays from March through September.

The team was sponsored by a department store, which employed him during the week.

Marrero was one of the most popular and successful pitchers in Cuban Amateur League history, winning 123 games from 1938 to 1945.

According to González Echevarría, Marrero as an amateur was considered a bigger drawing card than any professional pitcher in Cuba.

From 1939 to 1943, Cuba hosted the second through sixth Amateur World Series competitions at La Tropical Stadium in Havana.

Marrero was a pitcher for the Cuba national baseball team at the second Amateur World Series in 1939, the first in which Cuba competed.

Only three teams competed and Cuba easily won, with Marrero contributing a victory in the only game he pitched.

In the third Amateur World Series in 1940, Marrero led the Cuba team to victory, going 3–2 with a 1.15 earned run average (ERA), and was named the most valuable player of the series.

In the fourth Amateur World Series in 1941, Marrero won three games, but the series ended in a tie between Cuba and the Venezuela team.

Venezuela was relying on the pitching of Daniel Canónico, who went 4–0 with an ERA of 1.69 in 32 innings.

Cuba challenged Venezuela to a playoff game, which was scheduled to allow Canónico time to rest.

On October 23, 1941 Marrero faced Canónico for the championship.

Venezuela, helped by an error by the Cuba third baseman, scored 3 runs in the bottom of the first inning; Marrero was pulled after 2 innings, and Canónico held the Cuba scoreless until the ninth inning.

Venezuela held on to win the game 3–1, winning their first Amateur World Series.

In 1942, Marrero had his best amateur season, going 22–5 with a 1.22 ERA.

For the fifth Amateur World Series, the Cuba national team was selected by a fan poll, and Marrero was the top vote-getter.

The series featured a rematch between Marrero and Venezuela's Canónico.

This time the Cuba won 8–0, and Cuba regained the Cup.

In 1943 Marrero was suspended from the Amateur League for six months for accepting payment for a game and consequently was not selected for the Amateur World Series team.

In 1944.

he returned with a 21–8 season and was again selected for the Amateur World Series team.

The series was played in Caracas, Venezuela and ended in controversy.

There was a three-way tie among Mexico, Venezuela, and Cuba, forcing a playoff.

However, after some questionable calls by the umpires, who were provided by Venezuela, Cuba withdrew from the tournament in protest.

In 1945.

Marrero again pitched for Cienfuegos in the Amateur League.

He was caught pitching in a non-league game a second time and given an indefinite suspension.

He then decided to turn professional.

In the winter of 1946/47, Marrero signed with the Oriente team of the National Federation league.

Marrero had a good season, leading the league in victories with an 8–5 record.

The right-handed Marrero pitched in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1954 for the Washington Senators.

Marrero made his major league debut when he was 38 years old, and was one of the oldest players in the league throughout the duration of his time in the major leagues.

He was a popular star in his native Cuba, where he had a long and successful career in amateur baseball, pitching for Cuba in several Amateur World Series competitions, and playing several excellent seasons with the professional Cuban League and the minor league Havana Cubans.

His nicknames in Cuba were "El Guajiro de Laberinto" (The Peasant from Laberinto), reflecting his rural origins, "El Premier", and "El Curvo."

Marrero's pitches were primarily "slow stuff—curves, sliders and knucklers."

Roberto González Echevarría provides the following description: "A bit plump, of less than average height [he was listed as 5 ft tall and 158 lb], with short arms and small hands, Marrero looked, in uniform, like someone in a baseball costume, not a player. He looked more like a Spanish grocer or peasant than an athlete."

At age 102, Marrero was the oldest living former Major League Baseball player at the time of his death.

Marrero was born on a farm called El Laberinto in the district of Sagua la Grande, Cuba; he was of Canarian descent.