José Méndez, baseball player, 1912-1926

José Méndez

⭐ Hall of Fame 2006

Born: 1/2/1885 in Cardenas, Matanzas, Cuba

Died: 10/31/1928 in Havana, La Habana, Cuba

MLB Debut: 1912-08-24 | Final Game: 1926-09-21

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 152 lbs

Full name: Jose Colmenar Méndez

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Biography

José Méndez, born in 1885, was a significant figure in the early history of professional baseball, particularly known for his contributions during the vibrant and competitive era of Negro League baseball. He played from 1912 until his retirement in 1926, showcasing his skills primarily as a position player. Despite the absence of recorded statistics such as games played, hits, home runs, and RBIs, Méndez's impact on the game was profound, earning him a revered place in baseball history. Méndez was known for his exceptional talent and prowess on the field, which led to his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. His career unfolded during a time when African American players faced significant barriers to playing in Major League Baseball, yet he carved out a legacy that highlighted his abilities and the rich history of the Negro Leagues. His story reflects not only his individual achievements but also the broader struggle for integration and recognition within the sport.

Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
32.0 27.0 1.0 5.0 0 0 0 0 3.0 4.0 0 0.185 0.267 0.185 0.452

Pitching

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA
11.0 0 0 4.0 2.0 0 0 0.0 31.0 10.0 9.0 0 0 0 1.83

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1912 4.0 4.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
1920 6.0 3.0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 2.0 0 0 0.333 0.600 0.333 0.933
1921 8.0 7.0 0 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.286 0.286 0.286 0.572
1923 2.0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 .000 0.500 .000 0.500
1924 10.0 10.0 1.0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 3.0 0 0.100 0.100 0.100 0.200
1925 1.0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
1926 1.0 1.0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 1.000 2.000

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching

Season W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA
1912 1.0 0 0 1.0 1.0 0 0 0.0 6.0 1.0 1.0 0 0 0 1.00
1923 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1924 6.0 0 0 2.0 1.0 0 0 0.0 15.0 4.0 3.0 0 0 0 1.17
1925 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 7.0 3.0 3.0 0 0 0 8.10
1926 3.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 3.0 2.0 2.0 0 0 0 4.50

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
57 18 117 72 51 7 10 687.3 655 214 13 128 402 2.80 0

Career ERA 2.80 vs. league average 3.57 across their career seasons — 21.5% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1908 CSH NAC 1 2 4 4 3 0 0 30.3 36 18 11 26 5.34 2.40 (-123%) 533.1
1909 CSH INT 6 2 10 8 7 2 0 75.0 53 9 17 74 1.08 2.55 (+58%) 2643.6
1910 SC1 WES 2 4 7 7 6 0 0 58.0 72 28 6 34 4.34 2.79 (-56%) 1250.0
1910 CSH EAS 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 9.0 4 3 1 4 3.00 2.79 (-8%) 0.0
1911 CSH EAS 9 0 11 10 9 3 0 87.0 69 14 16 77 1.45 3.37 (+57%) 3414.2
1912 CSH WES 4 1 7 6 5 0 0 52.7 44 6 11 23 1.03 3.36 (+70%) 912.2
1918 CAG WES 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 9.0 4 0 2 4 0.00 2.83 (+100%) 0.0
1919 DS WES 3 0 7 4 3 1 2 46.3 33 12 4 21 2.33 3.09 (+24%) 1032.3
1920 KCM NNL 3 1 9 5 3 0 0 47.0 46 14 9 10 2.68 3.45 (+22%) -463.8
1921 KCM NNL 1 1 3 2 0 0 0 15.7 15 8 3 3 4.60 4.02 (-14%) -140.8
1922 KCM NNL 2 0 5 1 0 0 0 19.3 34 11 5 14 5.12 4.18 (-22%) 804.1
1923 KCM NNL 12 4 24 16 11 1 2 138.7 138 49 30 60 3.18 4.03 (+21%) 2614.0
1924 KCM NNL 6 1 13 2 0 0 3 45.3 46 17 8 31 3.38 4.13 (+18%) 1861.9
1925 KCM NNL 3 1 8 3 0 0 0 23.0 28 16 4 12 6.26 4.55 (-38%) 850.3
1926 KCM NNL 3 1 7 2 2 0 3 31.0 33 9 1 9 2.61 4.11 (+36%) 1187.1

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
365 1037 138 237 48 12 6 107 41 122 2 0.229 0.313 0.315 0.628 -1229.2

Career AVG .229 vs. league average .271 across their career seasons — 15.7% below league average.

Career OBP .313 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 6.3% below league average.

Career SLG .315 vs. league average .367 across their career seasons — 14.0% below league average.

Career OPS 0.628 vs. league average 0.700 across their career seasons — 10.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1908 CSH NAC 19 62 9 17 2 1 0 10 1 5 0 0.274 .240 (+14%) .298 (+10%) .306 (+10%) .605 (+10%) 88.7
1909 CSH INT 27 75 6 16 2 1 0 10 1 8 0 0.213 .244 (-13%) .306 (-6%) .312 (-15%) .618 (-10%) -104.2
1910 SC1 WES 13 47 5 11 4 2 0 5 0 4 0 0.234 — — — — 28.8
1910 CSH EAS 2 9 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.111 — — — — 28.8
1911 CSH EAS 15 42 6 8 1 0 0 3 3 6 0 0.190 — — — — 0.0
1912 CSH WES 17 60 7 15 3 0 0 6 0 1 0 0.250 .268 (-7%) .335 (-22%) .358 (-16%) .694 (-19%) -196.8
1918 CAG WES 15 52 6 10 3 1 0 4 0 5 0 0.192 .255 (-25%) .318 (-17%) .326 (-12%) .645 (-15%) -123.8
1919 DS WES 33 101 15 22 2 2 3 12 3 12 0 0.218 .262 (-17%) .322 (-7%) .347 (+5%) .670 (-1%) -13.7
1920 KCM NNL 56 180 21 38 6 1 0 14 5 28 0 0.211 .271 (-22%) .331 (-2%) .363 (-30%) .694 (-17%) -411.0
1921 KCM NNL 56 178 23 52 9 0 1 16 17 24 0 0.292 .286 (+2%) .344 (+9%) .395 (-9%) .739 (-1%) 67.7
1922 KCM NNL 40 104 15 19 5 2 0 8 9 15 2 0.183 .285 (-36%) .345 (-14%) .397 (-32%) .743 (-24%) -420.6
1923 KCM NNL 39 88 16 21 8 2 1 15 1 5 0 0.239 .282 (-16%) .344 (-19%) .390 (+5%) .734 (-6%) -144.3
1924 KCM NNL 16 24 5 5 2 0 1 3 0 3 0 0.208 — — — — 0.0
1925 KCM NNL 10 9 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0.222 — — — — 0.0
1926 KCM NNL 7 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
7 11 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.182

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1926 NNC KCM 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1925 NNC KCM 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1925 NWS KCM 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000
1924 NWS KCM 4 9 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.111

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 2 7 1 0 27.0 22 9 8 10 3.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1926 NNC KCM 0 1 1 0 0 4.0 3 1 2 4 2.25
1925 NNC KCM 0 0 1 0 0 1.0 2 2 2 0 18.00
1925 NWS KCM 0 1 1 0 0 3.0 6 3 1 0 9.00
1924 NWS KCM 2 0 4 1 0 19.0 11 3 3 6 1.42

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 3 2 15 0 1 1
2B 40 36 60 86 18 4
3B 64 44 56 110 8 8
OF 76 32 88 10 5 0
P 118 39 50 262 22 3
SS 79 64 162 219 37 27

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1908 CSH 2B 7 6 16 16 6 0
1908 CSH 3B 2 2 2 5 0 0
1908 CSH OF 2 2 2 0 0 0
1908 CSH P 4 4 1 11 0 0
1908 CSH SS 4 4 8 10 3 0
1909 CSH 2B 2 0 3 5 1 0
1909 CSH 3B 3 0 5 7 0 0
1909 CSH OF 14 0 13 3 2 0
1909 CSH P 11 0 4 31 3 0
1910 SC1 3B 1 0 1 3 1 0
1910 SC1 OF 6 0 7 0 0 0
1910 SC1 P 7 0 0 23 2 1
1910 CSH OF 1 0 4 0 0 0
1910 CSH P 1 0 1 7 0 0
1911 CSH 3B 2 0 1 1 0 0
1911 CSH OF 2 0 3 1 0 0
1911 CSH P 11 0 6 31 2 1
1912 CSH 3B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1912 CSH OF 11 0 19 1 1 0
1912 CSH P 7 0 3 20 3 0
1918 CAG OF 1 0 1 1 0 0
1918 CAG P 1 0 2 1 0 0
1918 CAG SS 13 0 25 32 3 7
1919 DS 2B 1 1 1 2 1 1
1919 DS 3B 7 7 12 12 1 3
1919 DS OF 9 7 11 1 0 0
1919 DS P 7 4 3 14 0 0
1919 DS SS 9 9 14 24 6 5
1920 KCM 1B 1 1 7 0 1 0
1920 KCM 2B 23 23 37 57 9 3
1920 KCM 3B 2 1 0 0 0 0
1920 KCM OF 2 1 2 0 0 0
1920 KCM P 9 5 3 16 3 0
1920 KCM SS 23 22 42 57 9 5
1921 KCM 2B 3 2 2 1 0 0
1921 KCM 3B 11 10 11 24 1 2
1921 KCM OF 15 15 15 2 0 0
1921 KCM P 3 2 1 6 0 0
1921 KCM SS 26 26 69 88 14 8
1922 KCM 2B 3 3 1 5 1 0
1922 KCM 3B 28 20 23 51 5 2
1922 KCM OF 3 1 3 0 0 0
1922 KCM P 5 1 4 11 3 0
1922 KCM SS 4 3 4 8 2 2
1923 KCM 1B 1 1 8 0 0 1
1923 KCM 2B 1 1 0 0 0 0
1923 KCM 3B 7 4 1 6 0 1
1923 KCM OF 7 5 5 1 2 0
1923 KCM P 24 15 12 41 5 0
1924 KCM OF 2 1 3 0 0 0
1924 KCM P 13 2 4 32 1 0
1925 KCM 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1925 KCM OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1925 KCM P 8 3 0 0 0 0
1926 KCM P 7 3 6 18 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 118
First Base 3
Second Base 40
Third Base 64
Shortstop 79
Left Field 13
Center Field 13
Right Field 50