I really don't pay attention to days like today.
May 5th has always been just another day to me, but it's probably because I don't drink. Never have.
However, as I've been seeing all day on my Twitter page it's Cinco de Mayo, the Mexican festival/ holiday that celebrates Mexico's victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862.
So, as I was thinking about all the tweets and comments on my Facebook page, I suddenly thought hey, what about some of the best of the best of the Mexican ball players who have come and gone through big league baseball.
132 players, if I counted right, have come to the big leagues from Mexico, including the great Fernando Valenzuela, Ruben Amaro, Bobby Avila, Vinny Castilla, Teddy Higuera, and of course, the infamous Mario Mendoza.
Mario Mendoza's Baseball Almanac.com page is here.
Mendoza was a good fielding, light hitting infielder with a lifetime .215 batting average who became part of baseball lore after Kansas City Royals star 3rd baseman George Brett commented about looking through the box scores to see the players hitting below "the Mendoza line," or, under .200.
Other Mexican baseball players who made good in the big league include Sid Monge, Aurelio Lopez..."Senior Smoke" of the 1984 Detroit Tigers, Hector Torres, Oscar Robles, and Mel Almada, who became the 1st ever Mexican to play in the big leagues, when he made his debut on September 8th, 1933.
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