Gaspar del Monte

Gaspar del Monte
Pitcher / manager
Born: (1927-01-06)January 6, 1927
Havana, Cuba
Died: December 29, 1995(1995-12-29) (aged 68)
Miami, Florida
Batted: Unknown
Threw: Right

Gaspar del Monte (January 6, 1927 — December 29, 1995), nicknamed Chulungo, was a Cuban baseball player, manager, and minor league executive.

Del Monte, born to a plantation owner west of Havana, studied at the international school Santiago de Cuba when he was signed by Joe Cambria.[1] He spent four years in the Washington Senators organization, playing with Williamsport (1945), Charlotte (1946–1947), and Gadsden (1948). He also played extensively in the Florida International League, first with the Miami Beach Flamingos and later with the Havana Cubans.[2] He managed the St. Petersburg Saints in 1955.[3]

Del Monte pitched for Carta Vieja in the Panamanian League (1948), Patriotas in the Venezuelan League (1951), and Tigres del Licey in the Dominican Professional Baseball League (1953).[4][5][6] In Venezuela, he worked to a 4.24 earned run average and a 1–1 record in 1951–52.[7] In the Dominican Republic, he was part of a Licey rotation that is still considered one of the best in Dominican baseball, which also included Diomedes and Federico Olivo, Santiago Ullrich, and Miguel Ángel Vargas; Del Monte, a knuckleballer, was on the mound for Licey's final playoff victory over Águilas Cibaeñas in the 1953 championship series.[8] He played in the Colombian Professional Baseball League with the Torices de Cartagena, alongside his compatriot Pedro Pagés, from 1953 to 1955.[9] For the 1955–56 season, he served as player manager of the Indios de Cartagena and led the team to a championship, defeating Vanytor of Barranquilla.

After his playing career ended, del Monte served as a plant supervisor for the US Rubber Company in Cuba. Briefly imprisoned after the Cuban Revolution, he was released after three months and fled to the United States by way of Jamaica; he took a job as groundskeeper for the Atlanta Crackers.[10]

Del Monte was appointed general manager of the Single-A Miami Marlins in 1986, and in that capacity campaigned for the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation to bring the Caribbean Series to Miami (which would ultimately happen in 1990).[11]

He died in Miami in 1995.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Hornet Profiles: Gasper Del Monte". Newspapers.com. The Charlotte News. 19 April 1946. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  2. ^ "Gaspar Del Monte". Baseball Reference (minors). Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  3. ^ "Iott Quits As Saints Pilot; Del Monte Named". St. Petersburg Times. 16 July 1955. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  4. ^ "Colon Gaining on Cristobal". Paper of Record. The Sporting News. 28 January 1948. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  5. ^ "All Venezuelan Teams Using US Players". Paper of Record. The Sporting News. 17 October 1951. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  6. ^ "Cubanos que se visten de Tigres". El Caribe. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  7. ^ Registro del Beisbol Venezolano. Caracas: LVBP. 1995. p. 138. ISBN 9800730117.
  8. ^ "El Mismo Golpe y Chulungo Delmonte". Diario Libre. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  9. ^ a b "MURIÓ CHULUNGO DEL MONTE". El Tiempo. 4 January 1996. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  10. ^ "Exile of an Ex-Pitcher". Newspapers.com. The Atlanta Journal. 18 April 1962. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  11. ^ Miranda, Fausto (29 January 1986). "Nombran los Miami Marlins a directivo cubano". Newspapers.com. El Miami Herald. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
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