Name Santos Amaro | Role Athlete | |
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Died May 31, 2001, Veracruz, Mexico | ||
Santos Amaro, better known as "Canguro" Amaro (March 14, 1908 - May 31, 2001), was a Cuban athlete competing in Cuban and Mexican professional baseball.
One of the most aggressive players in Cuban baseball, Amaro had thousands of admirers both in Cuba and Mexico. He was inducted into the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.
Amaro initially played at the catcher position, which was difficult for him because of his height (1.92 m, 6 ft 4 in). He then played third base, but his best position was right field, where he made good use of a strong throwing arm. He was one of the most consistent hitters that have passed through the Mexican League, playing for seventeen seasons and batting over .300 in eleven of them. When he hung up his spikes in 1955, he retired with a .314 overall average with 1,339 hits.
In 1951, he replaced Martin Dihigo as manager of the Veracruz Eagle, a team he led to the championship in 1952 and 1961.
His son Ruben Amaro, played 11 years in American Major League Baseball, and his grandson, Ruben Amaro, Jr., also played in the major leagues and was the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.