Andrés Ayón Brown

Cuban baseball player who excelled in the Minor Leagues and in the Mexican League of Baseball, acted as a pitcher. He was also manager of Industriales in the Cuban National Series. He is uncle of Pedro Medina, an outstanding player for Cuban teams in the 1970s and 1980s.

He began his career in amateur baseball in the youth category, until he was discovered by talent scouts in professional baseball.
Despite his excellent performances in the Minor Leagues, Ayón never received a call to the major club. Unlike many other baseball players who decided to leave Cuba and seek to develop their careers in the Major Leagues with the increase in tensions between the island and the United States, Andrés decided to stay in the country and support the development of baseball. Shortly after professionalism was abolished in Cuba, he moved to the Mexican League, where he would make his mark until becoming a legend.

Career
In Cuba he stood out from a young age in amateur baseball, being signed for professional play by Napoleón Reyes, scout for the Cincinnati Reds in Havana, where he played with the Pilotos team in 1955.

In 1956 he joined the Cuban national youth team, playing in the first Youth World Championship held in Mexico City.

In the Cuban Professional Baseball League, he played four seasons with the teams of Marianao and Almendares, winning 21 games and losing 11.

In Mexico, in 1964 he arrived at the Mexican League of Baseball to play with the Pericos de Puebla, where he performed for 14 seasons, achieving on three occasions more than 20 wins.

On three occasions he was champion in wins and losses, in 1964 with Puebla, he achieved 16 victories with six losses, - second in the league - and an average of 2.94 ERA; third in the championship.

In 1965 he achieved 17 games won and 12 losses, - third in the league - with an ERA of 4.16. In 1966 he achieved 16 wins with 12 losses and 3.62 earned run average. That year on June 25, he pitched a no-hit, no-run game.

In 1967 he was signed with the Charros de Jalisco, where he won 25 and lost 6, - leader - with an ERA of 3.34. In 1968 he achieved a record of 13 wins and 13 losses, an average of 3.19.
Playing with the Saraperos de Saltillo

In 1969 also with Jalisco, he achieved 20 wins with 12 losses, - third - with 2.57 ERA, seventh in this category. In 1970 he finished for the first time below .500 in wins and losses, with 11 and 14, ERA of 3.48.

In 1971 he performed in 15 games with the Piratas de Sabinas and then moved to the Saraperos de Saltillo, achieving in total 12 wins with six losses and an ERA of 1.22, pitched in 147 innings, not reaching the necessary amount to aspire to the pitching lead, the league president granted him the title.

In 1972 playing for Saltillo, he had another excellent season, achieving 22 wins with only three losses, - league leader - with 3.15 ERA. On June 30 of that year he pitched a perfect game in seven innings against the Sultanes de Monterrey, - the second game of that category in Mexican professional baseball up to that moment.

In 1973 he played for Saltillo and Puebla, achieving 11 wins and six losses and an ERA of 3.10, retiring at the end of that season.

He returned in 1975 with Cafeteros de Córdoba, achieving two wins with five losses and an average of 3.88 earned run average. In 1976 he played for the Pericos de Nuevo Laredo, one win and two losses and 2.86 ERA.

In 1977 also with Nuevo Laredo, he achieved two wins with one loss and 3.24 ERA. He finished definitively in 1978 at the age of 42 with Nuevo Laredo, achieving one win with one loss and 2.50 ERA.

In total, he achieved in the Mexican League of Baseball, 169 games won with 98 losses and 21 saved games, with 3.15 ERA. He pitched 2,017 innings, struck out 942 batters. He also played in the Pacific League for two seasons (1967 and 1968) with the Tomateros de Culiacán, where he won 21 games and lost 11.

He ranks 12th in Mexican baseball in ERA among pitchers with more than 2,000 innings pitched and ranks second in wins and losses average with .633.

In his sports career he achieved 234 wins with 148 losses, ranking among the 10 best Cuban pitchers with performance in both professional and amateur baseball.

He was elected as a member of the Hall of Fame of Baseball in Mexico in 1997.

Minor Leagues

In 1955 he was signed by Napoleón Reyes, at that time scout for the Cincinnati Reds, with this organization he played in the Minor Leagues, in categories A, Double A and Triple A until 1963; winning 105 games with 37 losses.

In 1957 he played for the Wausau Lumberjacks, where he achieved eight wins with 13 losses and an ERA of 4.94. In 1958 he played for the Visalia Redlegs, achieving 18 games won with eight lost and an ERA of 3.40, ranking fourth in the California League and among the top 10 in ERA.

In 1959 he played for three subsidiary clubs of the Cincinnati Reds, the Topeka Hawks, the Savannah Reds and the Havana Cubans, achieving in total 15 wins with nine losses.

In 1960 he played for the Cubans Sugar Kings, achieving a record of five wins with six losses and an ERA of 3.00. In 1961 he played for Jersey City, - as the Sugar Kings were relocated to that city - achieving six wins with six losses and an ERA of 3.43.

In 1962 he performed with the Macon Peaches, achieving a record of eight games won, four lost and 3.62 earned run average. In 1963 he played his last season in the Minor Leagues, with five wins and three losses, an ERA of 3.51. He achieved in that baseball 65 games won with 49 losses.

Manager of Industriales

He was appointed manager of the Industriales team during the XXII National Baseball Series in the 1982-1983 season, achieving that year fourth place with a record of 31 wins and 16 losses.

In the 1983-1984 season, he achieved second place with 49 wins and 25 losses, a position he also held during the 1984-1985 season, achieving sixth place with 44 games won and 31 lost.

In Cuba, after his retirement, he served as a coach and managed Industriales for three seasons. His desire to contribute to the development of new athletes led him to remain linked with baseball almost until the end of his life. In addition to helping as a coach, Andrés Ayón was one of the vice presidents of the Consejo Nacional Martiano Béisbol de Siempre, which he honored with his presence and participation in many of the activities.

Death

He died, victim of a heart attack, in Havana, on October 24, 2021; the death occurred at the Miguel Enríquez Hospital, in the municipality of 10 de Octubre in the capital of Cuba.