Fermín Guerra Romero

He was a Cuban baseball player who performed in Cuban professional baseball, in the Minor Leagues, in Major League Baseball, and in Mexican baseball.

He also had an extensive career as a manager in Cuba with Almendares, Marianao, and Habana, in Nicaragua with the Indios del Boer, and in Mexico with the Leones de Yucatán.

He was born in La Habana. He was a fruit vendor in the plazas of La Habana; his frequent attendance at the then Almendares Park motivated him to practice baseball. He first played for the amateur teams Acción and Havana Electric.

He began his professional baseball career as a bat boy for the Alacranes de Almendares, although he later made his debut with Leones del Habana in 1934. He was a very defensive catcher, although he never excelled with the bat.

He later became a manager in the Cuban league, in Mexico, and in Nicaragua. He also worked in two National Series after 1959. In 1937, he became the 22nd Cuban baseball player to ascend to the Major Leagues.

Despite being remembered for his exploits with Almendares, he debuted in the Cuban league with the Rojos del Habana in the 1934-35 and 1935-36 seasons. In 1936-37 and 1937-38, he played for the Monjes Grises del Marianao. The following year, he wore the Almendares uniform for the first time (1938-39) and continued to do so until 1946-47, when he played for Oriente in the championship called the "Federación," held at La Tropical stadium.

In 1947-48 he returned to the Alacranes, and in the following years: 1948-49 and 1949-50, he won two consecutive pennants managing Almendares. He continued with the Azules until 1951-52, then moved to the Tigres de Marianao until 1954-55. Guerra finished his 19 years in Cuban baseball with a .250 average, the product of 694 hits in 2,778 at-bats.

Fermín was not content with capturing two consecutive pennants managing Almendares; he did the same on two other occasions, leading the Boer team in the Professional Baseball League in Nicaragua. He was so popular there that they put a line of shirts styled like the ones he wore up for sale. The Boer is considered the most popular team in the entire history of Nicaraguan baseball.

As a reward for his triumph with the Alacranes in 1948-49, he represented Cuba in the first Caribbean Series, held at the New La Habana Stadium, located in El Cerro, which began on Sunday, February 20, 1949. The Azules triumphed undefeated in the tournament with six victories and no losses.

He began in organized baseball with Albany of the International League in 1936, where he appeared in six games as a pinch hitter. He then moved to Trenton to finish the season.

In 1937 he belonged to Salisbury with a .296 average, before being called by the Washington Senators in the American League, where he appeared in one game going 3-0. After an absence of 7 years playing for Salisbury (.323), Charlotte, Springfield, Charlotte, Greenville, and Chattanooga, he reappeared with the Senators in 1944, where he remained until 1946.

From 1946 to 1950 he played under the orders of Connie Mack with the Philadelphia Athletics. He finished his Major League career in 1951, when he divided his time between the Boston Red Sox and Washington.

Guerra was a catcher of extraordinary defensive ability and finished his 9-year career in Major League Baseball with a .242 batting average, 9 home runs, and 108 runs batted in over 565 at-bats.

During his Minor League years, he managed to bat over .300 on four occasions. In Mexico he also achieved a .313 average with Puebla in 1943. Years later he batted .291 for the Leones de Yucatán in 1955.

His best memory was hitting a triple with the bases loaded, taking advantage of a pitch by Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indios, when he was at the height of his career.