Professional Career
Bithorn played for Leones de Ponce and at age 22, Bithorn became the youngest manager in the history of Puerto Rican winter baseball. Soon enough, he was pitching at Wrigley Field.
On September 30, 1941, Bithorn was drafted by the Chicago Cubs and debuted in the Major Leagues on April 15, 1942, making history as the first Puerto Rican to play in the Major Leagues. Bithorn won 9 games and lost 14 in his first season, but he rebounded in 1943 by going 18–12 with an earned run average of 2.60 and completing 19 of his 30 starts, leading the league in shutouts with seven, establishing a record for Puerto Rican pitchers that still stands to this day. During this time, he also formed the second Latin American pitcher-catcher combination along Cuban Chico Hernández.
After his second season, Bithorn fought for the United States military in World War II. His promising start, though, did not last once he returned from military service. By this moment his weight had risen to 225 pounds, which led to rumors that he may not have the same abilities. Upon returning from the war, he returned to the Chicago Cubs, and went 6–5 in 1946. On January 25, 1947 he was purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates only to be waived later. On March 22 of the same year, the Chicago White Sox selected him off waivers but only pitched two innings, developing a sore arm that ended his career.
In four seasons, Bithorn had a 34–31 record with 185 strikeouts, a 3.16 ERA, 30 complete games, 8 shutouts, 5 saves, and 509 innings pitched in 105 games (53 as a starter).
Read more about this topic: Hiram Bithorn
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