Héctor Espino

Héctor "El Niño" Espino (June 6, 1939 – September 7, 1997) was a Mexican professional outfielder, first baseman and manager. He has been called "The Mexican Babe Ruth". Born in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Espino he played from 1960 through 1984 in both the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (Mexican summer league) and the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico (Mexican winter league). After amassing 484 career home runs, he is recognized as the all-time minor-league home run king. 481 of those homers came in Mexico.

Espino began his baseball career in 1960 with the Tuneros de San Luis Potosí of the Mexican Central League. In 63 games, he hit .362 with 20 HRs in just 229 at bats. A year later he played briefly for the Tuneros.

Espino entered the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol in 1962 with the Sultanes de Monterrey (Monterrey Sultans) as an outfielder and right handed batter. He batted a .358 average with 23 home runs and 12 triples, driving in 105 runs (tying for the league lead) while scoring 106 times. He helped lead Monterrey to a league championship and was named Rookie of the Year.

In 1963, Espino missed some games due to an injury and his average dipped slightly to .346. In 99 games, he managed to hit 24 home runs and 80 runs batted in.

Espino moved from outfield to first base in 1964. Despite playing a new position, he won his first Mexican League batting title with a .371 average, adding 46 home runs, 115 runs, and 117 RBI. His run total was the third highest in Mexican League history, being surpassed only by Bobby Ávila and Cool Papa Bell. In addition, he set a new home run record, surpassing Ronnie Camacho's 39, and also set a record with 30 intentional walks, while his 332 total bases were second-best in league history. His impressive numbers drew the attention of the St. Louis Cardinals organization, who signed Espino late in the year and sent him to their AAA club, the Jacksonville Suns. Espino did well there, hitting .300 with three homers in 32 games, but he would never play outside the Mexican League again. Sources list several different reasons and Total Baseball reports that Espino himself gave different ones. Total Baseball says that Espino might have liked being a big fish in a small pond; some said homesickness; Mexican League writer Bruce Baskin says that racism discouraged Espino from playing in the US.

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