HHBM Hall of Fame Inductee Preston Gómez Passes Away - Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Blog

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HHBM Hall of Fame Inductee Preston Gómez Passes Away

January 16, 2009 04:05:34

Posted By HHBM

By Amaury Pi-González

The Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum and Hall of Fame lost one of its most cherished members. Cuban born Preston Gómez passed away on Tuesday January 13 in Fullerton, California. Gómez, 85, never fully recovered after suffering severe injures at a Blyth, California, gas station last year as he and his wife were driving back from Tempe, Arizona, Spring Training home of the Los Angels Angel, to their home in Anaheim.

Preston Gúmez played for the Washington Senators in 1944, he was also a coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1965 under legendary manager Walter Alston. His full name was Pedro (Preston) Gómez. Born in sugar mill in the province of Havana, Cuba by the name of Central Preston, hence his name Preston. He managed in Mexico and also the powerful Cuban Sugar Kings of the old International League in the early 1960's in Cuba.

His claim to fame was as the first ever Hispanic manager from the beginning of a season in the Major Leagues, when he managed the expasion San Diego Padres in 1969. Back in 1938, another Cuban, Miguel (Mike)Angel González, was named interim manager of the St Louis Cardinals during the middle of the season after the team fired their manager, but Gómez was the first Hispanic ever to be name manager at the beginning of a season.

For 25 years Preston Gómez worked for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, as advisor to the owners. Last time I spoke with him was during Spring Training 2008(middle of March) in Arizona. He was a real Ambassador to the game. As a matter of fact, he didn't wanted to talk about this, but prior to the exhibition games in 1998 between the Baltimore Orioles and the Cuban National Baseball team, Commissioner Bud H. Selig asked Preston to travel to Cuba and to meet with Fidel Castro to negotiate the conditions of that historic series in which the Orioles traveled to Havana to play. The first time in over 40 years that has happened, since Cuba and the United States have no diplomatic relations since 1961.It is still prohibited to American citizens to travel to Cuba from the United States.

The HHBM will miss the affable Preston Gómez an Ambassador of the game, and one that made all Hispanics proud. Our condolences to his family as well as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

www.amaurypigonzalez.com

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2 Comment(s):

Pedro cardoza Gomez said...

Pedro Gomez nacio en preston,Holguin,antiguamente llamado ,region de Oriente, no en la Habana!

March 7, 2010 01:45:04

Vicente J. Bonet said...

Preston Gomez was born in El Central Preston in the Province of Oriente,Cuba. Not the Province Havana, Cuba as stated in your article.

October 11, 2009 05:47:09