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The Cuban Missile
Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The baseball newsletter that blows your mind on a daily basis with stories from the game’s past.
Let’s dive in.
Today’s story is about a ballplayer who narrowly escaped becoming a political prisoner to make over $130 million in the MLB.
Before he threw the fastest pitch in MLB history, Aroldis Chapman was making less than $2,000 per year and borrowing a friend’s bike for transportation when he played in Cuba.
Chapman didn’t start playing baseball until he was 11, and didn’t start pitching until he was 15, but just two years later, he was a pro.
What ensued was one of the most chaotic journeys ever to the big leagues.
Aroldis knew that he was worth tens of millions in America, but the trouble was getting over here.
Most Cuban players have to take really extreme risks to make it to the MLB.
In the past we’ve covered the defection stories of Yasiel Puig and Jose Fernandez - both of whom almost died on their journeys.
Chapman was ready to take the risk, but the feds were onto him.
On the day he first attempted to leave Cuba, he was arrested and suspended from baseball for the rest of the season.
In an attempt to save himself from going to prison or even harsher consequences, he became a government informant.
One man, Curbelo Garcia, said that Chapman lied to appease the government, which put Garcia in jail for 10 years.
Garcia said at one point he didn’t see sunlight for six months, and had to drink and shower from the same murky bucket of water.
Eventually he sued Chapman in the US for $18 million when he got out, and the case was settled out of court.
In 2009, while at a tournament in the Netherlands, Aroldis left the team hotel without telling anyone and fled the country.
He left his parents, girlfriend and newborn baby behind (eventually, he was able to get them to the states as well).
Six months later, he signed a six-year $30 million deal with the Reds.
Bat Knobs Make Great Shot Glasses
Everyone loves free shit, and today we’ve got some.
As you might have seen, Dugout Mugs make the coolest cups in baseball.
They also make these bad ass shot glasses out of real bat knobs.
These are essential for your bar at home, and they’re also the perfect gift for any baseball fan you know.
They’re absolutely free for Dead Legends subscribers - all you gotta cover is shipping & handling.
Strange Names
If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.
Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.
If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.
Today's winner is:
Bill was the 10th overall pick in the 1980 draft, but it was mostly downhill from there.
Unfortunately, he only pitched one season in the big leagues.
The A’s traded Mooneyham to the Brewers in ‘87 and he retired shortly after.
He spent the next several decades as a PE teacher in SoCal.
THE DEAD LEGENDS ARCHIVE
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That's it for today. Tomorrow we're back at it like a bad habit. See ya!
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