Román Mejias
From BR Bullpen
Román Mejias Gomez
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0", Weight 175 lb.
[edit] Biographical Information
Outfielder Roman Mejias was signed by Hall of Fame first baseman George Sisler for the Pittsburgh Pirates out of the sugarcane fields of Cuba in 1953. The Pirates shipped the 22 year old to the Batavia Clippers of the Pony League where he hit .322 with 8 homers in 117 games. The young man looked to be a very promising prospect when he hit .354 for the Waco Pirates of the Big State League in 1954, where the outfielders 55-game hitting streak in which he hit .435 (97 for 223) remains the third longest in minor league history.
Roman made the long jump from class B to the majors the following year with the Pirates but hit only .216 and divided the next several years between Forbes Field and three different high minor league clubs. He hit just 17 homers for Pittsburgh in the course of six years and three came in one game on May 4, 1958.
After being selected in the expansion draft by the Houston Colt 45s, he provided the first year team with some offense. On April 10, 1962, in the first big league game played in the state of Texas, he hit a pair of home runs in an 11-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs. He finished the season as the Colt 45s leader in hitting at .286, in home runs with 24 and RBIs with 76.
The Boston Red Sox traded pete Runnels, who had won the American League batting titles in both 1960 and '62, to Houston to acquire Mejias in hopes he could take aim at the Green Monster in Fenway Park, but he hit just .227 with 11 home runs in '63 and was gone from Boston and the majors the following year with a .254 career average and 54 home runs in his nine seasons in the big leagues. Roman finished his seven season minor league career with a .299 average and 88 homers. At last report Roman was known to be living in Los Angeles, CA.
[edit] Sources
Baseball Players of the 1950s
BR Minors Page
