Once upon the time the Washington Senators ruled over Cuban baseball talent. Their legendary scout, Joe Cambria uncovered prospect after prospect for decades. For years the Senators, and eventually the Minnesota Twins benefited from Cambria’s findings in Cubans cities and countryside. Among those he recruited were would-be stars like Julio Becquer, Camilo Pascual, Pedro Ramos and Tony Oliva.
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The case could be made that even before that, Clark Griffith’s team had been one of the first major leagues franchises to go after Cuban talent, when in 1913 they signed Cuban youngsters Baldomero “Merito” Acosta and Jacinto Calvo, both of whom played for the Senators for several years.