The Puerto Rico Professional Baseball League has been an essential part of the development of many baseball players who excelled in the Major Leagues and are part of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Several managers took their first steps in our League and had a successful careers that led them to such a prestigious honor. We have the unique case of Rogers Hornsby, who came to Puerto Rico with previous experience as a big-league manager and was already a Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Another interesting fact is that Leon Day is the only Hall of Famer with a Puerto Rico Baseball League Cap on his plaque (Aguadilla).
With Tony Oliva’s induction, who led the Puerto Rican League in batting in 1963-64, we now have 55 Hall of Famers.
- Rogers Hornsby (Ponce/Leader)-1942
- Roy Campanella (Caguas, Santurce y San Juan)-1969
- Leroy “Satchel” Paige (Guayama y Santurce)-1971
- Sandy Koufax (Caguas)-1972
- Joshua Gibson (Santurce)-1972
- Walter “Buck” Leonard (Mayagüez)-1972
- Montford “Monte” Irvin (San Juan)-1973
- Roberto Clemente (Santurce, Caguas and San Juan)-1973
- Oscar Charleston-1976
- Willie Mays (Santurce)-1979
- Robert “Bob” Gibson (Santurce)-1981
- Hank Aaron (Caguas)-1982
- Frank Robinson (Ponce-Santurce/Manager)-1982
- Buck Canel-1985 (Ford C. Frick)
- Ray Dandridge (Santurce)-1987
- Johnny Bench (San Juan)-1989
- Jim Palmer (Santurce)-1990
- Ferguson Jenkins (Caguas)-1991
- Reggie Jackson (Santurce)-1993
- Steve Carlton (Ponce)-1994
- Phil Rizzutto-1994
- Leon Day (Aguadilla y Santurce)-1995
- Mike Schmidt (Caguas)-1995
- Earl Weaver (Santurce/Manager)-1996
- Jim Bunning (Caguas/Manager)-1996
- Tom Lasorda (Mayagüez, Santurce and Caguas)-1997
- Phil Niekro (Arecibo- Mayagüez)-1997
- Willie Wells (Aguadilla)-1997
- Larry Doby (San Juan)-1998
- Orlando Cepeda (Santurce)-1999
- Robin Yount (Santurce)-1999
- Nestor Chyalk-1999
- Atanasio «Tony» Pérez (Santurce)-2000
- Sparky Anderson (San Juan/Manager)-2000
- Hilton Smith (Ponce)-2001
- Felo Ramirez-2001 (Ford C. Frick)
- Eddie Murray (Caguas)-2002
- Gary Carter (Caguas)-2002
- Bob Uecker (Arecibo) 2003 (Ford C. Frick)
- Wade Boggs (Bayamón) -2005
- Willard Brown (Humacao/Arecibo/Santurce)-2006
- Raymond Brown (San Juan-Santurce-Ponce)-2006
- Judd Wilson (Humacao)-2006
- Cal Ripken Jr. (Caguas)-2007
- Tony Gwynn (Bayamón-San Juan)-2007
- Rich Gossage (Ponce)-2008
- Ricky Henderson (Ponce)-2009
- Doug Harvey-2010
- Roberto Alomar (Caguas-Ponce-San Juan-Santurce)-2011
- Iván Rodriguez-2017 (Caguas/Bayamón/Mayagüez)-2017
- Jack Morris (Mayagüez)-2018
- Jim Thome (Ponce) – 2018
- Lee Smith (Santurce)-2019
- Edgar Martinez (San Juan)-2019
- Tony Oliva (Arecibo)-2022
48 players
Four radio commentators
Three umpires
By teams
Santurce (20)
- Roy Campanella (Caguas, Santurce y San Juan)-1969
- Satchel Paige (Guayama y Santurce)-1971
- Joshua Gibson (Santurce)-1972
- Roberto Clemente (Santurce, Caguas and San Juan)-1973
- Willie Mays (Santurce)-1979
- Bob Gibson (Santurce)-1981
- Frank Robinson (Ponce-Santurce/Manager)-1982
- Ray Dandridge (Santurce)-1987
- Jim Palmer (Santurce)-1990
- Reggie Jackson (Santurce)-1993
- Leon Day (Aguadilla y Santurce)-1995
- Earl Weaver (Santurce/Manager)-1996
- Tom Lasorda (Mayagüez, Santurce and Caguas)-1997
- Orlando Cepeda (Santurce)-1999
- Robin Yount (Santurce)-1999
- Atanasio «Tony» Pérez (Santurce)-2000
- Willard Brown (Humacao, Arecibo and Santurce)-2006
- Raymond Brown (San Juan, Santurce and Ponce)-2006
- Roberto Alomar (Caguas, Ponce, San Juan and Santurce)-2011
- Lee Smith (Santurce)-2019
Caguas (13)
- Roy Campanella (Caguas, Santurce y San Juan)-1969
- Sandy Koufax (Caguas)-1972
- Roberto Clemente (Santurce, Caguas and San Juan)-1973
- Hank Aaron (Caguas)-1982
- Ferguson Jenkins (Caguas)-1991
- Mike Schmidt (Caguas)-1995
- Jim Bunning (Caguas/Manager)-1996
- Tom Lasorda (Mayagüez, Santurce and Caguas)-1997
- Eddie Murray (Caguas)-2002
- Gary Carter (Caguas)-2002
- Cal Ripken Jr. (Caguas)-2007
- Roberto Alomar (Caguas, Ponce, San Juan and Santurce)-2011
- Iván Rodríguez-2017 (Caguas, Bayamón and Mayagüez)-2017
San Juan (10)
- Roy Campanella (Caguas, Santurce and San Juan)-1969
- Monte Irvin (San Juan)-1973
- Roberto Clemente (Santurce, Caguas and San Juan)-1973
- Johnny Bench (San Juan)-1989
- Larry Doby (San Juan)-1998
- Sparky Anderson (San Juan/Manager)-2000
- Raymond Brown (San Juan, Santurce and Ponce)-2006
- Tony Gwynn (Bayamón and San Juan)-2007
- Roberto Alomar (Caguas, Ponce, San Juan and Santurce)-2011
- Edgar Martinez (San Juan)-2019
Ponce (9)
- Rogers Hornsby (Ponce/Leader)-1942
- Frank Robinson (Ponce and Santurce/Manager)-1982
- Steve Carlton (Ponce)-1994
- Hilton Smith (Ponce)-2001
- Raymond Brown (San Juan, Santurce and Ponce)-2006
- Rich Goosage (Ponce)-2008
- Ricky Henderson (Ponce)-2009
- Roberto Alomar (Caguas, Ponce, San Juan and Santurce)-2011
- Jim Thome 2018
Mayaguez (5)
- Buck Leonard (Mayagüez)-1972
- Tom Lasorda (Mayagüez, Santurce and Caguas)-1997
- Phil Niekro (Arecibo and Mayagüez)-1997
- Iván Rodriguez-2017 (Caguas, Bayamón)-2017
- Jack Morris (Mayagüez)-2018
Bayamon (3)
- Wade Boggs (Bayamón)-2005
- Tony Gwynn (Bayamón and San Juan)-2007
- Iván Rodriguez (Caguas, Bayamón and Mayagüez)-2017
Arecibo (4)
- Phil Niekro (Arecibo and Mayagüez)-1997
- Willard Brown (Humacao, Arecibo and Santurce)-2006
- Bob Uecker (played with Arecibo)-2003 (Ford C. Frick)
- Tony Oliva (Arecibo)-2022
Humacao (2)
- Willard Brown (Humacao, Arecibo and Santurce)-2006
- Judd Wilson (Humacao)-2006
Aguadilla (2)
- Leon Day (Aguadilla y Santurce)-1995
- Willie Wells (Aguadilla)-1997
Guayama (1)
- Satchel Paige (Guayama y Santurce)-1971
Commentators
- Buck Canel-1985 (Ford C. Frick)
- Felo Ramirez-2001 (Ford C. Frick)
- Bob Uecker (played with Arecibo) 2003 (Ford C. Frick)
- Phil Rizzutto-1994
Umpires
- Oscar Charleston-1976
- Nestor Chylak-1999
- Doug Harvey-2010
Other Baseball Immortals who visited Puerto Rico before the establishment of the Puerto Rico Professional League in 1938 are Cristobal Torriente, José de la Caridad Méndez, Louis Santop, Johnny Mize, and Martín Dihigo. Also, we had executives Alex Pompez with his Cuban Stars team, Effa Manley with the Brooklyn Eagles team, and umpire Bill Klem.
Likewise, in 1946, a series between Cuba and Puerto Rico was held at Sixto Escobar Stadium, and Oreste Miñoso was part of the Cuban team.
In 1947, the New York Yankees had a series against local teams, and we saw rookie Yogi Berra. The following year, the Brooklyn Dodgers with Leo Durocher, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, and Gil Hodges played one game in Puerto Rico.