Regino Otero: Best fielding first baseman of his era

Oct. 21:On this day in 1988, long-time Cienfuegos first baseman Regino Otero died.

Elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983, Otero was considered the finest defensive first baseman of his era in the Cuban League, a fact confirmed to me by my father.

He played 11 of his 14 seasons from 1936-53 with Cienfuegos, compiling a .244 career batting average.

According to Who's Who in Cuban Baseball: 1878-1961, never hit a home run in 2,202 career at-bats in Cuba.

Otero also managed Cienfuegos (1964) and Almendares (1961) in the Cuban League, Venezuela's entry in the Caribbean Series in 1956 and '58 and the Cuban Sugar Kings from 1954-56.

I went to school with Otero's son in South Florida in the early 1980s.