Orlando Peña led Cuban League with 15-5 record in 1958-59, earned MVP honors

Nov. 17: On this day in 1933, Cuban League star and major-league pitcher Orlando Peña was born in Victoria de las Tunas, Oriente, Cuba.

Elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986, Peña played six seasons for Almendares and ranks 10th in Cuban League history in winning percentage (.592), according to Who's Who in Cuban Baseball, 1878-1961.

Peña was the league MVP in 1958-59, when he led the league with a 15-5 record while sporting a 1.58 ERA.

Peña pitched for the Kansas City Athletics, Reds, Tigers, Cardinals, Angels, Orioles, Pirates and Indians in 14 seasons in the majors, compiling a 56-77 record with a 3.71 ERA.

Season of 1958-59 was Cuban League's Year of the Pitcher

The 1958-59 Cuban League program, brought to fans -- as the words at the bottom of the cover indicate -- "courtesy of Hatuey, the grand beer of Cuba."

That season was the Cuban League's "Year of the Pitcher," according to Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, 1878-1961, as hurlers recorded 44 shutouts, shattering the previous record of 30 set in 1947-48.
Nine pitchers had ERA below 2.00, the highest team batting average was .233 and the top individual batting average was .303, the lowest in league history.

Led by Orlando Peña's league-leading 15-5 record, Almendares won the pennant by eight games over Marianao.

And the fall of Fulgencio Batista's regime to Fidel Castro on Jan. 1, 1959 delayed games until Jan. 6.