David Skinner wrote in about José Méndez’s record for the 1909 Cuban Stars:
Hi Gary,
NLRAG has him at 8-3 in 12 games for the “New York Cuban Stars” in 1909, obviously incomplete. In the book José Méndez: El Diamante Negro by the late Severo Nieto Fernández (La Habana, Editorial Científico-Técnica, 2004), the author repeats the 44-2 claim but only lists his 9 shutouts for the 1909 “All Cubans.” Scott Simkus will want to know that he beat Ohio Northern U. 7-0 on May 25 and Weidermanns 5-0 on May 30. I too am skeptical of him going 44-2. But if Nieto is right that the team went 94-35-2 in 1909, with 31 consecutive wins from May 10 through June 13, it is possible he won that many games. I have never heard similar claims of gaudy records for Joséito Muñoz and General Sagua Rodríguez. If José won 44 that would leave 50 wins for them to split, which seems reasonable.Best,
David
He later sent this postscript:
Now that I’ve actually looked at Scott's 1909 Stars stats, I have more reason to doubt 44 wins for José, seeing that there was a full staff, not the 3-man rotation indicated by Nieto.
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