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Leo Najo (born ''Leonardo Alanis'', 1899–1979) was one of the first Mexican-born players to play professional baseball in the United States, debuting in 1924 with the San Antonio Bears of the Class A Texas League. After early success in the minor leagues, he was drafted by the major league Chicago White Sox in 1925. Although a leg injury, and possibly racial prejudice, stifled his major league career, Najo moved on to enjoy a lengthy and productive career both in the U.S. minor leagues and in the Mexican League. In 1939, he became the first player selected to the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, known as Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Profesional de México. In 2001, Minor League Baseball named Leo Najo's 1932 Tulsa Oilers team as one of the top 100 minor league teams of all time, in part because of his contributions." ==Early life and career== Leo Najo was born ''Leonardo Alanis'' on February 17, 1899 in the small town of La Lajilla, Nuevo Leon, located across the border from Zapata, Texas. When Najo was 10, his mother moved the family to the nearby town of Mission, Texas, where she purchased a small tavern and operated it successfully for many years afterward. Najo lived in Mission for the rest of his life. The family's financial stability allowed the youth to spend much of his time playing the relatively new game of baseball, which was very popular along the Texas-Mexico border at the start of the 20th century. In the early 1920s, Najo and several other young men in Mission formed a town semi-pro team, the ''Mission 30-30s'', named after the Winchester Model 1894 rifle, which was popularly known as the 30-30 rifle. The 30-30s became a baseball institution in Mission, existing until the mid-1960s. A number of famous South Texans besides Najo played on the 30-30s team, including future Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry and future U.S. Congressman Kika de la Garza.〔 Because playing semi-pro ball in Mission was only bringing in about $6 per week, Najo also played for other South Texas teams, including the Milmo Bank team of Laredo, Texas. Najo also played with some of the very earliest organized teams in Mexico, including the Cuauhtemoc Brewery team of Monterrey in 1922. The Cuauhtemocs are viewed by baseball historians as an important early Mexican franchise and a forerunner of the highly successful Sultanes de Monterrey in the modern Mexican League. It was during Najo's early, semi-pro playing days that he began using "Najo" as his playing name. Relatives believe the name derived from the Spanish word for rabbit, ''"conejo"'', given to Najo by fans because of his fast base running.〔 Because of his natural speed and catching ability, Najo mostly played center field, although he often played the other outfield positions and, rarely, the infield. In addition to being an above-average hitter (.321 lifetime batting average), Najo excelled at drawing walks and stealing bases, and he was often the team's leadoff hitter. In his twenties, he stood 5-foot-9 and weighed 144 pounds.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Leo Najo」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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