| Natilla Jiménez | |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Birth Date: | 1918 |
| Birth Place: | Santa Cruz del Norte, Mayabeque, Cuba |
| Death Place: | Havana, Cuba |
| Bats: | Right |
| Throws: | Right |
Pedro Jiménez Díaz (1918 - March 8, 1979),[1] [2] nicknamed "Natilla", was a Cuban baseball pitcher. During his prime, he was considered one of the best amateur baseball players in Cuba.
Born in Santa Cruz del Norte, Jiménez debuted with the Hershey Club on May 16, 1936, after being discovered by Joaquín Viego, Hershey's manager. Jiménez led Hershey to three consecutive championships (1938, 1939 and 1940) in Cuba's amateur baseball league, which at the time enjoyed more popularity than the professional Cuban League.[3] He turned professional in 1944, playing with Habana, being named rookie of the year despite a 6–6 record. The following season, also with Havana, he finished with a record of 13–7.[4]
In the United States, he played with the Portsmouth Cubs (affiliate of the Chicago Cubs) and the Indianapolis Indians (affiliate of the Boston Braves), working to a 3.77 earned run average with the Indians in 1945.[5] He reportedly rejected an offer to sign with the major league Cleveland Indians and went to play in Mexico for the 1946 season.
Jiménez represented Cuba in four Amateur World Series championships from 1939 to 1943, as well as at the 1938 Central American and Caribbean Games in Panama. Cuba won three of the four tournaments, thanks to the pitching core of Jiménez, Conrado Marrero, Julio Moreno, and Rogelio Martínez.[6]
After his playing career ended, Jiménez went on to manage the "Orientales" team of the Cuban National Series.[7]
Jiménez died of kidney failure at Havana's Camilo Cienfuegos Hospital on March 8, 1979, at the age of 61. He was inducted into the Cuban Exile Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.[8] A stadium in Santa Clara, Cuba is named in his honor.[9]