José Méndez, born in Cardenas, Cuba, played 19 seasons (1908–1926) primarily as a pitcher, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs, Cuban Stars of Havana, Detroit Stars. He finished with a 57–18 record, a 2.80 ERA and 402 strikeouts, 22nd among Cuban-born pitchers. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.
- Born
- January 2, 1885 · Cardenas, Cuba · 5 major leaguers from Cárdenas
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Teams
- Kansas City Monarchs, Cuban Stars of Havana, Detroit Stars, Stars of Cuba, Chicago American Giants
- Died
- 1928
Batting
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 | Cuban Stars of Havana | 19 | 62 | 9 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 5 | — | .274 |
| 1909 | Cuban Stars of Havana | 27 | 75 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 8 | — | .213 |
| 1910 | Stars of Cuba / Cuban Stars of Havana | 15 | 56 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | — | .214 |
| 1911 | Cuban Stars of Havana | 15 | 42 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | — | .190 |
| 1912 | Cuban Stars of Havana | 17 | 60 | 7 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | — | .250 |
| 1918 | Chicago American Giants | 15 | 52 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | — | .192 |
| 1919 | Detroit Stars | 33 | 101 | 15 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 12 | — | .218 |
| 1920 | Kansas City Monarchs | 56 | 180 | 21 | 38 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 5 | 28 | 0 | .211 |
| 1921 | Kansas City Monarchs | 56 | 178 | 23 | 52 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 24 | 0 | .292 |
| 1922 | Kansas City Monarchs | 40 | 104 | 15 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 2 | .183 |
| 1923 | Kansas City Monarchs | 39 | 88 | 16 | 21 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 5 | — | .239 |
| 1924 | Kansas City Monarchs | 16 | 24 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .208 |
| 1925 | Kansas City Monarchs | 10 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | .222 |
| 1926 | Kansas City Monarchs | 7 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .000 |
| Career | 365 | 1,037 | 138 | 237 | 48 | 12 | 6 | 107 | 41 | 122 | 2 | .229 |
Pitching
| Year | Team | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | SO | BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 | Cuban Stars of Havana | 1 | 2 | 5.34 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 30.1 | 26 | 11 |
| 1909 | Cuban Stars of Havana | 6 | 2 | 1.08 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 75.0 | 74 | 17 |
| 1910 | Stars of Cuba / Cuban Stars of Havana | 3 | 4 | 4.16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 67.0 | 38 | 7 |
| 1911 | Cuban Stars of Havana | 9 | 0 | 1.45 | 11 | 10 | 0 | 87.0 | 77 | 16 |
| 1912 | Cuban Stars of Havana | 4 | 1 | 1.03 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 52.2 | 23 | 11 |
| 1918 | Chicago American Giants | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9.0 | 4 | 2 |
| 1919 | Detroit Stars | 3 | 0 | 2.33 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 46.1 | 21 | 4 |
| 1920 | Kansas City Monarchs | 3 | 1 | 2.68 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 47.0 | 10 | 9 |
| 1921 | Kansas City Monarchs | 1 | 1 | 4.60 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 15.2 | 3 | 3 |
| 1922 | Kansas City Monarchs | 2 | 0 | 5.12 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 19.1 | 14 | 5 |
| 1923 | Kansas City Monarchs | 12 | 4 | 3.18 | 24 | 16 | 2 | 138.2 | 60 | 30 |
| 1924 | Kansas City Monarchs | 6 | 1 | 3.38 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 45.1 | 31 | 8 |
| 1925 | Kansas City Monarchs | 3 | 1 | 6.26 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 23.0 | 12 | 4 |
| 1926 | Kansas City Monarchs | 3 | 1 | 2.61 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 31.0 | 9 | 1 |
| Career | 57 | 18 | 2.80 | 117 | 72 | 10 | 687.1 | 402 | 128 |
Negro Leagues Shaded rows are Negro Leagues seasons, recognized as major league by MLB since 2020.