Victor Pellot - Legacy

Legacy

Victor Pellot has been considered by many Puerto Ricans to be one of the island greatest baseball players, a legend only beaten by Roberto Clemente. In 2005, he spoke about his baseball career in the American documentary Beisbol, directed by Alan Swyer and narrated by Esai Morales, which covers the early influences and contributions of Hispanics to baseball. In 2000, the Cleveland Indians honored him by declaring him to be among its 100 all-time greatest players. He was named the 81st greatest first baseman in Major League history by historian Bill James in his book "The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract".

Pellot's unorthodox and often flashy approach to fielding first base proved over the years to be very influential. Although at the time he was often criticized by the press and his peers for fielding the ball using only one hand instead of two, stating it was "flanboyance", this would later become his trademark move. More importantly, it anticipated a change in how the position is played: nowadays, virtually all first basemen field the ball one-handed (this because it increases their reach and provides for greater flexibility).

Pellot is also remembered by baseball historians and fans for his sharp wit and dark, deadpan humor, a lot of which was directed at the racism and segregation he experienced during spring training in the southern United States. One of the more celebrated examples of his dark wit by which Pellot subverted the ugly rejection experienced through institutionalized racism, documented in David Maraniss's biography of Roberto Clemente, has Pellot entering a whites-only (segregated) restaurant while playing for Syracuse. Upon being told by the waitress that the restaurant didn't serve "Negroes", Pellot promptly told the waitress not to worry, that he didn't eat "Negroes".