José Rios Gallardo (b. 1932) was a Cuban-born American minor league baseball player. His career appears to have lasted only one season, in 1954, when he played with the Artesia NuMexers. He is probably best remembered for pitching what became Joe Bauman's record-breaking 70th homerun.
Jose Galardo pitched for the Artesia NuMexers in a 1954 game against the Roswell Rockets. Rockets batter Joe Bauman took a couple, fouled off a couple, and eventually hit his 70th homerun. He later encountered José's uncle Frank. It's possible that outside forces were involved.
Literary Comment[]
Harry Turtledove spells Gallardo's name as "Galardo" in the story. Given how little information is available about Gallardo, it is unclear whether this is an inconsistency, or if he did change the spelling of his name at some point.
