Héctor Espino's life in baseball is the stuff of folklore.
There's no disputing the monster home run numbers, countless accolades and absurd pace at which the native of Chihuahua, Mexico, broke records during an illustrious 24-year professional career. But that's just the tip of the iceberg in the story of the 5-foot-11, 185-pound slugger remembered fondly as “The Babe Ruth of Mexico.”
Today, 36 years after he swatted his last long ball, fans continue to share stories of how Espino put a different charge into the ball whenever he made contact, how infielders would drop line drives off his bat because they were hit so hard. You might even hear that he signed his first winter league contract with the Naranjeros de Hermosillo on a napkin in a Chihuahua restaurant.
According to a 1985 Sports Magazine story by Leo Banks, Espino once launched a 600-foot moonshot to dead center field that exited a ballpark in Guadalajara.
Still, one question hovers over Espino’s legacy while adding to its mythic quality.
What if?
Here's a link to the whole article which folks may enjoy:
https://www.milb.com/news/hector-esp...home-run-kings
I split the difference on heaviness/width of the face between various pics from his playing days. I didn't see a "before" in the CUF pack.