Lázaro Salazar

{{Short description|Cuban baseball player and manager (born 1912)}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

| name = Lázaro Salazar

| image = Lazaro Salazar.jpg

| position = Outfielder / First baseman / Pitcher / Manager

| birth_date = {{birth_date|1912|2|04|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Havana, Cuba

| death_date = {{death_date and age|1957|4|25|1912|2|04}}

| death_place = Mexico City, Mexico

| bats = Left

| throws = Left

| debutleague = Negro leagues

| debutdate =

| debutyear = 1930

| debutteam = Cuban Stars (West)

| finalleague = Negro leagues

| finaldate =

| finalyear = 1936

| finalteam = New York Cubans

| statyear =

| statleague = Negro National League I, East–West League & Negro National League II

| stat1label = Batting average

| stat1value = .303

| stat2label = Hits

| stat2value = 161

| stat3label = Home runs

| stat3value = 9

| stat4label = Runs batted in

| stat4value = 72

| teams =

Cuban Stars (West) ({{baseball year|1930}})
Pollock's Cuban Stars ({{baseball year|1932}})
Cuban Stars (East) ({{baseball year|1933}}–{{baseball year|1934}})
New York Cubans ({{baseball year|1935}}–{{baseball year|1936}})
Cafeteros de Cordoba ({{baseball year|1938}}–{{baseball year|1939}})
Azules de Veracruz ({{baseball year|1940}}–{{baseball year|1941}})
Industriales de Monterrey ({{baseball year|1942}}–{{baseball year|1948}})
Sultanes de Monterrey ({{baseball year|1949}}–{{baseball year|1952}})

|highlights=

Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame ({{baseball year|1954}})
Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame ({{baseball year|1964}})
Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ({{baseball year|2010}})

| hofcolor= blue

| hoflink= Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame

| hoftype= Cuban

| hofdate= 1958

}}

Lázaro Salazar Vázquez (February 4, 1912 – April 25, 1957) was a Cuban professional baseball outfielder, first baseman, pitcher, and manager in the Negro leagues, who also spent much of his career in Mexico and Venezuela. He played for 21 non-consecutive seasons from 1924 to 1952, sometimes as a player-manager, with the Cuban Stars (West), Pollock's Cuban Stars, and New York Cubans of the Negro leagues, and the Cafeteros de Córdoba, Azules de Veracruz, Industriales de Monterrey and Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League.{{Cite book |last=Riley |first=James A. |

title=The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues |place=New York |publisher=Carroll & Graf |year=1994 |isbn=0-7867-0959-6 }}

Salazar also played and managed in Venezuela for much of his career. While pitching for the Gavilanes club, he was part of the longest contest in Venezuelan baseball history, a 20-inning game that lasted 6 hours and 20 minutes. Salazar eventually lost the pitching duel to Andrés Julio Báez, who played for Pastora, 1–0. The game took place in Maracaibo on May 5, 1938.{{cite web |url=http://www.museodebeisbol.com.ve/salon_2010.html |title=Salón de la Fama y Museo del Béisbol Venezolano Official Website (Spanish) |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231153820/http://www.museodebeisbol.com.ve/salon_2010.html |archivedate=2013-12-31 }}

He later managed the Navegantes del Magallanes of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League for seven consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1956, leading the squad to championship titles in the 1949–1950, 1950–1951, 1951–1952 and 1954–1955 campaigns.

Salazar's number 17 is retired by the Sultanes de Monterrey and the Diablos Rojos del México, and he was inducted into the Magallanes. team hall of fame in 2012.{{cite web |title=Salón De La Fama De Los Navegantes Del Magallanes |url=https://magallanesbbc.com.ve/salon.php |website=Magallanesbbc.com |access-date=14 March 2025}} Additionally, he has been enshrined in three national baseball Halls of Fame: the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame (1954); the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame (1964); and the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (2010).