#Card Corner: 1983 Donruss Cecilio Guante

Some errors on baseball cards just jump off the cardboard and sock you square in the mouth. It’s safe to put this 1983 Donruss card in that category. The player shown on the card is not “Matt Guante.” There has never been a major leaguer by that name. No, it is Cecilio Guante, who was a pretty good relief pitcher for a few seasons back in the early 1980s. “Matt” is a name that will never be confused for “Cecilio,” so the error on this otherwise wonderful card is worth a little research.

Ever since this card came out 32 years ago, it has been a question that has burned without resolution. Perhaps we can find one.

I could understand if Donruss had published the card with the name of “Claudio Guante” on it. Or “Cirilo Guante.” Or even something like “Carlos Guante.” But “Matt Guante?” That’s not even close. Matt is obviously not a Latino name. Nor is Matt a nickname that would normally be given to a Latino player. It just doesn’t fit in any way, shape, or form.

Perhaps the answer can be found in Guante’s full name, which is Cecilio Guante Magallane. A native of the Dominican Republic, Guante has no middle name, but a last name and a secondary last name. (In many Latin American countries, children are given two last names: their father’s last name and their mother’s maiden name.) In the case of Guante, his mother’s maiden name was Magallane. I don’t see how that could be mistaken for Matt. Perhaps “Mag,” or “Mags,” but not Matt.

For reasons that I will explain, Guante was one of my favorite players of the 1980s. I liked him in part because he pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates, one of the three teams I followed closely at the time. He came into games in the seventh and eighth innings throwing fastballs in the low to mid-nineties. He also had this funky three-quarters delivery, which would sometimes descend into a complete sidearm motion. Coupled with his lanky build, that motion made him doubly tough on right-handed batters. He was fun to watch.

Additionally, I just loved the name. Cecilio Guante is just so smooth and lyrical to say. The name becomes even more amusing to someone who grew up in a bilingual household, where we spoke both English and Spanish. I knew immediately that “Guante” is Spanish for glove. So his name translates into Cecil Glove! How could you not love that name, particularly for a ballplayer?

Guante’s professional career began in 1980, shortly after the Pirates signed him out of the Dominican. He struggled at times with his control and command, but the Pirates loved his arm and brought him to the major leagues quickly, allowing him to make his debut in 1982. He pitched well in 10 relief appearances, striking out 26 batters in 27 innings.

In becoming one of the primary set-up men to Dave Righetti, Guante struggled in his adjustment to the American League. Appearing in only 23 games because of a sore shoulder, Guante posted an ERA of 5.73, by far the worst of his career. With Guante among the many pitching disappointments in the Bronx, the Yankees finished fourth in the American League East.

While Guante struggled on the field, the quirky reliever became popular with his teammates, who seemed to enjoy his little idiosyncrasies. For example, he inscribed a large “G” onto the webbing of every one of his gloves, as if he were afraid that he might pick up the wrong glove by accident. He said little around the ballpark, but showed a sense of humor by wagging his finger or pretending to be angry and yelling curse words in Spanish. In turn, a number of the Yankees made him a landing spot for their jokes, but almost always in a good-natured way.

Despite a loss in velocity caused by the shoulder trouble, Guante pitched much more effectively in 1988 and drew the praise of his manager, Billy Martin, a man who could be hard to please. “He has been super the whole year,” Martin told the New York Post. “He has a great attitude, and we have a good rapport. He’s the type of guy who’s enthusiastic. He likes a pat on the back, and he tells me what he’s thinking.”

Although Guante emerged as arguably the team’s most effective relief pitcher in 1988, the midseason firing of Martin and the switch to a new manager, Lou Piniella, proved to be a bad match. Piniella began to use Guante less and less. Guante then requested a trade, a request that the Yankees soon fulfilled.

Within a week of Guante’s complaint, the Yankees announced a deal, sending the sidewinding right-hander to the Texas Rangers for a lesser reliever named Dale Mohorcic. It was not until Guante’s final day in pinstripes, when he learned that he had officially been traded to Texas, that he admitted to all of the writers and broadcasters that he could speak English more than acceptably.

In making his exit from New York, Guante started to speak plenty of English. “Free at last!” he exclaimed as he departed the clubhouse for a final time, unable to hide his disdain for his manager and the New York media. “Anything to get out of here.”