For some reason, Cinco de Mayo has become a day on which many Americans drink lots of booze in celebration of, well, having an excuse to celebrate, I suppose. I prefer to think of it as a good time to look at some of the accomplishments of the many Mexican-born major league players.

Going into this season 150 players from Mexico have made it to the big leagues, beginning with Mel Almada who first appeared in a game with the Boston Red Sox on September 8, 1933. Almada, a left-handed hitting outfielder from Huatabampo, played seven seasons and finished his career with a .284 batting average.

As of Cuatro de Mayo there are 10 Mexican-born players currently in the major leagues, six position players and four pitchers.

Aurelio Rodríguez appeared in more games than any other Mexican-born player. From 1967-1983, Rodríguez played in 2,107 games, mostly with the Detroit Tigers. Although Rodríguez hit only .237 in his career, he was an exceptional defensive third baseman. He won a Gold Glove Award in 1976, breaking Brooks Robinson’s 16-year hold on the honor.

Bobby Ávila is the only Mexican-born player to win a batting title. He led the American League with a .341 average in 1954 while playing for the Cleveland Indians. Ted Williams hit .345 that year but had only 386 at-bats. At that time, a player had to have 400 at-bats to qualify for the title. Williams, who walked 136 times, easily would have qualified by today’s standard of 502 plate appearances.

Either way, the 1954 AL batting champion was of Mexican heritage since Williams was the son of an American father and a Mexican American mother: Williams’ paternal grandparents emigrated from Chihuahua to Texas around 1890.

Vinny Castilla hit more home runs than any other player from Mexico. He wrapped up his career in 2006 with 320 homers. Castilla is also the only Mexican-born player to lead the league in runs batted in. He drove in 131 for the Colorado Rockies in 2004 to lead the National League.

Joakim Soria appeared in more games, 773, and earned more saves, 229, than any other Mexican-born pitcher. Soria spent most of his career with the Kansas City Royals.

Perhaps the best-known Mexican-born player was pitcher Fernando Valenzuela from Navojoa. Valenzuela took baseball by storm in the early ‘80s with the Los Angeles Dodgers, winning both the National League Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year Award in 1981. He won more games than any other Mexican-born pitcher. Over 17 seasons, Valenzuela won 173 games and pitched 31 shutouts. He also was a pretty good hitter; he hit 10 home runs, and he had a career batting average of .200.

Despite what many believe, Cinco de Mayo is not the Mexican Independence Day. Mexico declared its independence from Spain on September 16, 1810. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Battle of Puebla, in which 2,000 Mexican soldiers defeated 6,000 French troops at Puebla, Mexico in 1862 during the Second French Intervention in Mexico (1861-1867).

The Battle of Puebla was not a major win for Mexico in their war against the French, but it bolstered the Mexican resistance movement. Four years after the battle, the United States had wrapped up its Civil War and was finally able to support the Mexican resistance, and the French withdrew. Mexico captured and executed Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, whom Napoleon III installed as emperor of Mexico in 1864.

So, if you’re one of those who hoists a beverage on Cinco de Mayo, maybe give a thought back to Fernandomania, Señor Smoke, or even the Splendid Splinter, while you’re at it.

(This post is an updated and shorter version of my post, Cinco de Mayo de Beisbol, from May 5, 2012. All statistics are from Baseball Reference. Details about the Battle of Puebla are from The History Channel.)