In 1953 Miranda became the first Cuban to play for the Yankees since Armando Marsans in 1918. Quick and sure-handed, he led AL shortstops in every fielding category but average for Baltimore in 1955. He had good range and a strong arm that enabled him to throw out runners from deep in the hole. In 1959 he fled Cuba by hiding in the cockpit of a Pan Am plane; he returned two decades later to help family members escape by boat.
