In 1952, Pellot played for the Kansas City Blues of the Class AAA American Association, where he led the league in doubles and triples, while posting a .331 batting average.

[8] When the Yankees had a need at the major league level, they promoted Gus Triandos, a Caucasian player from Class AA, instead of Pellot.

Many blacks and Puerto Ricans protested in front of Yankee Stadium in response to what they believed to have been a racially motivated decision.

Suffering from the racial discrimination which was rampant in the nation during that time, Pellot could neither stay with the rest of the team at the same hotels nor be allowed to eat at the same restaurants as his white teammates.

Pellot is one of only six batters, as of August 7, 2010, to have hit both a leadoff and walk-off home run in the same game (having done so in 1957), the others being Billy Hamilton (1893), Darin Erstad (2000), Reed Johnson (2003), Ian Kinsler (2009),[10] and Chris Young (2010).

He made the American League All-Star team with the Kansas City Athletics in 1955 and 1956 and the Cleveland Indians in 1959 and 1960 (two games were played both seasons).

This turned out to be incorrect, and Pellot soon learned that the real source of the laughter was not his race, but his last name: the similar-sounding word plotte is slang for "vagina" in the Quebec French.

He kept the name after getting promoted to the majors in United States, but retained "Pellot" when playing winter ball in Puerto Rico.

During the summers, he helped youngsters develop their baseball skills in both Puerto Rico and San Pedro de Macorís in the Dominican Republic.

[5] According to historian Bill James, Pellot was probably a main reason why San Pedro de Macorís became "the world's richest source of baseball talent".

[3][7] More importantly, it anticipated a change in how the position is played: nowadays, virtually all first basemen field the ball one-handed (this because it increases their reach and provides for greater flexibility).

Pellot is also remembered by baseball historians and fans for his sharp wit and dark, deadpan humor, a lot of which was directed at the racism and segregation he experienced during spring training in the southern United States.