Cárdenas was born in Matanzas, Cuba, one of 15 children of Rafael and Roberta Cardenas. He came to the U.S. in 1956 at age 16 (although he claimed to be 17, the minimum age to be signed by a Major League team) and received a $500 signing bonus. He was among the last of the Cuban players to make it out of Cuba before the borders were sealed. He batted .316 for the Arizona–Mexico League\'s Tucson Cowboys in 1956, and signed with the Cincinnati Reds the following season. While playing for the Havana Sugar Kings in the International League in 1959, Cárdenas was inadvertently shot by raucous Fidel Castro supporters firing off rifles in the grandstand in celebration of the 26th of July Movement. The Havana team was moved to Jersey City the following July and renamed the Jerseys.\n', '

Cárdenas was called up to the Reds in 1960 to fill in for an injured Roy McMillan. He made his Major League debut on July 25, 1960, starting and batting eighth and playing shortstop in a 6–5 Reds win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. After grounding into a double play and later lining out, he notched his first career hit with a seventh-inning run-scoring single off Cubs pitcher Bob Anderson. For the season, he batted .232 with one home run and 12 runs batted in. After the season, McMillan was dealt to the Milwaukee Braves for pitchers Joey Jay and Juan Pizarro.\n', '

Reds Manager Fred Hutchinson\'s original plan heading into the 1961 season was to platoon Cárdenas and utility infielder Eddie Kasko at short, with Cárdenas being the better fielder and Kasko being the better hitter. Cárdenas, however, surprised his boss with a .308 batting average. He also clubbed five home runs to Kasko\'s two in 271 fewer at-bats.\n', '

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