Pedro Guerrero (baseball)
| Pedro Guerrero | |
|---|---|
| First baseman / Outfielder / Third baseman | |
| Born: June 29, 1956 San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic |
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| Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| September 22, 1978 for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 4, 1992 for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Career statistics | |
| Batting average | .300 |
| Home runs | 215 |
| Runs batted in | 898 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Pedro Guerrero (born June 29, 1956) is a Dominican former professional baseball player. He played all or part of fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1992 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals.
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[edit] Career
Writer Bill James called Guerrero "the best hitter God has made in a long time."[1] In the minors, he made all-star teams at both first base and third base.
[edit] Los Angeles Dodgers
Originally signed as a free agent by the Indians, Guerrero was acquired by the Dodgers in exchange for pitcher Bruce Ellingsen. He broke into the Dodger lineup as a replacement for the injured Davey Lopes at second base.
Guerrero had five RBIs in the final game of the 1981 World Series, which earned him a piece of the first three-way Series MVP award (sharing the award with Ron Cey and Steve Yeager). In somewhat of a symbol of the insufficient attention he received during his impressive career, he was the only one of the three not to be interviewed during the nationally televised post-game celebration. In 1982, he became the first Dodger to hit 30 home runs and steal 20 bases in a season, and he did it again the following year.
In 1985, Guerrero tied a major league record with 15 home runs in June, and also tied the Los Angeles season record of 33. He reached base 14 consecutive times that year, two short of the record set by Ted Williams, and led the league in slugging, on-base and home run percentage.
Guerrero was an aggressive baserunner but a poor slider. He ruptured a tendon sliding in spring training and missed most of the 1986 season, after which he ran less frequently. But in 1987 he batted .338 and won the UPI's Comeback Player of the Year award. His batting average that year was the highest by any Dodger since the .346 recorded by Tommy Davis in 1962.
The Dodgers shifted him from the outfield to a starter at third base as a replacement for the departing Ron Cey. He also played sporadically at first base as the need arose. Although he gained a reputation for being shaky at third,[1] he was statistically as good as anyone in the league at getting to the ball.
[edit] St. Louis Cardinals
During Los Angeles' 1988 championship season, he was traded to the Cardinals for pitcher John Tudor.
In 1989, Guerrero earned serious MVP consideration, batting .311 with 17 home runs, a career-high 117 RBIs and a league-high 42 doubles. His production fell off sharply afterwards. In 1992 a shoulder injury limited him to 43 games, and he finished his major league career batting just .219 with one home run.
[edit] Independent leagues and Mexico
In 1993, after becoming a free agent and not finding a new major league team, Guerrero signed with the independent Sioux Falls Canaries of the Northern League. He split the season between the Canaries and the Charros de Jalisco of the Mexican League. He returned to the Canaries in 1994, then made one more attempt at a comeback in 1995 with the Midland Angels, the Double-A farm team of the California Angels before retiring.
[edit] Post-baseball
In September 1999, Guerrero was arrested for trying to buy 33 pounds of cocaine from an undercover agent. In June 2002, he was acquitted of drug conspiracy charges after his attorney argued his low IQ prevented him from understanding that he had agreed to a drug deal.[2]
Later in 1999, O.J. Simpson claimed in a call to 911 that his then girlfriend, Christie Prody, was missing and had been using drugs for two days with Guerrero.
In 2011, Guerrero joined the Arizona Winter League as a hitting instructor.[3]
[edit] See also
- List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
- List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Player Profiles: Pedro Guerrero". BaseballLibrary.com. http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Pedro_Guerrero_195. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
- ^ Four-time All-Star Guerrero acquitted of drug charges, June 7, 2000, Associated Press via CNNSI.com
- ^ Arizona Winter League Signs Pedro Guerrero to Coaching Position, January 12, 2011 Our Sports Central
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dave Parker Mark Grace |
National League Player of the Month June 1985 August 1989 |
Succeeded by Keith Hernandez Will Clark |
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- Major League Baseball first basemen
- Major League Baseball left fielders
- Los Angeles Dodgers players
- St. Louis Cardinals players
- National League All-Stars
- Gulf Coast Indians players
- Bellingham Dodgers players
- Orangeburg Dodgers players
- Danville Dodgers players
- Waterbury Dodgers players
- Albuquerque Dukes players
- Louisville Redbirds players
- Sioux Falls Canaries players
- Charros de Jalisco players
- Midland Angels players
- Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic
- People from San Pedro de Macorís
- 1956 births
- Living people
