Ramiro Mendoza (born June 15, 1972 in Los Santos, Panama), nicknamed "El Brujo" (The Witch Doctor),[1] is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Mendoza played with the New York Yankees (1996–2002, 2005) and Boston Red Sox (2003–04). He batted and threw right-handed. Although Mendoza made 62 starts in his major league career, he was primarily known as a middle relief pitcher. He threw a sinker along with a slider, a four-seam fastball and a changeup. In Mendoza's ten seasons in the Major Leagues he was a part of five World Series champion teams.
[edit] Major league career (1996–2005)
In a nine-year career, Mendoza compiled a 59–40 record with 463 strikeouts and a 4.30 earned run average in 797 innings pitched.[2] Mendoza was the only player in the last 75 years to win a World Series ring with both the New York Yankees (1998–2000) and Boston Red Sox (2004) before Johnny Damon and Eric Hinske joined that club in 2009.
On July 24, 2004, Mendoza pitched two hitless innings to pick up the win against his former team, the Yankees. The Red Sox were trailing 9–4, before winning 11–10.
After recovering from shoulder surgery during the 2005 offseason, Mendoza returned to the Yankees after September 2005 callups, becoming one of three members of the 2004 Red Sox to play for the 2005 Yankees, along with Mark Bellhorn and Alan Embree. After the 2005 season, Mendoza signed a minor league contract with the Yankees.
[edit] Regression (2006–2009)
He played for Panama in the 2006 World Baseball Classic & 2009 World Baseball Classic. In February 2009, he signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers and received an invitation to spring training,[3] but departed spring training after failing a physical.[4]
Following his release, he subsequently retired from major league baseball. He played for a season with the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League in 2009.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Persondata |
| Name |
Mendoza, Ramiro |
| Alternative names |
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| Short description |
Major League Baseball pitcher |
| Date of birth |
June 15, 1972 |
| Place of birth |
Los Santos, Panama |
| Date of death |
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| Place of death |
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