Jump to content

Raúl Ibañez

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 24.57.148.137 (talk) at 02:58, 14 October 2012. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Raúl Ibañez
Ibañez with the Yankees in 2012
New York Yankees – No. 27
Outfielder / Designated hitter
Born: (1972-06-02) June 2, 1972 (age 52)
New York City, New York
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
debut
August 1, 1996, for the Seattle Mariners
Career statistics
(through 2012)
Batting average.278
Home runs271
Runs batted in1,116
Runs978
Hits1,883
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Raúl Javier Ibañez (/[invalid input: 'icon'][invalid input: 'ɨ']ˈbɑːnjɛz/; born June 2, 1972) is an American baseball outfielder with the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, and Philadelphia Phillies.

Ibañez was an All-Star in 2009, and has won the Player of the Week Award five times. Over his career, Ibáñez, who did not make 500 plate appearances in a single season until the age of 30, has batted .278 with 396 doubles, 271 home runs and 1,116 runs batted in (RBI) over 17 major league seasons. He has seven seasons with 20 or more home runs, two seasons with 30 or more home runs, six seasons with 90 or more RBI, four seasons with 100 or more RBI, and ten consecutive seasons (2002–2011) with 30 or more doubles.

Early life and amateur and college

Ibañez's parents emigrated from Cuba to New York in 1970.[1] His father, Juan Armando, who was a chemist in Cuba, worked in a warehouse in the United States.[2]

Ibáñez attended Miami Sunset Senior High School, where he played on the baseball team as a catcher.[3][4] Fredi Gonzalez, who worked at the school as a security guard during the minor league baseball offseason, worked with Ibáñez on catching.[4] After graduation, he attended Miami-Dade Community College, and was a baseball letterman and an All-Conference selection.

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

Early minor league career

Ibáñez was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 37th round of the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft. Ibáñez played as a catcher and outfielder at various levels in the Mariners minor league organization. He began his professional career with the rookie-level AZL Mariners in 1992. Ibáñez batted .308 with 37 hits, 8 doubles, 2 triples, 1 home run, and 16 RBIs in 33 games that season. The next season, 1993, Ibáñez split the season between the Class-A Short-Season Bellingham Mariners, and the Class-A Appleton Foxes. He batted a combined .278 with 81 hits, 14 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, and 36 RBIs in 95 games. Ibáñez played for the Class-A Appleton Foxes again in 1994, and batted .312 with 102 hits, 30 doubles, 3 triples, 7 home runs, 59 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases in 91 games. That season, Ibáñez lead the team in RBIs, and doubles.[5]

In 1995, Ibáñez was promoted to the Class-A Advanced Riverside Pilots of the California League. He batted .332 with 120 hits, 23 doubles, 9 triples, 20 home runs, and 108 RBIs in 95 games. Ibáñez was second in the league in RBIs, and was tied for seventh in the league in home runs.[6] Ibáñez played for two minor league teams in 1996. He started the season with the Double-A Port City Roosters where he batted .368 with 28 hits, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, and 13 RBIs in 19 games. He was later promoted to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers where he batted .284 with 115 hits, 20 doubles, 3 triples, 11 home runs, and 47 RBIs in 111 games.

Major league beginning

Ibáñez's second stint with the Mariners from 2004–2008 included four of his best seasons, both at the plate and in the field

On August 1, 1996, after being called-up from the minor leagues, Ibáñez made his first major league appearance against the Milwaukee Brewers.[7] That season, Ibáñez appeared in four games and went hitless. In 1997, Ibáñez began the season in the minor leagues with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. He batted .304 with 133 hits, 30 doubles, 3 triples, 15 home runs, 82 RBIs in 111 games. On August 10, Ibáñez made his first appearance of the season in the majors against the Chicago White Sox.[8] He got his first major league hit, a triple, on August 16 against White Sox's pitcher Doug Drabek.[9] On September 27, Ibáñez hit his first major league home run against the Oakland Athletics' pitcher Mike Oquist.[10] After 11 games in the majors, Ibáñez batted .154 with 4 hits, 1 triple, 1 home run, and 4 RBIs. Ibáñez started the 1998 season with the Triple-A Rainiers and batted .216 with 41 hits, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 6 home runs, and 25 RBIs in 52 games. Ibáñez was called-up in August to the majors and batted .255 with 25 hits, 7 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, and 12 RBIs in 37 games. That season, he played 17 games in the outfield, 16 games at first base, and 1 game at designated hitter.

Ibáñez played the majority of the 1999 season with the Mariners, however, he did spend 8 games with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers and batted .335 with 11 hits. In 1999 with the Mariners, Ibáñez batted .254 with 54 hits, 7 doubles, 9 home runs, and 27 RBIs in 87 games. He played 57 games in the outfield, 21 games as a first baseman, 1 game as a catcher, and 1 game as a designated hitter. The next season, 2000, Ibáñez again split the season between the Mariners and the Triple-A Rainiers. With the Rainiers, Ibáñez batted .250 with 10 hits, 4 doubles, and 6 home runs in 10 games. Ibáñez appeared in 92 regular season games with the Mariners in 2000. He batted .229 with 32 hits, 8 doubles, 2 home runs, and 15 RBIs. Ibáñez appeared in three games in the 2000 American League Division Series and in 8 at-bats got 3 hits. During the next round of the playoffs, the 2000 American League Championship Series, Ibáñez appeared in six games and went hitless. He became a free agent after the season.

Kansas City Royals

Ibañez with the Seattle Mariners

Ibáñez was signed by the Kansas City Royals as a free agent before the 2001 season. In 2001 with the Royals, Ibáñez batted .280 with 78 hits, 11 doubles, 5 triples, 13 home runs, and 54 RBIs in 104 games. He also played of the Triple-A Omaha Royals for 8 games and batted .148 with 4 hits. The next season, 2002, Ibáñez played the entire season in the majors for the first time in his career. On June 9, Ibáñez hit a walk-off home run against St. Louis Cardinals' pitcher Mike Timlin to give the Royals a three-to-two win.[11] On June 26, Ibáñez hit a double, triple, and a home run in the same game against the Detroit Tigers.[12] About the opportunity to play everyday, Ibáñez said this:

[During my career], my confidence sometimes wavered because I wasn't playing as much. I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform. But I knew if I got an opportunity to play consistently then I would be able to perform.

— Raúl Ibáñez, MLB.com: August 6, 2002[13]

At the end of 2002, Ibáñez batted .294 with 146 hits, 37 doubles, 6 triples, 24 home runs, and 103 RBIs in 137 games. His 6 triples stands as his career high. Ibáñez was second on the team in doubles, and RBIs; and was tied for second in triples, and home runs.[14] Ibáñez received the Joe Burke Special Achievement Award as voted upon by the Kansas City, Missouri chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.[15] Ibáñez played his final season with the Royals in 2003. Before the start of the season, Ibáñez filed for salary arbitration.[16] The Royals avoided arbitration hearings with Ibáñez after he accepted their one-year $3 million contract offer.[17] In 157 games with the Royals, Ibáñez batted .294 with 179 hits, 33 doubles, 5 triples, 18 home runs, and 90 RBIs.

Return to Seattle

Ibáñez at bat on August 2, 2008 against the Baltimore Orioles

After three seasons with the Royals, Ibáñez returned to Seattle in 2004 and had a career-high .304 batting average. He also collected a 24-game go-ahead RBI string, matched a club record by reaching base 11 consecutive times, set a career-high and a club record and matched the American League record with six hits, and joined Ichiro Suzuki as only Mariners ever with two five-hit games in one season. He also ranked third among qualifying big league left fielders in UZR, an all-inclusive fielding statistic.[18]

With Edgar Martínez retired, Ibáñez moved to the DH spot before the 2005 season. In 2005, Ibánez hit .280 with 20 home runs and 89 RBIs. The Mariners acquired the switch hitting designated hitter Carl Everett from the Chicago White Sox during the 2005 offseason, forcing Ibáñez to move back to where he played before, namely left field.

Ibáñez enjoyed his most productive season with the Mariners in 2006, when he collected career-highs in home runs (33), RBIs (123), doubles (33) and triples (5), and hit .289 with 103 runs.

In 2007, the Mariners acquired José Vidro to assume the role of DH. Ibáñez moved back out to left field and posted a .291 batting average with 21 home runs, 105 RBI, 80 runs and 35 doubles in 149 games. He was on fire in the 2nd half of the 2008 season, with 12 home runs and 55 RBIs with a .321 batting average. He finished the season with a .293 batting average, 23 home runs, 110 RBI, 85 runs and a career-high 43 doubles in 162 games.

Philadelphia Phillies

On December 16, 2008, Ibáñez signed a 3-year, $31.5 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.[19]

On April 9, 2009, Ibáñez hit his first home run as a member of the Phillies, a deep, two-run shot to right field at Citizens Bank Park.[20] Ten days later, on April 19, he hit a 2-run, walk-off home run to help the Phillies defeat the San Diego Padres. He hit his eighth career grand slam on April 27 as part of an eighth-inning comeback to help defeat the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park.[21]

Ibáñez was the focus of a post in the blog "Midwest Sports Fans"[22] which raised concerns that he was using performance-enhancing drugs.[23] A column in the Philadelphia Inquirer resulted in an Ibáñez rebuttal stating that, "You can have my urine, my hair, my blood, my stool—anything you can test. I'll give you back every dime I've ever made if the test is positive."[24]

Ibañez with the Phillies in 2011

In voting for the 2009 All Star Game, Ibáñez received the second-most votes for a NL outfielder with 4,053,355, trailing only the Brewers' Ryan Braun (4,138,559).[25] In the World Series, he batted .304 with four doubles, a home run and four RBI. In 134 regular season games, the 37-year-old Ibáñez hit .272 with 32 doubles, 93 runs and 93 RBI. He posted career-highs in home runs (34), slugging percentage (.552), and OPS (.899). He had a .991 fielding percentage with two errors in 129 games in left field. He also ranked fourth among qualifying big league left fielders in UZR.[26]

In 2011, on defense he had the lowest range factor of all major league left fielders, at 1.60.[27]

New York Yankees

On February 20, 2012, Ibañez agreed to a contract worth $1.1 million with the New York Yankees.[28] The deal was made official one day later.[29] Ibañez struggled during spring training.[30] When Brett Gardner suffered an injury in April, Ibañez saw increased playing time in left field against right-handed pitchers.[31]

On September 22, Ibañez hit a game-tying home run in the 13th inning of a game against the Oakland Athletics.[32] In the second to last game of the regular season, Ibañez hit a pinch hit home run in the ninth inning and a game-winning RBI single in the 12th inning to keep the Yankees one game ahead of the Baltimore Orioles in the division.[33]

During the regular season, Ibañez appeared in 130 games, hitting .240 with 19 home runs.

In Game 3 of the 2012 American League Division Series against the Orioles, Ibañez pinch hit for Alex Rodriguez and hit home runs in consecutive at bats. The first tied the game 2–2 in the bottom of the 9th inning; the second came in the bottom of the 12th—a walk-off home run to give the Yankees a 3–2 victory and a two-games-to-one series advantage. The pinch-hit performance set several major league records: he became the first player in major league history to hit two home runs in a postseason game he did not start;[34] the first to hit two home runs in the 9th inning or later of a postseason game;[35] the oldest player to hit a postseason walk-off home run;[35] and the oldest player to hit two home runs in a postseason game.[35]

Personal

Ibáñez and his wife Teryvette have two sons and three daughters.[36]

In the 2009 offseason, Ibáñez discovered he had allergies to gluten and dairy and went on a special diet, for which he has meals delivered from Philadelphia, even while on the road.[37]

In a poll of 290 Major League players by Sports Illustrated, Ibáñez was voted the second nicest major league player, after Jim Thome.[38]

See also

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ Carig, Marc. "Raul Ibanez's work ethic fueled his success and he hopes it continues". NJ.com. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
  3. ^ Miami Herald: Search Results
  4. ^ a b White, Paul (2009-05-29). "Phillies veteran Raul Ibanez, 36, hits his stride in Philadelphia - USATODAY.com". Usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  5. ^ "1994 Appleton Foxes". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  6. ^ "1995 California League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  7. ^ "Raul Ibanez: 1996 Batting Gamelog". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  8. ^ "Raul Ibanez: 1997 Batting Gamelog". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  9. ^ "August 16, 1997 Seattle Mariners at Chicago White Sox Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  10. ^ "September 26, 1997 Oakland Athletics at Seattle Mariners Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  11. ^ Robert Falkoff (June 9, 2002). "Ibáñez delivers clutch homer". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  12. ^ Robert Falkoff (June 26, 2002). "Red-hot Ibanez lifts Royals". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  13. ^ Bill Ladson (August 6, 2002). "MLBeat: Ibáñez gets chance". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  14. ^ "2002 Kansas City Royals Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  15. ^ Robert Falkoff (November 5, 2002). "Ibanez receives Joe Burke award". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  16. ^ Robert Falkoff (January 17, 2003). "Beltran, Ibáñez file for arbitration". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  17. ^ Robert Falkoff (February 13, 2003). "Royals, Ibáñez avoid arbitration". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  18. ^ "Major League Leaderboards » 2004 » Left Fielders » Fielding Statistics". Fangraphs. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  19. ^ "Phillies sign Raul Ibanez". Philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com. December 16, 2008. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  20. ^ "Video of Raul Ibáñez's first Home Run for the Philadelphia Phillies".
  21. ^ "Phils hit two slams in comeback victory".
  22. ^ "About Midwest Sports Fans". Retrieved June 17, 2009.
  23. ^ "The Curious Case of Raul Ibanez: Steroid Speculation Perhaps Unfair, but Great Start in 2009 Raising Eyebrows".
  24. ^ "A cheap shot at Ibáñez".
  25. ^ "The votes are in – Ibanez finally an All-Star". pressofAtlanticCity.com. July 6, 2009. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  26. ^ "Major League Leaderboards » 2009 » Left Fielders » Fielding Statistics". Fangraphs. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  27. ^ "2011 Regular Season MLB Baseball LF Fielding Statistics". Espn.go.com. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  28. ^ "New York Yankees sign Raul Ibanez to 1-year deal - ESPN New York". Espn.go.com. 2012-02-21. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  29. ^ 02/21/2012 12:25 PM EST (2012-02-21). "Yankees Sign Outfielder Raul Ibanez | yankees.com: News". Newyork.yankees.mlb.com. Retrieved 2012-10-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  30. ^ Kerasotis, Peter (March 20, 2012). "Ibanez Is Fighting to Show Yankees They Made the Right Choice". The New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
  31. ^ "Slow start of 2011 no issue for Swish in '12 | yankees.com: News". Newyork.yankees.mlb.com. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  32. ^ "A's stunned by Yanks' comeback, 10-9". SFGate. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  33. ^ "Raul Ibanez Leads Yankees to Victory, Hold Onto Lead in AL East | Fox News Latino". Latino.foxnews.com. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  34. ^ Keith, Ted (2012-10-11). "Ibañez cements place in Yankees lore with dramatic homers". SI.com. Time Inc. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  35. ^ a b c ESPN Stats & Information (2012-10-11). "Ibanez has a knack for the dramatic". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  36. ^ "Team, Player". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  37. ^ "Ibanez's food allergies under control – Morning Call". Articles.mcall.com. March 31, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  38. ^ AP. "Raul Ibanez, Phillies – Players Poll: Nicest MLB Player". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Raúl Ibáñez.

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Raúl_Ibañez&oldid=517670066"