The Eastern Stars (33 page)

José Galvez Oliva was born on March 3, 1971, in San Pedro de Macorís. He played third base and first base and was signed by the Texas Rangers on November 12, 1987. He debuted in the major leagues on July 1, 1994, for the Atlanta Braves and then was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals on August 25, 1995. He played his final game on October 1, 1995, for the Cardinals, concluding a brief two-season major-league career. He died on December 22, 1997, in Santo Domingo from injuries from a car crash.

Armando Germán Benítez was born on November 3, 1972, in Ramón Santana, San Pedro de Macorís. A right-handed pitcher, he was signed by the Baltimore Orioles on April 1, 1990. He debuted in the major leagues on July 28, 1994, for the Orioles. On December 1, 1998, he was traded to the New York Mets; he was traded to the New York Yankees on July 16, 2003, and traded to the Seattle Mariners on August 6, 2003. On January 6, 2004, he started playing for the Florida Marlins as a free agent, and on December 2, 2004, he started playing with the San Francisco Giants as a free agent. On May 31, 2007, he was traded to the Florida Marlins. On March 11, 2008, he started playing for the Toronto Blue Jays as a free agent. A hard-throwing closer whose fastball has been clocked at faster than 100 miles per hour and whose sly splitter is difficult to find, as of 2008 he had an ERA of 3.12. In 2004 he led the National League in saves, with a total of 47. He would have been recognized as one of the best closers in the game were it not for a tendency to lose accuracy in big games at critical moments.

Rudy Hector Perez Pemberton was born on December 17, 1969, in Placer Bonito. An outfielder, he was signed on June 7, 1987, by the Detroit Tigers. He debuted in the major leagues on April 26, 1995, for the Tigers. He played in the majors for three seasons, two for the Tigers and one for the Boston Red Sox. He played his final game on June 2, 1997, for the Boston Red Sox. In the 1996 season he had an amazing .512 batting average; his career average for the three seasons was .336. His .512 average is the highest in history for a player with more than thirty at-bats.

Miguel Mejía was born on March 25, 1975, in Quisqueya. The Baltimore Orioles signed him on January 22, 1992. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals, then was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals on December 4, 1995. He debuted in the major leagues on April 4, 1996, for the Cardinals and played his final game for them, on September 29, 1996. At age twenty-one he was the youngest player in the National League. In his only season in the majors, he played 21 games in all three outfield positions.

Manuel de Jesús Martínez was born on October 3, 1970, in Barrio México. He played all three outfield positions and was signed by the Oakland Athletics on March 10, 1988. He debuted in the major leagues for the Seattle Mariners on June 14, 1996, played a total of three seasons in the majors for the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates, and played his final game on October 3, 1999, for the Montreal Expos.

Luis Antonio Donato Castillo was born on September 12, 1975, in Barrio Restauración. A second baseman, he was signed by the Florida Marlins on August 19, 1992, and debuted in the major leagues on August 8, 1996, for the Marlins and then was signed by the Marlins as a free agent on December 7, 2003. He was traded to the Minnesota Twins in 2005 and then to the New York Mets in 2007. The Mets then signed him as a free agent that same year. As of 2008, he has played thirteen seasons in the major leagues and has hit 178 doubles, made 386 RBIs, and stolen 342 bases. His batting average exceeded .300 multiple times: it was .302 in 1999, .334 in 2000, .305 in 2002, .314 in 2003, and .301 in 2005 and 2007. He received Gold Gloves in 2003, 2004, and 2005, and was the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 2003.

Julio Franklin Santana was born on January 20, 1973, in Consuelo. A nephew of Rico Carty, this right-handed pitcher was signed by the Texas Rangers on February 18, 1990, and debuted in the major leagues for the Rangers on April 6, 1997. He started playing for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1998 and was then traded to the Boston Red Sox in 1999. The Red Sox signed him as a free agent on February 2, 2000, the Montreal Expos signed him as a free agent on June 18, 2000, and the San Francisco Giants signed him as a free agent on November 10, 2000. The New York Mets drafted him on December 11, 2000, but then the San Francisco Giants took him back on March 30, 2001. The Detroit Tigers signed him as a free agent on November 16, 2001, and again on January 27, 2003. The Philadelphia Phillies signed him as a free agent on March 29, 2003, and the Mikwaukee Brewers signed him as a free agent on December 23, 2004. The Phillies then signed him again on November 30, 2005, but released him on October 11, 2006. As of the end of 2008, he had a career ERA of 5.30, with 308 strikeouts.

Fernando Tatis, Jr., was born on January 1, 1975, in Miramar. He has played third base, left field, right field, first base, outfield, shortstop, and second base, and has been a designated hitter. The Texas Rangers signed him on August 25, 1992, and he debuted in the major leagues for the Rangers on July 26, 1997. He was then traded to the St. Louis Cardinals on July 31, 1998. On December 14, 2000, he was traded to the Montreal Expos and played with them through 2003, when he was injured, retiring for one season. Then the Tampa Bay Devil Rays signed him as a free agent on January 6, 2004. The Baltimore Orioles signed him as a free agent on November 25, 2005. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed him as a free agent on February 9, 2007. The Mets signed him as a free agent on March 23, 2007, and again on January 7, 2008. Not only is Tatis one of the few players ever to hit two grand slams in the same game, he is the only player in baseball history to hit two grand slams in the same inning. As of the end of the 2008 season, he had hit 149 doubles and 103 home runs, and had 394 RBIs.

Marino Santana was born on May 10, 1972, in Consuelo. A right-handed pitcher, he was signed by the Seattle Mariners on April 28, 1990, and the Detroit Tigers signed him as a free agent on November 26, 1996. He debuted in the major leagues for the Tigers on September 4, 1998. He played a total of two seasons in the major leagues, playing for the Tigers for the 1998 season and for the Red Sox for the 1999 season. His final game was on July 23, 1999, for the Red Sox. His career ERA was 7.94.

Angel Peña was born on February 16, 1975, in Miramar. He was a catcher. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed him in 1992. He debuted in the major leagues on September 8, 1998, for the Dodgers and played his final game on June 1, 2001, for a total of three seasons in the majors, all for the Dodgers.

José Jiménez was born on July 7, 1973, in San Pedro de Macorís. A right-handed pitcher, he was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals on October 21, 1991. He debuted in the major leagues on September 9, 1998, for the Cardinals and was traded to the Colorado Rockies on November 16, 1999. The Cleveland Indians signed him as a free agent on January 8, 2004, and he played his final game on July 5, 2004, for the Indians. His career ERA was 4.92.

Guillermo Reynoso Mota was born on July 25, 1973, in Barrio México. A right-handed pitcher, the New York Mets signed him on September 7, 1990. He debuted in the major leagues on May 2, 1999, for the Montreal Expos, who had taken him from the Mets on December 9, 1996, in a minor-league draft. He was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 23, 2002, traded to the Florida Marlins on July 30, 2004, traded to the Boston Red Sox on November 24, 2005, and traded to the Cleveland Indians on January 27, 2006. He was returned to the Mets on August 20, 2006, in a deal, then traded to the Milwaukee Brewers on November 20, 2007. As of the end of the 2008 season he had a career ERA of 3.93 and had hit 67 home runs.

Alfonso Pacheco Soriano was born on January 7, 1976, in Quisqueya. He debuted in the major leagues on September 14, 1999, for the New York Yankees and played with them until 2004. He started as a second baseman and then became an outfielder. While playing for the Yankees in 2002 he had a .300 batting average. He was then traded to the Texas Rangers on February 16, 2004; he played for them from 2004 to 2006. On December 8, 2005, he was traded to the Washington Nationals and played for them in the 2006 season. On November 20, 2006, he started playing for the Chicago Cubs. He broke the world record of 40-40 by stealing more than 40 bases and hitting more than 40 doubles, and he is the first major-league player to reach 40-40-40, or 40 stolen bases, 40 home runs, and 40 doubles. Consistently a productive hitter, by the end of the 2008 season he had hit 309 doubles and 270 home runs, and had 705 RBIs. He had also stolen 248 bases.

Lorenzo Barceló was born on August 10, 1977, in Miramar. He was a right-handed pitcher signed by the Chicago White Sox, for whom he played his entire three-season major-league career. He debuted on July 22, 2000, and played his final game on April 19, 2002. His career ERA was 4.50.

Carlos Casimiro was born on November 8, 1976, in San Pedro de Macorís. The Baltimore Orioles signed him on April 15, 1994. He debuted in the major leagues on July 31, 2000, playing for the Orioles as a designated hitter, and played his final game on August 1, 2000. Used only as a designated hitter, Casimiro was released by the Orioles on November 1, 2000.

Lesli Brea was born on October 12, 1973, in Barrio Villa Providencia. He was a right-handed pitcher signed by the Seattle Mariners on January 20, 1996, but he debuted in the major leagues on August 13, 2000, for the Baltimore Orioles. He played two seasons for the Orioles and his final game, on June 16, 2001, was for them as well. His brief career saw the extremely poor ERA of 12.27.

Elvis Peña was born on August 15, 1974, in San Pedro de Macorís. He played shortstop and second base and was signed by the Colorado Rockies on June 22, 1993. He debuted in the major leagues on September 2, 2000, for the Rockies and played his final game on October 7, 2001, for the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2000 he had a .333 batting average.

Luis Saturria was born on July 21, 1976, in San Pedro de Macorís. An outfielder, he debuted in the major leagues on September 11, 2000, for the St. Louis Cardinals and played his final game on October 5, 2001, also for the Cardinals.

Victor Irving Santos was born on October 2, 1976, in Barrio Restauración. A right-handed pitcher, he was signed by the Tigers on June 11, 1995. He debuted in the major leagues on April 9, 2001, for the Detroit Tigers. He did not give up one earned run in his first 27.1 innings—an ERA of 0.00. On March 25, 2002, the Tigers traded him to the Colorado Rockies. The Texas Rangers signed him as a free agent on November 17, 2002, the Milwaukee Brewers signed him as a free agent on December 2 2003, and the Kansas City Royals signed him as a free agent on November 18, 2005. In 2006 he started playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cincinnati Reds signed him as a free agent on January 8, 2007, and then sold him to the Baltimore Orioles on September 7. The San Francisco Giants signed him as a free agent on January 11, 2008. In 2002 he had a .500 batting average. At the end of the 2008 season he had a career ERA of 5.21.

Jesús de la Cruz Colome was born on December 23, 1977, in Barrio Azul. A right-handed pitcher, he was signed by the Oakland Athletics on September 29, 1996. He was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on July 28, 2000. He debuted in the major leagues on June 21, 2001, for the Devil Rays. The New York Yankees signed him as a free agent on April 15, 2006, and the Washington Nationals signed him as a free agent on November 8, 2006. At the end of the 2008 season he had a major-league career ERA of 4.50.

Pedro Santana was born on September 21, 1976, in Barrio México. A second baseman, his entire major-league baseball career was one game on July 16, 2001, for the Detroit Tigers against the Cincinnati Reds.

Edward Antonio Rogers was born on August 29, 1978, in Los Llanos, San Pedro de Macorís. The Orioles signed him on November 7, 1997. He debuted in the major leagues on September 5, 2002, for the Orioles, playing three seasons for them, then signing with the Red Sox in 2006 and the Washington Nationals in 2007. He played shortstop, second base, outfield, third base, left field, and right field, and was a designated hitter.

José Rafael Valverde was born on July 24, 1979, in San Pedro de Macorís. A right-handed pitcher, the Arizona Diamondbacks signed him on February 6, 1997, and he debuted in the major leagues for the Diamondbacks on June 1, 2003. He was a closer and in 2007 his record of 47 saves was the highest of any major-league pitcher. Then, on December 14, 2007, the Diamondbacks traded him to the Houston Astros. He became the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 2007 and 2008. At the end of the 2008 season he had a major-league career ERA of 3.31.

Daniel Alberto Cruz Cabrera was born on May 28, 1981, in San Pedro de Macorís. He was a six-foot-seven-inch right-handed fastball pitcher. The Baltimore Orioles signed him on March 15, 1999, and Cabrera debuted in the major leagues for the Orioles on May 13, 2004, and threw six shutout innings. For a few months he seemed almost unhittable, but then he began losing control of his pitches. In 2006, still devastating when in control, he led the major leagues in both walks and wild pitches, was sent down to the minors, but was later recalled. On August 19, 2006, he almost pitched a no-hitter against the Yankees until the ninth inning, when fellow Macorisano Robinson Canó spoiled it with a hit for the Yankees. In August 2007 he blew a three-run lead against the Texas Rangers and lost 30 to 3. His career ERA is 5.05. The Orioles did not pick up his contract in 2009, and he signed with the Washington Nationals.