Signed with NYY out of the Dominican Republic at the age
of 16...had worked out at ATL's Dominican complex prior to
signing with NYY.
2007
Switch hitter has played all or part of the last nine big league seasons and joins his 8th organization.
Batted .312 (24-77) with a .442 on-base percentage in the final 2 1/2 months or 45 games with Washington after going 1-for-25 (.040)
in first 48 games with the Nats.
Started nine games at shortstop and seven at second base in WSH. The Nats were 8-8 in games he started.
Struggled in pinch-hitting role (.103, 4-for-39), but had a team-leading eight pinch-hit walks that tied for 8th in MLB.
Hit first career pinch-hit homer, a solo shot off Scott Schoeneweis, to provide winning margin in 9-8 win vs. the Mets on 9/18 -- the pinch
homer was also the Nationals' final home run hit at RFK Stadium, as the team went without a long ball in their final five home games.
Laced game-ending pinch-hit RBI single off LaTroy Hawkins in the 10th inning of 5-4 win on 7/19 vs. COL. He had been 1-for-25 on the
season, 0-for-19 in the pinch before the game-winning hit.
Started at 2B and started game-winning rally with a two-out single and ultimately scored game-winning run in a 3-0 win 7/22 vs. COL.
Finished 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI in 7-4 win at ATL on 9/9 -- all three hits came with runners in scoring position.
Went 3-for-3 with a double, homer, two RBI and two runs to mount come-from-behind 7-4 win vs. ATL on 9/15.
Had two hits in four at-bats on 9/16 vs. ATL off Tim Hudson, who tossed a seven-hit complete game.
Went 2-for-3 with a double, walk and two runs scored in 1047th and final big league game at RFK Stadium, a 5-3 win, on 9/23 vs. PHI.
Spent two stints at Triple-A Columbus and batted .368 with 22 extra base hits. Batted .400 in first 35 games with Clippers.
Reached base safely in 40 of last 41 starts with Columbus.
Appeared in 29 games for Licey of the Dominican Winter League and batted .220 (22-100) with a HR, eight RBI, 17 BB's and 16 K's.
NON-ROSTER INVITEE
Bios part3.qxp 3/25/08 8:32 AM Page 125
2006
Was the starting second baseman in all 4 games of OAK's ALCS vs. DET...went to Spring Training and made TEX's Opening Day roster...appeared in 20 games before being designated for assignment, June 6...was unconditionally released
on June 16...signed a minor league contract with OAK on June 23...was assigned to Sacramento of the Triple-A Pacific
Coast League...enjoyed 3 stints with OAK down the stretch...played in only 8 regular-season games (4 starts) with OAK...started at 2B in the deciding Game 3...played for Licey of the Dominican Winter League following the season.
Game-By-Game Highlights: Hit his lone homer, April 16 at OAK, a solo shot that ended Dan Haren's shutout bid.
In minor leagues: Hit .304 with 4 homers, 23 RBI and 30 runs in 35 games with Sacramento...posted a .413 OBP.
2005
Split the season between Cincinnati and Chattanooga (AA)...combined to bat .266 (115-432) with 27 doubles, 9 home runs and 50
RBI in 125 games.
Cincinnati: Made the Reds Opening Day roster for the 2nd consecutive season...batted .229 (24-105) with 7 doubles and 5 RBI in
35 games...hit .190 (8-42) over first 13 games, through April 19...hit safely in 3 of next 5 games, from April 20-26 to raise season
average to .220...went 2-18 (.111) over next 6 games, from April 27-May 6 to lower average to .195...batted .321 (9-28) over final 10
games, from May 7-18 to finish at .229...recorded season-high 2 RBI with a pinch-hit double on April 7 vs. New York (NL)...registered
season-high 3 hits on April 13 at St. Louis and May 7 vs. Los Angeles...went 3-3 with 2 doubles in the latter contest...recorded
season-high 4-game hit streak from May 12-15...appeared in 27 games at second base, making 23 starts...designated for assignment
on May 20...cleared waivers and was assigned to Chattanooga on May 26.
Chattanooga: Batted .278 (91-327) with 20 doubles, 9 home runs, 45 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 90 games with the Bats...hit .305
(67-220) over his final 60 games to raise average from .224 to .278...recorded season-high 11-game hit streak from June 27-July 8,
batting .348 (15-43)...hit safely in 18 of 19 games at .333 (22-66) from July 31-August 20...that stretch included a 10-game hit streak
from July 31-August 10...recorded season-high 4 RBI on 3 occasions, including back-to-back games on August 3-4 vs.
Carolina...homered twice in August 3 contest...posted 3 homers in a 4-game span from August 26-September 2, including home runs
in consecutive games on August 26 and 28 at West Tenn...went 0-1 with season-high 4 walks on August 29 at West Tenn...hit .310
(53-171) in 48 home games and .244 (38-156) in 41 road contests...batted .311 (33-106) in 27 games in July...appeared in 72 games
at shortstop, 10 as designated hitter and 9 at second base.
2004
Established single-season career highs in runs (76), hits (152), doubles (28), RBI (67) and stolen bases (13)...hit .315 with RISP, best among the club's everyday players...also led the Reds with 143 starts at 2B and 52 starts batting fifth in the order...made his other 3 starts at SS (6/13 at Cle, 6/20 at StL, 6/22 at NYM)...also hit leadoff (43g), second (23g), third (9g), fourth (1g), sixth (10g) and seventh (8g)...on 9/15 vs Phi made his only career start batting cleanup...his 40 multi-hit games ranked
third on the team behind Sean Casey (57) and Adam
Dunn (41)...in his last 105g beginning 5/28 hit .293, raising BA from .216...in his last 26g of the season hit .340 (2hr, 16rbi), raising BA from .255...from 7/8-7/21 had an 11-game hitting streak (.386, 6rbi), tied with Jason LaRue for the longest by a Reds batter all season...from 5/24-7/26 produced a career-high 49-game
errorless streak (242tc)...didn't miss a start until 5/2 at Hou, the Reds' 24th game...on 4/12 at Phi led off the game with a double off Randy Wolf for the first hit at new Citizens Bank Park...in the 11-0 loss on 8/3 at SF 2005 Reds
snapped Noah Lowry's no-hit bid with a single leading off the seventh inning...on 6/13 at Cle left the game with a strained left oblique muscle and missed 6 starts...missed the last 3g of the season with a sore right thumb.
2003
Combined to hit .273 with 14hr, 57rbi and 11sb in 146g for the White Sox and Reds...after joining
the club on 7/8 started 72 of the Reds' last 75g...after the All-Star break led the Reds in games, runs, hits, total bases
and doubles and tied for the team lead in second-half homers...began the season with the WSox and appeared in 73g
before he was designated for assignment on 7/2 following the acquisitions of OF Carl Everett and 2B Roberto
Alomar...hit safely in 14 of his first 16g of the season (.379) but then went 2-for-29 over 8g to finish April hitting
.297...hit safely in his first 15g as a Red, a career-high hitting streak and the longest by a player to begin his Reds career
in the last 30 years...hit .337 in July, .290 in August and .247 in September...in his last 8g of the season went 4-for-28
(.143) to drop his Reds BA from .305 to a season-ending .290...didn't commit his first error as a Red until 9/1 at Mil,
snapping errorless streaks of 48g and 245 chances...overall had 43 multi-hit games, including 31 2-hit games, 11 3-hit
games and a 4-hit game on 4/19 vs Cle that tied his career high...for the WSox made his first 67 starts at 2B and his
last start at 3B (6/29 vs Cubs)...for the Reds made all 72 of his starts at 2B...batted seventh in his Reds debut, on 7/
8 at Hou, but then made 30 straight starts batting leadoff before moving to the third spot in the order...beginning 8/
14 made each of his last 41 starts batting third...while playing for Licey, led the Dominican Winter League in hitting
(.385, 2hr, 20rbi, 38g) and on-base percentage (.485).
Career highlights: Survived a life-threatening car accident on 1/24/00...while driving in his native Dominican
Republic sustained a fracture of the second cervical vertebrae when his car collided with a bus...in 1999 shared with
Nick Johnson the Yankees' Minor League Player of the Year Award...also in 1999 was an International League All-Star,
a TOPPS Class AAA All-Star and the best defensive shortstop in the IL in a poll of league managers.
2002
Combined to hit .252 (108-429) with four home runs and 44 RBI in 114 games between San Diego
and the White Sox ... was acquired from the Padres on 7/12 in exchange for minor leaguers Alex Fernandez
and Humberto Quintero and was assigned to Class AAA Charlotte ... in 27 games with the Sox, hit .287 with 22
runs scored, 16 walks and .384 on-base percentage ... .384 on-base percentage would have led the Sox with
the minimum plate appearances ... all four of home runs were hit left-handed ... was recalled from Charlotte on
8/26 ... reached base safely in 25 of his 27 starts, including 17 straight games from 9/5-26 ... singled in first at-bat
with Sox on 8/26 and hit first home run on 9/22 ... led off in 26 of 27 starts, going 30-104 (.288) ... hit .247
(72-291) from the left side and .261 right-handed ... Sox were 16-10 when he batted in the No. 1 spot and 14-
3 when he played second base ... made 17 starts at second base, nine at shortstop and one at third base ... hit
.278 as the shortstop, .252 at third base and .249 as the second baseman ... compiled a career-best nine-game
hitting streak from 7/5-9/2 ... also hit in eight straight from 9/15-26 ... raised average 47 points after the
break (.240 to .287) ... batted .375 (6-16) with 13 RBI with the bases loaded and .336 during the day ...
matched career high (second time) with four runs scored on 9/21 vs. Minnesota ... reached base safely in last
13 games (.326, 15-46) with Padres before the trade ... made major-league pitching debut on 6/30 at Kansas
City (with San Diego), tossing 1.1 perfect IP ... batted in every spot in the lineup except fifth ... appeared in 42
games (all at shortstop) with Charlotte ... played for Licey in the Dominican Winter League, hitting .312 (43-
138) with five home runs and 31 RBI in 37 games ... compiled a .909 on-base plus slugging percentage (team-best
.387 on-base percentage, .522 slugging percentage).
2001
Was acquired by San Diego from the Yankees on 6/23 in exchange for pitcher Jay Witasick ... played
in 86 of the Padres final 87 games after joining the club on 6/25, starting 84 games at shortstop ... ranked
among the National League rookie leaders in average (3rd, .276), on-base percentage (3rd, .355), doubles
(4th, 19), runs (5th, 45), hits (5th, 85), multihit games (5th, 23), slugging percentage (7th, .367), total bases
(7th, 113), extra-base hits (T8th, 22) and RBI (9th, 33) ... hit .292 (21-72) with runners in scoring position and
.800 (4-5) with a double and 10 RBI with the bases loaded ... hit .290 (64-221) from the left side and .241 (21-
87) from the right ... hit .280 (14-50) from the leadoff spot and .300 (27-90) from the No. 2 slot ... hit seventh or
eighth in first 50 starts and first, second or third in each of last 34 ... had six three-hit games ... hit first major-league
home run on 7/3 vs. Colorado ... compiled a pair of seven-game hitting streaks (8/2-9 and 8/23-29) ...
recorded career-high three RBI on 8/26 at Florida and scored career-high four runs on 8/29 at St. Louis ... was
the Yankees' No. 3 Prospect entering the season according to Baseball America.
MINOR LEAGUE:
Appeared in 56 games with Class AAA Columbus ... batted .294 (40-136) in May and June combined
... hit in 11 straight games from 5/8-22, going 18-43 (.419) with 12 runs scored to lift his average from .204 to
.272.
2000
MINOR LEAGUE:
Appeared in 37 minor-league games after surviving a life-threatening car accident on 1/24 in his
native Dominican Republic ... sustained a fracture of the second cervical vertebrae when the car he was
driving collided with a bus ... began season on the 60-day disabled list and wore a halo to stabilize his neck
during spring training ... began five-day rehabilitation assignment with the rookie Yankees on 7/26 ... was
transferred to Class A Tampa for 12 games before joining Class AAA Columbus 8/14 ... went 3-4 with a triple
and three runs scored on 8/16 at Charlotte in third game with the Clippers ... batted .268 for Licey of the
Domincan Winter League.
1999
Batted .400 (8-20) with two doubles and four RBI in seven games with the Yankees after his recall
from Class AAA Columbus on 9/11 ... made major-league debut on 9/14 at Toronto, going 1-3 at third base ...
collected his first hit in his first at-bat off Pat Hentgen ... went 4-5 with two doubles and two RBI 9/19 at
Cleveland ... at 21, became the youngest Yankee to collect four hits in a game since 20-year-old Tony Kubek in
1957.
MINOR LEAGUE:
Shared Yankees Minor League Player of the Year honors with Nick Johnson after hitting .327 with 32
doubles, 15 home runs, 88 RBI and 26 steals at Columbus ... was named to the International Leaguebs mid-season
and postseason All-Star teams and was the Topps' Triple-A All-Star shortstop ... named Best Defensive
Shortstop in the IL in Baseball Americabs Best Tools survey of managers ... was ranked by Baseball America
prior to the season as the No. 4 Prospect in the Yankees system ... ranked second in the IL in average, tied for
third in runs scored (97), tied for fifth in steals and tied for seventh in total bases (259) ... reached base in 39
straight games from 4/29-6/10 ... posted hitting streaks of 13, 15 and 17 games ... was disabled from 8/5-19 with a strained
right oblique muscle ... played for Licey in the Dominican Winter League, batting .308 with three home runs
and 14 RBI.
1998
MINOR LEAGUE:
Split the season between Class AA Norwich (40 games) and Columbus (91 games) ... at age 20, was
the youngest player in the IL when he was promoted from Norwich in May ... opened the season at Norwich with
an eight-game hitting streak, going 13-31 (.419) ... homered in three straight games for Columbus from 6/6-8.
1997
MINOR LEAGUE:
Appeared in 94 games at Tampa ... was promoted to Columbus for two games in July.
1996
MINOR LEAGUE:
Spent his first full pro season at Class A Greensboro ... led the South Atlantic League with 537 at-bats
and ranked third with 138 games played ... batted .338 (22-65) over first 16 games and .303 (27-89) over final
23.
1995
MINOR LEAGUE:
Made pro debut with the rookie Yankees in the Gulf Coast League ... led the GCL with eight triples
and 24 extra-base hits and ranked second in doubles (14), runs scored (41) and at-bats (214), third in total
bases (96) and fourth in hits (60) and games played (57) ... led GCL shortstops in putouts (95), assists (173),
total chances (289) and double plays (31) ... went 2-4 with a walk and two runs scored in pro debut on 6/19 vs.
the Blue Jays ... collected four hits, including first home run, on 7/4 at the Tigers.
