- Álvaro Espinoza
Álvaro Alberto Espinoza [es-pe-NO-zah] (born
February 19 ,1962 ) is a coach and a formershortstop inMajor League Baseball . Currently, he serves as the infield coach for theScranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees .Early life
Born in Valencia, Carabobo State,
Venezuela , he graduated from Pedro Gual High School where he playedbaseball ,soccer andbasketball .Playing career
From by|1984 through by|1997, Espinoza played with the
Minnesota Twins (1984-by|1986),New York Yankees (by|1988-by|1991),Cleveland Indians (by|1993-by|1996),New York Mets (1996) andSeattle Mariners (1997). He batted and threwright-handed .In a 15-season career, Espinoza was a .254 hitter with 22
home run s, 201 RBI, 252 runs, 105 doubles, nine triples, and 13stolen bases in 942 games. He was second in the MLB in sacrifices in 1989.As a young prospect, Espinoza was let go by Houston and Minnesota. But he went on to have four decent seasons with the Yankees, after which he played for, in turn, the Indians, the Mets, and the Mariners.
At the plate, Espinoza, though a notorious free swinger, was a good bat handler and contact hitter. His game was to simply put the ball in play and not try to hit for power. As a baserunner, he had average speed (meaning he was slow for a shortstop).
In the field, concentration and knowledge were Espinoza's main assets. He wasn't among the most gifted athletes ever to play shortstop, but he positioned himself extremely well and got to many balls that might have eluded some flashier shortstops. He was sure-handed, good at turning the
double play , and had a very strong throwing arm.Coaching career
Following his playing career after the 1997 season, Espinoza turned to coaching. In by|1998, he worked with the
Montreal Expos as their minor league infield coordinator.Hired by the
Los Angeles Dodgers organization, Espinoza made his managerial debut in by|1999 and guided Class-A Vero Beach to a 48-85 record in theFlorida State League . He spent by|2000 and by|2001 as the Dodgers Minor League Roving Infield Coordinator.In by|2002, Espinoza was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates and named their infield Instructor in by|2004.
Milestone
*Espinoza joins
Ruppert Jones ,Ricky Lee Nelson ,Dave Kingman ,José Canseco andKevin Millar as the only players in MLB history to hit a fair ball that got stuck in a stadium obstruction. [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/E/Espinoza_Alvaro.stm]Marriage and children
Espinoza has seven children.
*son José (b. July 22, 1983)
*daughter Karyna (b. March 20, 1985)
*daughter Karla (b. October 19, 1987 )He has four children with his wife Corimar.
*son Leonardo (b. April 17, 1991)
*daughter Alva Maria (b. January 16, 1995)
*daughter María (b. December 2, 1996)
*daughter Luisa (b. August 20, 1999)ee also
*Players from Venezuela in "MLB"
ources
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/e/espinal01.shtml Baseball Reference]
* [http://www.baseball-stars.com/player/alvaro-espinoza-a.aspx Baseball Stars]
* [http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/team/coach_staff_bio.jsp?c_id=pit&coachorstaffid=41310318410 MLB page]
* 1991 Alvaro Espinoza Leaf baseball card
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