Richard Hidalgo

Infobox MLB player
name = Richard Hidalgo


width =
caption =
team = Long Island Ducks
number = --
position = Outfielder
birthdate = birth date and age|1975|6|28
birthplace = Caracas, Venezuela
bats = Right
throws = Right
debutdate = September 1
debutyear = 1997
debutteam = Houston Astros
statyear = July 18, 2008
stat1label = Batting average
stat1value = .269
stat2label = Home runs
stat2value = 171
stat3label = Runs batted in
stat3value = 560
teams =
* Houston Astros (by|1997-by|2004)
* New York Mets (by|2004)
* Texas Rangers (by|2005)

Richard José Hidalgo [ee-DAHL-go] (born June 28, 1975 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a former Major League Baseball right fielder currently playing for the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. He played with the Houston Astros (by|1997-by|2004), New York Mets (2004), and the Texas Rangers (by|2005). He batted and threw right-handed.

Hidalgo was a powerful hitter, with good instincts in the outfield and a strong throwing arm. He was supposed to be an all around player in all areas, but a congenital knee defect changed those plans. After hitting .306 and .303 in his first two seasons, Hidalgo had a disappointing by|1999 campaign with a .227 average, although he showed some power with 15 home runs in 383 at-bats. He required season-ending kneecap surgery.

Hidalgo blossomed in by|2000, when he hit .314 with 44 home runs and 122 RBI, but his numbers slowed in by|2001 (.275, 19, 80) and by|2002 (.235, 15, 48). In by|2003, he returned to good form both at the plate and in the field. He posted numbers of .309, 28, 88, collected three homers in a game, and led the majors outfielders in assists with 22, while committing only four errors. Hidalgo split the 2004 season between the Astros and the Mets, hitting .239 with 25 homers and 82 RBI. A highlight of the 2004 season was a Met record of home runs in 5 consecutive games, 3 of them in interleague games against the New York Yankees. In by|2006, he signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles, but left the team before the season started, when his wife became ill. Hidalgo requested to be released from his contract, allowing to him to go to Japan where he would have a starting role. In the 2006 off-season, the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs reportedly showed interest in signing Hidalgo. In January by|2007, the Astros signed him again, this time to a minor league contract. This second tenure was short-lived, as Hidalgo was released by the Astros on March 25, 2007, after refusing a minor league assignment. [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bb/4659058.html]

Hidalgo was a .273 lifetime hitter with 171 home runs and 517 RBI in 899 games.

On April 10, 2007, Hidalgo joined the Long Island Ducks. [http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/minorleague/ny-spducks0411,0,3717551.story?coll=ny-sports-headlines] Before spring training however, he announced his retirement from professional baseball. [http://www.liducks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=news&newsID=746] On July 8, by|2008, Hidalgo signed with the Ducks again but left the team during the last week of August.

On November 22, 2002, Hidalgo was shot in the left forearm during a carjacking in Venezuela. [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/H/Hidalgo_Richard.stm]

In early 2008, Hidalgo's attempt to create a so-called "field of dreams" on his Florida property was voted down by residents of his neighborhood. [http://www.wftv.com/news/15167743/detail.html]

ee also

* Top 500 home run hitters of all time
* Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game

External links

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hidalri01.shtml Baseball Reference (career stats)]
* [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5896 ESPN (profile and daily update)]