José Uribe

Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor2=#181818
bgcolor1=#F9461C
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
name=Jose Uribe


width=185
position=Shortstop
bats=Switch
throws=Right
birthdate=January 21, 1959
deathdate=death date and age|2006|12|8|1959|1|21
debutdate=September 13
debutyear=by|1984
debutteam=St. Louis Cardinals
finaldate=October 3
finalyear=1993
finalteam=Houston Astros
stat1label=AVG
stat1value=.241
stat2label=Hits
stat2value=738
stat3label=SB
stat3value=74
teams=
*St. Louis Cardinals (by|1984)
*San Francisco Giants (by|1985-by|1992)
*Houston Astros (by|1993)
highlights=

José Altagracia González Uribe (January 21 1959 – December 8 2006) was a Dominican shortstop in Major League Baseball from by|1984 until by|1993. Most of his ten-year career was spent with the San Francisco Giants. He played for the Giants in the Bay Bridge Series against the Oakland Athletics, which is famous for having been interrupted by the Loma Prieta earthquake.

Born in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic, Uribe was signed by the New York Yankees in by|1977 but was released within the same year; he eventually signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in by|1980, debuting with the team in September 1984 but playing only eight games before being traded. Uribe was humorously called the "Player to Really be Named Later". In February by|1985, he was delivered as "the player to be named later" in a trade between the Cardinals and Giants. Between the time of the initial trade and his delivery, he changed his name from José González Uribe (Uribe is his mother's maiden name; see Spanish naming customs) to just José Uribe (González is his father's name) because, as he put it, "There are too many Gonzálezes in baseball!" Thus he really was "named later". He also earned a rather uncommon nickname from ESPN announcer Chris Berman when the stat known as the "Game Winning RBI" was an official statistic, José "Game Winning" Uribe.

Uribe was the Giants' principal shortstop for eight seasons, including their by|1987 National League western division championship and by|1989 NL pennant, leading the league with 85 double plays in the latter season. In the 1987 National League Championship Series he had a 2-run single with the bases loaded in the second inning of Game 5, giving the Giants a 4-3 lead. He then stole third base and scored as the Giants won 6-3 for a 3-2 series lead, though San Francisco went on to lose the final two games. He won the 1988 Willie Mac Award honoring his spirit and leadership.

Uribe was also a fan favorite at Candlestick Park and the cause of a unique crowd chant for a relatively light-hitting infielder. When he would come to bat, fans on one side of the stadium would shout "Oooh!" Fans on the other side would respond with a "Reeee!" Finally, the side that started the chant would end with a loud "Bay!"

His first wife, Sarah, died at the age of 27 of a heart attack, two days after giving birth to their third child.

Uribe signed with the Houston Astros as a free agent for the 1993 season, and ended his career with a .241 batting average, 19 home runs, 307 runs, 219 RBI, 738 hits and 74 stolen bases in 1038 games.

He was a second-cousin of current White Sox shortstop Juan Uribe.

Uribe was killed, at age 47, December 8, 2006 in a car crash at about 3:00 a.m. near his hometown of Juan Baron, Palenque, Dominican Republic. [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2691022]

External links

*baseball-reference|id=u/uribejo01
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/U/Uribe_Jose.stm BaseballLibrary]
* [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/24/SPG54FD4651.DTL Article about his name]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE4DE173AF931A35755C0A96E948260 Article about the death of his first wife]
* [http://baseball.about.com/od/lesserknownrules/a/traderules_2.htm Why Uribe changed his name from Gonzalez to Uribe]
* [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061208&content_id=1754583&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb Former big leaguer Uribe dies in crash] MLB.com
* [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/stats/historical/individual_stats_player.jsp?c_id=mlb&playerID=123585 Jose Uribe statistics] MLB.com