Álvaro Alberto Espinoza Ramírez s-pe-noh'-zah/small> (born February 19, 1962) is a Venezuelan former shortstop in Major League Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed.

Early life

Born in Valencia, Carabobo, he graduated from Pedro Gual High School where he played baseball, soccer and basketball.

Playing career

As a young prospect, Espinoza was let go by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

system. But he went on to have twelve decent seasons with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

(1984–1986), New York Yankees (1988–1991), Cleveland Indians (1993–1996), New York Mets (1996) and Seattle Mariners (1997). Although a free swinger, Espinoza 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. Probably, he was not 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. A sure-handed fielder, he had a strong throwing arm and found many ways to turn a

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...

, as well as his concentration and knowledge of the game were his main assets. In a 12-season career, Espinoza hit a .254 average with 22 home runs and 201

RBI RBI most often refers to: *Reserve Bank of India *Run batted in RBI may also refer to: Organisations *Radio Berlin International *Raiffeisen Bank International *Reed Business Information *Restaurant Brands International *Ruđer Bošković In ...

in 942 games, including 252 runs, 105 doubles, nine

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

, and 13

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

. Espinoza's was one of New York Yankees public address announcer Bob Sheppard's favorite names to announce. He was also noted for hi
bubble gum hat antics
as well as other practical jokes he and teammate Wayne Kirby used to play on the 1995 Cleveland Indians.

Coaching career

Following his playing career after the 1997 season, Espinoza turned to coaching. In 1998, he worked with the Montreal Expos as their

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

infield coordinator. Hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, Espinoza made his managerial debut in 1999 and guided Class-A Vero Beach to a 48–85 record in the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

. He spent 2000 and 2001 as the Dodgers Minor League Roving Infield Coordinator. In 2002, Espinoza was signed by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

and then named their infield Instructor in 2004.

Milestone

Espinoza,

Ruppert Jones Ruppert Sanderson Jones (born March 12, 1955) is a former Major League Baseball center fielder. He was the first player selected in the 1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft by the Seattle Mariners. Kansas City Royals Jones was born in Dall ...

‚ Dave Kingman‚ Ricky Nelson, Kevin Millar, and José Canseco are the only players to hit a fair ball that got stuck in a stadium obstruction. Jones and Nelson both had hits get caught in the overhead speakers at the old

Kingdome The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District, Seattle, Industrial District (later SoDo, Seattle, SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. O ...

. The balls hit by Kingman and Espinoza were at the Minneapolis Metrodome, with Kingman's getting stuck in a drainage valve and Espinoza's lodging in an overhead speaker.

References

External links