Adán Amezcua h-mess'-coo-ah/small> (born March 9, 1974) is a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

professional baseball player. Listed at 6' 3" (1.90 m), 198 lb. (90 k), he bats and throws right handed.

Career

Through the years, Amezcua has established himself as one of the most distinguished

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

s in Mexican baseball history. Though he never has played in a Major League game, Amezcua has spent more than two decades in the

minor leagues 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 ...

while playing in part or all of 21 seasons spanning 1993–2013. A fine handler of pitchers, he is known for his fine defense, as well for his ability to call a game and frame pitches to influence an umpire's

strike zone In baseball, the strike zone is the volume of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's kn ...

. Besides, he has showed off a strong arm with fast release and accuracy backed up by a great instinct of the game. He is equally competent as a

line drive In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

hitter with occasional power, and works the

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

to give other hitter opportunities to see the pitcher.Treto Cisneros, Pedro (2002). ''The Mexican League/La Liga Mexicana: Comprehensive Player Statistics, 1937–2001''. McFarland & Company. A native of

Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding ''municipio'', known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of ...

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...

, he was born as Adán Amezcua Magallón to parents of Basque origin. He was signed as a 19-year-old 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 ...

organization in 1993, playing for them eight years before joining the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

(2000–2001) and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

(2002) systems, reaching Triple-A level with the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

in the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

and the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. Amezcua has also played from 1997 in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

, most prominently for the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey ( en, Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monterrey, Mexico. They compete in the Northern Division. The team also joined the Mexican Pacific League for the 2019–20 season f ...

, winning a title with the team in the 2007 season. In addition, he helped the

Tomateros de Culiacán The Tomateros de Culiacán ( en, Culiacán Tomato Growers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Culiacán, Sinaloa. The ''Tomateros'' have won thirteen league titles and two Caribbean World Series in and . The ...

win the 2001–2002

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (), known as Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons or simply LMP for its acronym in Spanish, is a professional baseball winter league based in Northern Mexico. The ten-team regular season schedule run ...

championship. As the league champions, the team represented Mexico in the 2002 Caribbean Series. And Amezcua excelled in the tournament, guiding Culiacán to the Series title after hitting .455 with three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and nine RBI, to claim

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

honors and an All-Star team selection. He returned to the Series in its 2004 edition with Culiacán and was named to the All-Star team for a second time. In 2005, with the Tomateros eliminated in the playoffs, Amezcua reinforced the

Venados de Mazatlán Venados de Mazatlán ( en, Mazatlán Deer) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Mazatlan, Sinaloa. In 2016, the team won the Mexican Pacific League Championship and went on to win their second Caribbean Series ...

in the 2005 Caribbean Series. His contribution was creditable without being notable, as the Mexican representative team captured the title. At the end he received a high praise for his work with the pitching staff, which included

Francisco Campos Francisco Machado Campos (born August 12, 1972) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He is a 15-time Mexican League All-Star and played with the Campeche Pirates for more than 20 seasons. He was born in Guaymas, Sonora. Career ...

(2-0, 23

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s, 1.13

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

Jorge Campillo Jorge "Popeye" Campillo Hidalgo (born August 10, 1978) is a Mexican former right-handed pitcher. Career Atlanta Braves Campillo was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Atlanta Braves on February 14, . Seattle Mariners Campillo was release ...

(1-0, 0.00 ERA) and Pablo Ortega (1-0, 1.13 ERA). Having caught more than 1200 games in his career, Amezcua has collected a very solid .984

fielding average In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, divi ...

and nailed 35 percent of potential base-stealers (319 of 582). An extremely productive hitter in terms of a catcher, he has amassed a slash line ( BA/ OBP/ SLG) of .284/.360/.424 in 1264 games. At 39, Amezcua joined the

Tigres de Quintana Roo The Quintana Roo Tigers (), formerly known as the Mexico (City) Tigers () are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The team is part of the Southern Division (). The team has won twelve champio ...

in the 2013 Mexican League season. He posted a .294/.402/.511 line in 81 games, including 10 homers and 81 RBI. After that, he completed a streak of 21 straight seasons with the Tomateros de Culiacán, a record for most consecutive seasons played for the same club in Mexican baseball history.Un hombre récord : Adán Amezcua
(Spanish) Entering 2014, Amezcua has not indicated an intention to retire.

Sources

External links

Baseball ReferenceMexican League career statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amezcua, Adan 1974 births Living people Auburn Astros players Baseball players from Sinaloa Bowie Baysox players Broncos de Reynosa players Delfines de Ciudad del Carmen players Gulf Coast Astros players Jackson Generals (Texas League) players Kissimmee Cobras players Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican League baseball catchers Mobile BayBears players Sportspeople from Mazatlán Portland Beavers players Quad Cities River Bandits players Rieleros de Aguascalientes players Rochester Red Wings players Sultanes de Monterrey players Tigres de Quintana Roo players Tigres del México players Tomateros de Culiacán players Tuneros de San Luis Potosí players