Amauri Sanit Sabouren (born July 4, 1979) is a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. Sanit played for the

Industriales Industriales is a baseball team in the Cuban National Series. Located in Cerro, La Habana, it is known as the only team representing the country’s capital, Havana. Industriales is historically the most successful team in the National Series, a ...

of the

Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, SNB) is the primary domestic professional baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. ...

before defecting from Cuba in 2006. He pitched in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

in 2011, before joining the Tigres in 2012.

Playing career

Sanit grew up boxing, but switched to baseball at age 16. He became a closer in the

for the

. When Cuban officials became aware of Sanit's desire to play in the United States, they began to hold back his career to prevent him from being showcased, not allowing him to play on the

Cuban national baseball team The Cuba national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Cuba'') represents Cuba at regional and international levels. The team is made up from the most professional players from the Cuban national baseball system. Cuba has been des ...

. As a result, Sanit defected in 2006. Sanit arrived in Mexico, then he went to

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. Later he went to

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

where he had a record of 4–0 and 0.00 of ERA. Then he went to Panama before going to the Dominican Republic. In the Dominican Republic in 2008, the

discovered Sanit and signed him to a minor league contract. Sanit was invited to the Yankees'

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

camp in 2010, but failed to make the final roster. While a member of the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

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 ...

in 2010, he was suspended for 50 games for the use of

performance-enhancing drugs Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...

. Sanit made his major league debut on May 12, 2011, after the Yankees purchased his contract earlier in the day. As of 2016 he was one of 12 Yankees pitchers since 1919 to make his debut after turning 29 years old, with the most recent being

Richard Bleier Richard Sidney Bleier (born April 16, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles and Miami Marlins. In hig ...

in 2016. On June 16, the Yankees released Sanit to clear a 40-man roster spot for Brian Gordon. In 2012, Sanit signed with 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 ...

of 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 ...

. He pitched against the Texas Rangers of MLB in an exhibition in 2014.

References

External links

, o
Baseball Reference (Cuban, Minor, Mexican and Winter Leagues)
o

o
Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanit, Amauri 1979 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players Defecting Cuban baseball players Dominican Summer League Yankees players Gulf Coast Yankees players Indios de Mayagüez players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Puerto Rico Industriales de La Habana players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Cuba Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Metropolitanos de La Habana players Navegantes del Magallanes players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New York Yankees players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Baseball players from Havana Tampa Yankees players Tigres de Quintana Roo players Tigres del Licey players Cuban expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Tomateros de Culiacán players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Mexico Trenton Thunder players

Playing career

See also

References

External links