Ambiorix Burgos (born April 19, 1984) is a former

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

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 ...

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), ...

who last played for

Vaqueros Laguna The ''vaquero'' (; pt, vaqueiro, , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in Mexico from a methodology brought to Latin America from Spain. The vaquero became t ...

of the Mexican League.

Career

In , Burgos made his major league debut with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

and appeared in 59 games as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. Despite pitching only 60

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

s, he managed to be 10th in the league in

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third stri ...

es. In 2006, Burgos had the highest average

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...

velocity of

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

relievers, at 96.5 mph, and posted an

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 ...

of 3.95. In , Burgos started the season as the Royals' closer. However, the season was a disappointment as he finished with a 4–5 record and 5.52 ERA in 73 innings pitched. He had 18 saves, but also blew 12 saves and lost the closer's job midway through the season. On December 5, 2006, Burgos was traded by the Royals to the New York Mets for

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

Brian Bannister Brian Patrick Bannister (born February 28, 1981) is an American director of pitching for the San Francisco Giants. He is a former professional baseball starting pitcher who played for the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals of Major League Bas ...

. In , Burgos began the season on the Mets 25-man roster, but was sent to Triple-A soon thereafter. According to an

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

report on August 28, 2007, general manager

Omar Minaya Omar Teodoro Antonio Minaya y Sánchez (born November 10, 1958) is a Dominican baseball executive. He was the special assistant to the general manager of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball. He previously served as general manager for the ...

indicated that Burgos underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

and would be out for a prolonged period. On August 6, 2008, Burgos pitched to nine batters in his first minor league rehab game. On December 12, 2008, the New York Mets did not offer Burgos a new contract and he became a free agent.

Personal

On September 9, 2008, Burgos was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend. Prosecutors say he repeatedly punched her on the back, bit her and slapped her. On March 12, 2009, a jury convicted Burgos for the assault. Sentencing was scheduled for April 3. On October 1, 2008, Burgos was indicted on charges of hit and run in his native Dominican Republic. Sources say that Burgos struck two women in his SUV and drove off. The women later died of their injuries. Burgos turned himself in to authorities on October 7. On August 27, 2010, Burgos was accused of kidnapping and poisoning his ex-wife. Police in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

charged Burgos with kidnapping and

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgos, Ambiorix 1984 births Living people Arizona League Royals players Burlington Bees players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Gulf Coast Mets players Kingsport Mets players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mexican League baseball pitchers New Orleans Zephyrs players New York Mets players People from Nagua Saraperos de Saltillo players St. Lucie Mets players Vaqueros Laguna players Wichita Wranglers players