Beiker Graterol (born November 9, 1974) is a former

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), ...

right-handed

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 ...

who pitched in one game for the Detroit Tigers in 1999.

Career

Graterol was signed by the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 1992. After spending a few years pitching 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 with ...

, he joined the Blue Jays system in 1996 with the St. Catharines Stompers of the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

. In 1998, he pitched for the Lara Cardinals en route to a

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

championship. On December 14, 1998, he was traded by Toronto to the Detroit Tigers for

Eric Ludwick Eric David Ludwick (born December 14, 1971) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for the Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Florida Marlins, and Toronto Blue Jays between 1996 and 1999. He also played two seas ...

. The Tigers invited him to Major League spring training in 1999. Graterol made his first and only Major League appearance on April 9, 1999 when he started for the Tigers against the

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

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

in place of an injured

Bryce Florie Bryce Bettancourt Florie (born May 21, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Florie pitched for four teams, the San Diego Padres (–), the Milwaukee Brewers (1996–), the Detroit Tigers (–), and the Boston Red Sox (1999–), and fi ...

. Graterol lasted only four innings in a rainy game, surrendering seven earned runs and three home runs, including a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

Chili Davis Charles Theodore "Chili" Davis (born January 17, 1960) is a Jamaican-American former professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder and designated hitter from to for the San Francisco Giants (1981–1987), California Angels (1988–199 ...

. After the game, Graterol told reporters he would learn from his mistakes and "be better next time." However, before appearing in another game, he was demoted to the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

on April 17, never to return to the Major Leagues. Graterol was unable to find even a minor league contract after the 1999 season and spent 2000 with the

Mexico City Tigres 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 ...

. After a poor year in 2000, Graterol never pitched in affiliated ball again. Later in his career, he pitched for the

Rimini Baseball Club The Rimini Baseball Club is a team that played in Serie A1 Italian Baseball League. The team is based in the city of Rimini and plays its home games at the Stadio dei Pirati since 1973. Rimini has won 13 national championships and three European ...

of the

Italian Baseball League The Italian Baseball League (IBL; Italian: ') is a professional baseball league that is governed by FIBS (Italian Baseball & Softball Federation), which has its headquarters in Rome. The IBL is a wood bat league in which both composite and alumi ...

. Internationally, Graterol played for the

Venezuela national baseball team The Venezuela national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Venezuela'') is the national team of Venezuela. It is currently ranked sixth in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, directly behind the US and ahead ...

at the

2007 Baseball World Cup The 2007 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 37th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the ...

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
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Pelota Binaria
1974 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players Cardenales de Lara players Caribes de Oriente players Detroit Tigers players Dunedin Blue Jays players Hagerstown Suns players Knoxville Smokies players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Mexican League baseball pitchers Pastora de los Llanos players Sportspeople from Barquisimeto Rimini Baseball Club players St. Catharines Stompers players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Tigres del México players Toledo Mud Hens players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Italy Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada {{Venezuela-baseball-pitcher-stub

Career

See also

References

External links