Cecilio Guante Magallanes (born February 1, 1960) is a Dominican former professional baseball player. He made his
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), ...
(MLB) debut with the
Pittsburgh Pirates and ended his career after playing with the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
. He finished his career with a 29–34 won/loss record and a 3.48
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 ...
. He worked exclusively as a relief
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 ...
(save for one start in 1990).
Personal information
Guante was born in Villa Mella,
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 ...
. His height is 6'3" and his playing weight was 205 lb. He was a
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 ...
and also a right-handed
batter.
Baseball career
Guante won a silver medal for the Dominican Republic at the
1979 Pan American Games
The 1979 Pan American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Panamericanos de 1979''), officially the VIII Pan American Games were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15 ...
and was signed 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 ...
by the Pittsburgh Pirates the same year. He was called up to the big leagues in 1982. He played five seasons for the Pirates, working exclusively as a relief pitcher. His strongest season was in 1985, when Guante posted a 4–6 record in 63 games. He pitched 109.0
innings, had 92
strikeouts
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 ...
, a 2.72
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 ...
and a 1.138
WHIP.
In 1987, Guante was traded to 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 ...
, a team looking for pitching help. He was traded with
Pat Clements
Patrick Brian Clements (born February 2, 1962) is a retired professional baseball player who played eight seasons for the California Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, and Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball ...
and
Rick Rhoden
Richard Alan Rhoden (born May 16, 1953) is a professional golfer and former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. During his 16-year baseball career, he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1974–1978), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1979–1986), the Ne ...
to the Yankees for
Doug Drabek
Douglas Dean Drabek (born July 25, 1962) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and current Pitching Coach for the Reno Aces, the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, ...
,
Brian Fisher, and
Logan Easley.
This trade of
prospects for older veterans came back to haunt the Yankees, as the young Drabek went on to win the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
Cy Young Award in 1990 and had a solid major league career until he retired in 1998.
To make matters worse for the Yankees, Guante had a 5.73 ERA in 1987. By comparison, the average ERA for an
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 ...
pitcher in 1987 was 4.38. Though Guante had a statistically strong year in 1988 (5 wins and a 2.82 ERA), he was traded to the
Texas Rangers for
Dale Mohorcic before the season was over. Guante played two more full seasons before leaving MLB for good.
Guante briefly played for
CPBL
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 2 ...
's
Uni-President Lions
The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, stylized as Uni-President 7-ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇn Lions, also known as Uni-Lions (), are a professional baseball team playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The Lions are based in Tainan City, Ta ...
in 1992 after leaving the major leagues.
Guante wore a giant G for Guante on his glove, as can be see
here
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guante, Cecilio
1960 births
Living people
Águilas Cibaeñas players
Azucareros del Este players
Baseball players at the 1979 Pan American Games
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Cleveland Indians players
Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States
Dominican Republic national baseball team players
Hawaii Islanders players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic
Nashua Pirates players
New York Yankees players
Pan American Games medalists in baseball
Pan American Games silver medalists for the Dominican Republic
Pawtucket Red Sox players
People from Santo Domingo Norte
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Portland Beavers players
Salem Pirates players
Shelby Pirates players
Texas Rangers players
Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games