Dennys Reyes (; born April 19, 1977) 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 ...

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 ...

. In more than a decade-long career 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), ...

(MLB), he played for 11 different teams, often as a left-handed specialist. Nicknamed "The Big Sweat", during his career he was listed at and . He held the MLB record for games pitched by a Mexico-born player with 673, until surpassed by Joakim Soria in 2019.

Personal life

Childhood and family

Reyes was born in

Higuera de Zaragoza, Mexico Higuera de Zaragoza () is a city in the municipality of Ahome in the northwestern part of the state of Sinaloa, Mexico. It lies at latitude 25° 59' N, longitude 109° 20' W at an elevation of 9 meters above sea level. It is located on the Gulf of ...

and attended Ignacio Zaragoza High School in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He is married to Claudia and has two sons: Dennys Alejandro and Cristian de Jesus. Reyes has been criticized about his weight. He has a baseball stadium named after him in his native Higuera de Zaragoza, Mexico.

Professional career

Los Angeles Dodgers

Reyes signed with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

as an undrafted free agent in . He made his major league debut for the Dodgers on July 13, 1997 at age 20. He was the second youngest player in the league at the time, four days older than

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Andruw Jones Andruw Rudolf Jones (; born April 23, 1977) is a Curaçaoan former baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Atlanta Braves. Jones also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, ...

. Reyes pitched with the Dodgers for parts of two seasons, compiling a record of 2–7 in 25 games, including eight starts. On July 4, 1998 Reyes was traded by the Dodgers along with

Paul Konerko Paul Henry Konerko (; born March 5, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman from 1997 to 2014, most prominently as a member of the Chicago White Sox, where he was a si ...

to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

for

Jeff Shaw Jeffrey Lee Shaw (born July 7, 1966) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox of the American League (AL), and the Montreal Expos, Cinci ...

Cincinnati Reds

Reyes spent three and a half seasons with Cincinnati from 1998 to 2001. Over that span he pitched in 170 games, starting 14 of them while compiling a record of 9–10 with an

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

of 4.40. On December 18, 2001 Reyes was traded by the Reds with

Pokey Reese Calvin "Pokey" Reese, Jr. (born June 10, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball infielder. Reese played with the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Boston Red Sox. With the Red Sox, he won the 2004 World Series over the St. Louis ...

to the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

for

Gabe White Gabriel Allen White (born November 20, 1971) is a former American professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to . White gave up Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn's final hit of his career, on October 6, 2001, while pitchi ...

and

Luke Hudson Luke Stephen Hudson (born May 2, 1977) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played professionally with the Cincinnati Reds and the Kansas City Royals. Amateur career Hudson was born in Fountain Valley, California and graduated from Fount ...

Journeyman years

From 2002 to 2005 Reyes pitched for six different organizations:

(2002), Texas Rangers (2002),

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

(2003), Arizona Diamondbacks (2003),

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 ...

(2004), and the

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 ...

(2005). With the Royals, Reyes had career highs in games started (12), innings pitched (108) and

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 ...

(91) while compiling an ERA of 4.75.

Minnesota Twins

On February 21, 2006, Reyes signed a

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 ...

contract with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. In 2006, Reyes posted a record of 5–0 with a career-best 0.89 ERA. Post Season Experience last was in the 2009 NLDS vs. Dodgers before that was with the Twins in the 2006 American League Divisional Series against the Oakland A's when he appeared in two games. Reyes continued as a left-handed specialist in the Twins

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

in 2007 and 2008. In 2008, he had the lowest average pitches per game pitched, with 9.

St. Louis Cardinals

On March 5, , Reyes signed a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals in a reported two-year deal worth approximately $3 million.

Philadelphia Phillies

Reyes signed a Minor League contract with the Phillies in 2011 with a spring training invite. However, he failed his physical and became a free agent

Boston Red Sox

In March 2011, Reyes signed a minor league deal with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

and attended spring training as a non-roster invitee. He made the team's opening day roster, and was the only left-handed pitcher in the Red Sox bullpen at the start of the season. On April 8, he was designated for assignment, thus ending his short tenure with the Red Sox. He was assigned to Triple A

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

Baltimore Orioles

Reyes signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

on January 21, 2012. He also received an invitation to spring training. On March 4, 2012 Reyes was released by the Orioles for failure to report to Spring training.

Naranjeros de Hermosillo

He was hurt for most of 2012, however, he signed with the Naranjeros de Hermosillo of the

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 ...

, he pitched his first game for the team as a starter on November 2, 2012.http://www.purobeisbol.com.mx/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6575%3Asabado-3-de-noviembre&catid=12%3Arumores&Itemid=4&lang=

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes, Dennys 1977 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players Arizona Diamondbacks players Baseball players from Sinaloa Boston Red Sox players Cañeros de Los Mochis players Cincinnati Reds players Colorado Rockies players Diablos Rojos del México players Great Falls Dodgers players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Indianapolis Indians players Kansas City Royals players Los Angeles Dodgers players Louisville RiverBats players Major League Baseball players from Mexico Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican League baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Naranjeros de Hermosillo players Pittsburgh Pirates players Rochester Red Wings players San Bernardino Stampede players San Diego Padres players St. Louis Cardinals players Texas Rangers players Toros de Tijuana players Tucson Sidewinders players Vero Beach Dodgers players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players