David Alejandro Green Casaya (December 4, 1960 – January 29, 2022) was a Nicaraguan
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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professional ...
player who was an
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 c ...
and
first baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
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). Between 1981 and 1987, he spent parts of six seasons in the MLB. He was a member of the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
for five of those years, and he also spent one season with the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
.
Early life
Green was born in
Managua
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, Nicaragua, on December 4, 1960.
He was one of ten children of Edward Green Sinclair and Bertha Casaya.
His father was a very successful baseball player in Nicaragua, as an outfielder for the Cinco Estrellas club of Managua and the
Nicaragua national baseball team
The Nicaragua national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Nicaragua'') is the national baseball team of Nicaragua. Considered the best in Central America along with Panama, it represents Nicaragua in international tournaments. Nic ...
. Green was raised in a primarily
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
-speaking home in the primarily
Creole-speaking city of
Bluefields
Bluefields is the capital of the South Caribbean Autonomous Region in Nicaragua. It was also the capital of the former Kingdom of Mosquitia, and later the Zelaya Department, which was divided into North and South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Regi ...
. His sisters, Isabel and Carlota, were noted basketball players. Green is considered to have been born in 1960, although there has been some debate about his age.
Career
Milwaukee Brewers (1979–1980)
An amateur free agent, Green signed a contract with the
Milwaukee Brewers on September 24, 1978.
[ He made his professional debut the following year with the Class A Stockton Ports of the California League. He appeared in 136 games for Stockton, batting .262 with 8 home runs and 70 RBI.] Green spent the 1980 season with the Class AA
Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...
Holyoke Millers
The Holyoke Millers were a minor league baseball team located in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The team played in the Eastern League. Their home stadium was Mackenzie Stadium. The Millers played from 1977 to 1982 and was a farm team of the Milwa ...
of the Eastern League. He batted .291 over 129 games, hitting 8 homers and driving in 67 runs. Green's 19 triples were the most in the Eastern League that season.
St. Louis Cardinals (1981–1984)
Green was part of a major trade between the Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
, who later went on to face each other in the 1982 World Series
The 1982 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1982 season. The 79th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals and the Am ...
. On December 12, 1980, the Brewers traded Green, Dave LaPoint, Sixto Lezcano
Sixto Joaquin Lezcano Curras (born November 28, 1953) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 12 seasons (1974–1985). He played for five MLB teams and won a Gold Glove during ...
, and Lary Sorensen to the Cardinals in exchange for Rollie Fingers, Ted Simmons
Ted Lyle Simmons (born August 9, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. A switch-hitter, Simmons was a catcher for most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the St. Louis Cardinals (1968–1980), the Mil ...
and Pete Vuckovich
Peter Dennis Vuckovich ''(VOO-koh-vich)'' (born October 27, 1952) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher who played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1975 to 1986. He came across as an intimidating presence on ...
.
For the 1981 season, Green was promoted to 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). ...
level as a member of the Springfield Redbirds. In 106 games with Springfield, he tallied a .270 batting average, 10 home runs, and 67 RBI. He was called up by the Cardinals during the September roster expansion that year, and made his MLB debut on September 4, 1981, at the age of 20,[ entering as a pinch hitter and being held hitless in two plate appearances in a 7–2 win over 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 ...
. Green was the youngest player in the major leagues that year, and batted only .147 during 21 appearances for the Cardinals.[ He earned his first MLB hit, an RBI single off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher ]Luis Tiant
Luis Clemente Tiant Vega () (born November 23, 1940) is a Cuban former Major League Baseball (MLB) right-handed starting pitcher. He pitched in MLB for 19 years, primarily for the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox.
Tiant compiled a 22 ...
, on September 26.
Green split the 1982 season between St. Louis and the Louisville Redbirds
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
, who had relocated from Springfield. He batted .345 in 46 games with Louisville, while recording a .283 average in 76 appearances with the Cardinals. While facing Pirates pitcher Randy Niemann
Randal Harold Niemann (born November 15, 1955) is an American professional baseball coach and a former pitcher who appeared in 122 Major League games, all but 10 in relief, in 1979–80 and 1982–87 for the Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates ...
on August 15, Green hit the first home run of his MLB career. The Cardinals would go on to defeat the Brewers in the World Series that season, with Green batting .200 during the Fall Classic.[
After splitting the 1981 and 1982 seasons between the Cardinals and their Class AAA affiliate, Green would not return to the minors until 1987.] In 1983, he saw action in a career-high 146 games. He posted a .284 batting average, 8 homers, and 39 RBI, and he also recorded 34 stolen bases and 10 triples.[
Green played in 126 games during the 1984 season. His average fell slightly to .268, and his stolen bases and triples decreased to 17 and 4, respectively. However, his home run total nearly doubled from the previous year, as he connected for 15 home runs and drove in 65 runs.][
]
San Francisco Giants (1985)
On February 1, 1985, the Cardinals traded Green, Dave LaPoint, Gary Rajsich
Gary Louis Rajsich ( ; born October 28, 1954) is an American Major League Baseball (MLB) scout and a former professional baseball outfielder. He played all or parts of four seasons in the Majors from until , then played three additional seasons ...
and Jose Uribe
Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods.
*Jose ben Abin
*Jose ben Akabya
*Jose the Galilean ...
to the San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
for Jack Clark. Green made 106 appearances for the Giants during the 1985 season. He posted a .248 batting average, 5 home runs, and 20 runs batted in.[
]
Milwaukee Brewers (1986)
San Francisco traded Green back to Milwaukee, on December 4, 1985. A week later, San Francisco received minor leaguer Héctor Quiñones to complete the trade.[ Green did not make the Opening Day roster, and was released on April 1.][ He was reacquired by the Brewers eight days later and was assigned to the Monterrey Sultanes in 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 ...
as part of a player-loaning deal between the Brewers and the Mexican team. Green batted .391 in 48 appearances with Monterrey.
Kintetsu Buffaloes (1986)
Green was acquired by a Japanese team, the Kintetsu Buffaloes
The were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stadiu ...
of Nippon Professional Baseball
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...
, on June 24.[ Appearing in 67 games for Kintetsu, he tallied a .270 batting average, 10 homers, and 39 RBI.]
St. Louis Cardinals (1987–1988)
Green rejoined the Cardinals organization on July 11.[ He saw action in 50 games with Louisville, and only appeared in 14 games with St. Louis.] With the Cardinals, he batted .267 and hit one home run. Green played his final major league game on October 4, 1987, at the age of 26.[
]
Career statistics
In 489 games over six major league seasons, Green posted a .268 batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
(374-for-1398) with 168 runs, 31 home runs, 180 RBI, 68 stolen bases and 84 bases on balls. He finished his career with an overall .986 fielding percentage.[
]
Atlanta Braves (1989)
During the 1989 season, Green appeared in 34 games for the Greenville Braves, the Class AA affiliate of the 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) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...
. He batted .271, with 5 homers and 22 RBI.
Texas Rangers (1990–1991)
Green joined the Texas Rangers organization for the 1990 season. He saw action in only 16 games for the Class AA Tulsa Drillers,
posting a .286 average. Green returned to Tulsa in 1991. He appeared in 59 games, and recorded a .285 average, 4 home runs, and 32 runs batted in. It was Green's final season as a professional baseball player.
Later life
After retiring from professional baseball, Green worked for the dog-grooming business of a friend. He was later employed in security around 2010. He was married, and had a daughter from a previous relationship during the 1980s.
Green died on January 29, 2022, at Christian Northeast Hospital near St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, Missouri, of respiratory failure resulting from a choking incident the week prior. He was 61.
See also
* List of Major League Baseball players from Nicaragua
This is an alphabetical list of 15 baseball players from Nicaragua who appeared in Major League Baseball between 1976 and 2019.
Players
ReferencesPlayers born in Nicaragua - Baseball-Reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Major League Baseb ...
References
External links
:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, David
1960 births
2022 deaths
Sportspeople from Managua
Major League Baseball players from Nicaragua
St. Louis Cardinals players
San Francisco Giants players
Major League Baseball first basemen
Major League Baseball outfielders
Kintetsu Buffaloes players
Nicaraguan expatriate baseball players in Japan
Nicaraguan expatriate baseball players in the United States
Stockton Ports players
Holyoke Millers players
Springfield Redbirds players
Louisville Redbirds players
Greenville Braves players
Tulsa Drillers players
Nicaraguan expatriate baseball players in Mexico
Olmecas de Tabasco players
Rieleros de Aguascalientes players
Sultanes de Monterrey players