Freddy Antonio Guzmán (born January 20, 1981) is a Dominican 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 ...

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 ...

. He played 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) with 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 ...

, Texas Rangers,

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

, and

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

in five seasons between 2004 and 2013.

Career

San Diego Padres

Guzmán was signed as a non-drafted

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

on April 17, . In 2004, he led all minor leaguers in

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s, with 90. Guzmán made his major league debut on August 17, , going 1–for-5 with a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

. He got a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

in his first six games in the majors. He missed all of the season following

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 ...

Texas Rangers

On May 11, 2006, the Padres traded Guzmán and César Rojas to the Texas Rangers for

Vince Sinisi Vincent James Sinisi (born November 7, 1981) is an Italian-American former baseball player who played internationally for the Italy national baseball team in 2006. Biography A native of Houston, Texas, Sinisi attended The Woodlands High School ...

and John Hudgins. In 2007, Guzmán came to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

to compete with

Kenny Lofton Kenneth Lofton (born May 31, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Lofton was a six-time All-Star (1994–1999), four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1993–1996), and at retirement, was ranked 15th amon ...

Marlon Byrd Marlon Jerrard Byrd (born August 30, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, New Yo ...

, and

Jerry Hairston Jr. Jerry Wayne Hairston Jr. (born May 29, 1976) is an American former professional baseball infielder and outfielder. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers ...

for playing time in center field, but Guzmán did not make the

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

roster and played the entire season with the Triple-A

Oklahoma Redhawks Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

. Guzmán hit his first MLB

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

on September 11, , at

Comerica Park Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the home of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium. History Construction Founded in 1894, the Tigers had played at the ...

(

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

) off

left-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

Clay Rapada Clayton Anthony Rapada (born March 9, 1981) is a Filipino American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, and Clev ...

Detroit Tigers

On December 5, 2007, Guzmán was traded to the

for Chris Shelton. Just before the end of spring training, he was sent outright to the minor leagues.

Seattle, Boston, and Baltimore

Guzmán became a free agent at the end of the season, and signed a minor league contract with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

. On May 11, 2009, Guzmán was released by the Mariners. On May 16, 2009, Guzmán was signed by 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 assigned to the 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 ...

. On July 29, 2009, he was released by the Red Sox. On August 7, Guzmán 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 ...

New York Yankees

On August 31, 2009, the deadline for him to be eligible to appear in the postseason, the Orioles traded Guzmán to the

for cash considerations. The Yankees assigned him to the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

and he stole seven bases in seven attempts in six games. On September 14, the Yankees promoted Guzmán to the major leagues. The Yankees considered adding him to their roster for the

2009 American League Division Series The 2009 American League Division Series (ALDS) consisted of two concurrent best-of-five game series that determined the participating teams in the 2009 American League Championship Series. Three divisional winners and a " wild card" team playe ...

, but opted to add another pitcher instead. The Yankees included Guzmán on their roster for the

2009 American League Championship Series The 2009 American League Championship Series (ALCS), the second round of the 2009 American League playoffs, was a best-of-seven game series matching the two winners of the 2009 American League Division Series. The AL East Division champions, t ...

. He was removed from the roster for the

2009 World Series The 2009 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2009 season. As the 105th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff contested between the Philadelphia Phillies, champions of the National Leag ...

Philadelphia Phillies

In February 2010, Guzmán signed a minor league contract with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Tampa Bay Rays

Guzmán played in the Mexican League during the 2011, 2012, and 2013 seasons. The

signed Guzmán to a minor league contract on August 30, 2013. His contract was purchased by the Rays on September 17. He appeared in one game for Tampa Bay, pinch-running for Matt Joyce in the bottom of the 11th down 3-2. Guzmán stole second, then scored the tying run on

David DeJesus David Christopher DeJesus (; born December 20, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay ...

's RBI single to tie the game, which they won the next inning 4-3. He was outrighted off the roster on October 30, 2013.

Mexican League

On April 15, 2016, Guzman was released by the

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 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 ...

. On April 23, 2016, Guzmán signed with the

Toros de Tijuana The Toros de Tijuana (or Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican Baseball team based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They are members of the Mexican Baseball League and play their home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Original Attempt The fran ...

, and was released on May 2. On April 21, 2017, Guzmán signed with the

Tigres de Quintana Roo 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 ...

. He was released on June 16, 2017.

Coaching career

After retiring, Guzmán became the

hitting coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the

Dominican Summer League Nationals The Dominican Summer League Nationals or DSL Nationals are a rookie-level Minor League Baseball team of the Dominican Summer League that began play in 2005. They are located in Boca Chica, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic The Dominican R ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guzman, Freddy 1981 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players Delfines de Ciudad del Carmen players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Erie SeaWolves players Eugene Emeralds players Fort Wayne Wizards players Idaho Falls Padres players Lake Elsinore Storm players Leones del Escogido players Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mexican League baseball outfielders Mobile BayBears players New York Yankees players Norfolk Tides players Oklahoma RedHawks players Pawtucket Red Sox players Petroleros de Minatitlán players Portland Beavers players San Diego Padres players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Tacoma Rainiers players Tampa Bay Rays players Texas Rangers players Toledo Mud Hens players Yaquis de Obregón players Vaqueros Laguna players Toros de Tijuana players Tigres de Quintana Roo players Minor league baseball coaches Sportspeople from Santo Domingo