Hipólito Antonio Pichardo Balbina (born August 22, 1969) is a Dominican former right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

who played for three teams between and . He batted and threw right-handed. Pichardo filled various pitching roles, as a starter or coming out from the

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 ...

as a closer or a middle reliever. He reached the majors in 1992 with the

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) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

, spending seven consecutive years with them before moving to 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

(2000–01) and

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

(2002). He enjoyed a fine rookie season, when he finished with a record of 9–6 and a 3.95

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 ...

in 24 starts, including a one-hit

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

against the

as Luis Rivera's

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

in the sixth inning was the only hit surrendered. In 1993, Pichardo went 7–8 and posted career highs in

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s (74) and

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

(165). After that, he suffered arm problems and was demoted to the bullpen. In 1999 he underwent right elbow surgery and missed the entire season. He returned in 2000 with the Red Sox and went 6–3 with one start and one save in 38 appearances. His one save that season came on July 31, 2000 against the Mariners. After going 2–1 in 2001, he lasted only one-third of an inning with Houston in 2002, his last major league season. In a 10-season career, Pichardo posted a 50–44 record with a 4.44 ERA and 20 saves in 350 games, including 68 starts.

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BaseballLibrary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pichardo, Hipolito 1969 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Boston Red Sox players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Houston Astros players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 20th-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Appleton Foxes players Baseball City Royals players Gulf Coast Braves players Memphis Chicks players New Orleans Zephyrs players Omaha Royals players Pawtucket Red Sox players Saraperos de Saltillo players Sarasota Red Sox players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Sportspeople from Valverde Province

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References

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