Héctor Pacheco Carrasco (born October 22, 1969) is a former

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), ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. He bats and throws

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 Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or sim ...

. In a twelve-season career, Carrasco has posted a 44–50 record with 19 saves and a 3.99

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 ...

in 637

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

appearances and ten starts.

Career

Carrasco began his major league career with 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 ...

in , and has also pitched for 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) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

, and

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. On April 15, , while pitching for the Twins, Hector gave up

Cal Ripken Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed " The Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his posit ...

's 3000th hit in a game at the

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League ...

. His most productive season came in for the Nationals, when he was 5–4 with a 2.04 ERA in 64 appearances, allowing only 59

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

and limiting opponents to a .193

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 ...

. He was 4–3 with a 2.04 ERA in 62.2 innings as a reliever, and 1–1 with a 2.03 ERA in 27 2.3 innings while starting five games near the season's end. In , Carrasco pitched for 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 Stad ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

, going 8–8 with five saves and a 5.57 ERA in 53 relief appearances. He began the 2005 season at the then

' Triple-A affiliate,

New Orleans Zephyrs New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, where he was 1–0 with four saves in eight games without allowing an earned run, before being called up and having a terrific year for the Nats. He made 64 appearances (10th in the league), primarily as the set up man for closer Chad Cordero, pitching innings, with an ERA of just 2.04, although he also started five games. His WHIP (BB + H per IP) was 1.098, which would have been good enough for fifth in the league had he had the requisite number of innings pitched. Following the 2005 season, Carrasco filed for free agency, and was signed by the Angels to a $6.1 million, two-year contract. In , Carrasco was 7–3 with a 3.41 ERA in 56 appearances, three as a starter. But in , after 29 appearances where he posted an ERA of 6.57, and allowing 8 HR's in innings, he was released. The following week, Carrasco returned to the Nationals organization by signing a minor league contract. On Jan. 24, , Carrasco signed a minor-league contract with an invitation 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 ...

with the Pirates. He was released on March 26, 2008. In early May, he signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs. He became a free agent at the end of the season. In 2009 Carrasco played in the Atlantic League for the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

, the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor-league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "partne ...

and the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...

. Carrasco played with the

Shreveport-Bossier Captains The Shreveport–Bossier Captains were a professional baseball team based in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the United States. Following the 2011 season, the team was sold to new ownership and moved to Laredo, Texas, to continue play as the Laredo Le ...

of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

during the 2010 season. He played for the club in 2011 as well.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrasco, Hector 1969 births Living people Asheville Tourists players Baltimore Orioles players Boston Red Sox players Bridgeport Bluefish players Cincinnati Reds players Columbus Clippers players Diablos Rojos del México players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Fort Myers Miracle players Gulf Coast Mets players Indianapolis Indians players Iowa Cubs players Kane County Cougars players Kansas City Royals players Kingsport Mets players Long Island Ducks players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mexican League baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players New Orleans Zephyrs players Newark Bears players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes players Ottawa Lynx players Sportspeople from San Pedro de Macorís Pericos de Puebla players Petroleros de Minatitlán players Pittsfield Mets players Salt Lake Buzz players Shreveport-Bossier Captains players Washington Nationals players Azucareros del Este players Leones de Ponce players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Puerto Rico Toros del Este players