Jorge Rafael Padilla (born August 11, 1979 in

Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Río Piedras is a populous district of San Juan, and former town and municipality of Puerto Rico, which was merged with the municipality of San Juan in 1951. The district today is composed of various '' barrios'' (these are the primary legal div ...

) 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), ...

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 was first called up to the major leagues on August 5, 2009.

Professional career

Minor league journeyman: 1998 to 2008

Padilla was selected by 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 ...

in the third round of the

1998 Major League Baseball Draft The 1998 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1998. A total of 1445 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

. He soon made his debut with the Rookie-level

Martinsville Phillies The Martinsville Phillies were a short season minor league baseball team located in Martinsville, Virginia. Affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies, they existed from 1988 to 1998, playing in the Appalachian League. They played their home games ...

. He batted .356 with five homers and 25 RBIs in 23 games. In Padilla split his season between the Class A Piedmont Boll Weevils, where in 44 games he hit .208 with three homers and 17 RBIs, and the Short-season Batavia Muckdogs, where in 65 games he hit .252 with three homers and 30 RBIs. With the Class A

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Padilla ranked ninth in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

in batting with a .305 average. He also had 11 home runs and 67 RBIs in 108 games in . He spent the entire season with Class A Advanced Clearwater, hitting .260 with 16 homers, 66 RBIs and 23 stolen bases in 100 games. In Padilla was promoted for the Double-A

Reading Phillies Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. He hit .256 with seven homers, 65 RBIs and 32 stolen bases in 127 games. Playing for Double-A Reading again in , Padilla batted .295 with two homers and 23 RBIs. He suffered a hand injury in late June, which required season-ending surgery. With the Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre Red Barons Padilla batted .253 with seven homers and 45 RBIs in 117 games in . Padilla started the season with Clearwater after missing two months with an injury. He soon rejoined Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre. He got off to a great start hitting .317 in his first 19 games but fell apart in his final 30 games batted .223. In Padilla spent the entire year with the Double-A

Binghamton Mets The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mira ...

marking his first season in the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

organization. He hit .295 with 10 homers and 54 RBIs in 129 games. Padilla finished fourth in the Eastern League in hitting and third in hits with 142. He was selected for the Eastern League All-Star team. He spent the season with the Double-A

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in the

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organization. He hit .336 with 10 homers, 51 runs scored and 49 RBIs in 69 games and was soon promoted to the Triple-A

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where he hit .291 with six homers, 27 runs scored and 20 RBIs in 55 games. Padilla hit .330 with a homer, 25 runs scored and 14 RBIs in 33 games with the Double-A

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. This marked his first season in the Washington Nationals organization. He started the season with the

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A chance with the Nationals: 2009

Padilla was called up to the Nationals after

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Austin Kearns Austin Ryan Kearns (born May 20, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2002 through 2013 for the Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and ...

was placed on the disabled list with a right thumb contusion. Padilla earned the promotion after hitting .367 with four home runs and 21 RBIs for the Triple-A

. The right-handed hitter stated his reason for his high batting average was his ability to hit the ball to the opposite field. On August 22, Padilla got his first start in

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

for the Nationals.Josh Willingham: Willingham and Guzman get the night off
''rotoworld.com'' After becoming a free agent following the 2009 season, Padilla signed with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. On June 18, 2010, he was traded to the

for future considerations. On November 10, 2010, Padilla became a minor league

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 ...

. The San Diego Padres signed free-agent OF Jorge Padilla (Marlins) to a minor league deal Wednesday, May 30. Was released from San Diego Padres Organization July 3, 2012

Personal life

Padilla was once married to Sheila Gonzalez. Padilla is a 1998 graduate of

Florida Air Academy Florida Prep (FPA) is a private boarding and day school founded in 1961 by Jonathan Dwight, located in Melbourne, Florida. Students in grades 6 -12 are provided a college-preparatory education that emphasizes leadership, character, accountability ...

Melbourne, Florida Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is located southeast of Orlando. As of th2020 Decennial Census there was a population of 84,678. The municipality is the second-largest in the county by both size and population. ...

. He was first-team All-State in baseball in 1997–98 and Player of the Year.

Notes

References