José Francisco Capellán (January 13, 1981 – April 7, 2015) was a Dominican

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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. 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), ...

from 2004 to 2008 for 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 ...

, Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers and Colorado Rockies. He also played with the Hanhwa Eagles of the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

Career

In 2004, Capellán pitched at Single-A, Double-A, and Triple-A and posted a combined 14–5 mark with a 2.80

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 ...

(ERA). In three games with the Atlanta Braves after a September call-up in 2004, Capellán compiled a 0–1 record with an 11.25 ERA in eight innings pitched. The Braves traded Capellán and Alec Zumwalt to the Milwaukee Brewers for all-star reliever Dan Kolb. Capellán opened the 2005 season with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, and was called up to Brewers major league club, where he worked relief through the 2005 season. At the end of spring training in 2007, he was sent back to Triple-A after a poor spring. Capellán demanded a trade and even considered retirement. His wish eventually came true on July 1, 2007, when he was traded to the Detroit Tigers for minor league pitcher Chris Cody. Capellán was traded from Detroit to the Rockies in exchange for pitcher Denny Bautista on December 4, 2007. On May 5, 2008, Capellán was released by the Rockies after being

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

. In late June, Capellán signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals and became a free agent after the season. Capellán signed a minor league contract with the Houston Astros on January 14, 2009, and was invited to spring training. The Hanhwa Eagles, a Korean professional baseball club, revealed their acquisition of Capellán on December 10, 2009. Capellán was considered to be a starter for the Eagles in 2010 and scheduled to make $250,000 a year. He was released from the Eagles on August 5, 2010. In between, Capellan pitched winterball with the

Gigantes del Cibao The Gigantes del Cibao (English: Cibao giants) are a baseball team that plays in the Dominican Winter League. The team was founded in 1996 as ''Gigantes del Noroeste ''then with a change of ownership the name was changed several times, being cal ...

and the

Toros del Este The Los Toros del Este (formerly Azucareros del Este) are a baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several pl ...

in Dominican Republic, and for the

Tigres de Aragua The Tigres de Aragua ( en, Aragua Tigers) is a baseball team that plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League and represents the state of Aragua. Founded in 1965, the Tigres plays its home games at the Estadio José Pérez Colmenares i ...

in Venezuela, where he made his last professional appearance in 2013.

Death

Capellán died of a heart attack at home in Philadelphia on April 7, 2015, aged 34. Capellán's wife said that he had problems with the drug

Ambien Zolpidem, sold under the brand name Ambien, among others, is a medication primarily used for the short-term treatment of sleeping problems. Guidelines recommend that it be used only after cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia and behavioral ...

, which is used for sleeping disorders.Jose Capellan dies at age 34 from apparent heart attack
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capellan, Jose 1981 births 2015 deaths Atlanta Braves players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Danville Braves players Detroit Tigers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in South Korea Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Gigantes del Cibao players Greenville Braves players Gulf Coast Braves players Hanwha Eagles players Huntsville Stars players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Milwaukee Brewers players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Nashville Sounds players Omaha Royals players People from Cotuí Richmond Braves players Rome Braves players Round Rock Express players Tigres de Aragua players Toledo Mud Hens players Toros del Este players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Venezuela