Juan Manuel Lara (born January 26, 1981) 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 was signed by Cleveland as an amateur

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 ...

in May and was called up to the major league club on September 5, .

Minor league career

Lara played for the Dominican Indians (1999–), Burlington Indians (),

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were a M ...

(),

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following t ...

(2003),

Kinston Indians The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949. The team began play in 1978 as the Ki ...

(–),

Akron Aeros The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

(2005–), and

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

(-2007). He worked as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

from 2000 through the first half of 2003 and has worked primarily out of 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 t ...

since then compiling a minor league record of 24–28, 16 saves, a 3.96 ERA and 443 strike outs in innings. He became a free agent at the end of the season.

Accident

Lara was involved in a serious automobile accident on the night of November 24, 2007, in his homeland of the Dominican Republic. His car was struck at an intersection by a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

. Both occupants of the motorcycle were killed instantly, while Lara was taken to a Dominican Republic hospital with life-threatening injuries, including broken ribs, a broken D2 vertebra and possible brain damage. His injuries were considered to be possibly career-ending. On March 12, , Lara was released from the Indians' 40-man roster; he was subsequently re-signed to a minor league contract despite the fact that he was to miss the entire 2008 season. The Indians organization will handle all of Lara's medical expenses.

Return from injuries

After wearing a

halo vest Orthotics ( el, Ορθός, translit=ortho, lit=to straighten, to align) is a medical specialty that focuses on the design and application of orthoses, or braces. An is "an externally applied device used to influence the structural and functio ...

to support his neck and surgeries on his spine and arms, Lara reported to the Indians' training camp on March 31, 2009.Lara Returning After Near Fatal Accident
ESPN, March 31, 2009

References

External links

Tribe's Lara Still in Critical Condition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lara, Juan 1981 births Living people Akron Aeros players Arizona League Indians players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Burlington Indians players (1986–2006) Cleveland Indians players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Kinston Indians players Lake County Captains players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mahoning Valley Scrappers players