Luis Antonio DeLeón Tricoche (born August 19, 1958, in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball

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 pitched all or parts of seven seasons 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), ...

(MLB) between and . He was the co- closer for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

in and , sharing the role with

Gary Lucas Gary Lucas (born June 20, 1952) is an American guitarist/songwriter/composer who was a member of Captain Beefheart's band. He formed the band Gods and Monsters in 1989. Lucas has released more than 50 albums to date as a solo artist or band l ...

. DeLeón pitched 206 games over the first six seasons of his career, all in relief. He made his first and only start in his last career appearance, which was also his only major league appearance in 1989. Pitching for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

, he threw four innings, giving up one run on five hits, and did not receive a decision. DeLeón is the pitcher with the most appearances in

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is norma ...

history. Pitching in 12 series throughout his career, he posted a 4–2 record and a 3.09 ERA in 61 innings of work, which includes a two-hit,

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

's Aguilas de Mexicali in the 1986 edition. he is also the second player with most seasons in the Puerto Rican Baseball League with 25. In January 2011, he gained induction into the

Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame The Pabellón de la Fama del Caribe (In English, the ''Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame'') was established in 1996 by Juan Francisco Puello Herrera, commissioner of the Confederación de Béisbol del Caribe (''Caribbean Confederation of Profession ...

. Two months later, he was honored by the

Ponce City Hall The Ponce City Hall ( es, Casa Alcaldía de Ponce) is a historic city hall in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is located it the center of the city, on Calle Degetau, across from Plaza Degetau in the Ponce Historic Zone. The building serves as the seat ...

for his great contribution to baseball in Puerto Rico. He was born in Barrio San Antón in Ponce.

Personal life

"Mambo", as his teammates nicknamed him, is also dubbed "The Millionaire from

San Antón San Antón is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Canas Urbano, Machuelo Abajo, Magueyes Urbano, and Portugués Urbano, San Antón is one of the municipality's five originally rural barrios that are now a ...

".''Reconocen “al Millonario de San Antón” Luis “Mambo” De León.''
El Sur a la Vista. March 16, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2011.

References

External links

1958 births Albuquerque Dukes players Arkansas Travelers players Baltimore Orioles players Calgary Cannons players Iowa Cubs players Johnson City Cardinals players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Orlando Cubs players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Canada Rochester Red Wings players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players San Diego Padres players Seattle Mariners players Springfield Redbirds players Sportspeople from Ponce, Puerto Rico Tucson Toros players {{PuertoRico-baseball-pitcher-stub