Luis Enrique Ugueto o-geh-to(born February 15, 1979 in

Caracas, Venezuela Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

) 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), ...

second baseman and

switch-hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers. Characteristics Right-handed batters generally hit better aga ...

who played 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 ...

in 2002 and 2003. Originally signed by the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

as an amateur free agent in 1996, he was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

from Florida in the 2001 Rule 5 draft, and was traded to the Mariners for cash the same day. Finally, he made his debut with the Mariners on April 3, 2002. Ugueto was a promising young infielder with a strong arm and blistering speed on the bases. What Seattle hoped would develop was his bat and his overall feel for the game, especially defensively, at the major league level. In two seasons as a backup with the Mariners, Ugueto batted .214 with one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and two RBI in 74 games. Ugueto signed with 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 ...

prior to the 2005 season and spent the season with the Royals' top minor league club, the

Omaha Royals Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

. While with Omaha, he was suspended twice for violating baseball's

steroid A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and a ...

policy, and he was released by the Royals after the second violation. After missing the entire 2006 season, Ugueto played with the

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 ...

minor league team, the

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex a ...

during the 2007 season. In 2008, he played in Italy's Serie A1 for the

Caffè Danesi Nettuno The Nettuno Baseball Club, established in 1945, is situated and based in Nettuno, Italy. The club competes in the Italian Baseball League, with one team competing in the first division (''Danesi Nettuno BC'') and a second team playing in the se ...

and hit .289. He also shortly played for the

Laredo Broncos The Laredo Broncos were a professional baseball team based in Laredo, Texas, in the United States. The Broncos were a member of United League Baseball, an independent professional league which was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or Mino ...

External links

, o
Retrosheet
o
Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ugueto, Luis 1979 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players Brevard County Manatees players Caffe Danesi Nettuno players Cardenales de Lara players Caribbean Series managers Caribes de Anzoátegui players Dominican Summer League Marlins players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Fort Myers Miracle players Gulf Coast Marlins players Kane County Cougars players Laredo Broncos players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Major League Baseball players suspended for drug offenses Major League Baseball second basemen Omaha Royals players Baseball players from Caracas Rochester Red Wings players San Antonio Missions players Seattle Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players Tigres de Aragua players Utica Blue Sox players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Italy Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Yuma Scorpions players

See also

External links