Miguel Alfredo González Puebla (September 23, 1983 – November 23, 2017) was a

Cuban Cuban or Cubans may refer to: Related to Cuba * of or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban Americ ...

professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played in the

Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, or SNB) is a domestic baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the National Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. For most ...

, for the

Cuban national baseball team The Cuba national baseball team () represents Cuba at regional and international levels. The team is generally made up of players from the domestic Cuban national baseball system, though it has at times included professional players who defect ...

, and in 2014 for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB).

Professional career

Cuban baseball career

González pitched for

La Habana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, or SNB) is a domestic baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the National Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. For most ...

from 2007 through 2009. He played for the

Cuba national baseball team The Cuba national baseball team () represents Cuba at regional and international levels. The team is generally made up of players from the domestic Cuban national baseball system, though it has at times included professional players who defect ...

in the

2009 World Port Tournament The 2009 World Port Tournament is an international baseball competition held at the DOOR Neptunus Familiestadion in Rotterdam, The Netherlands from July 2–12, 2009. It was the 12th edition of the tournament and featured teams from Chinese Taipei, ...

and

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and

2011 Baseball World Cup The 2011 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 39th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the ...

s. He was playing for the Artemisa team when he was caught trying to

defect Defect or defects may refer to: Related to failure * Angular defect, in geometry * Birth defect, an abnormal condition present at birth * Crystallographic defect, in the crystal lattice of solid materials * Latent defect, in the law of the sale o ...

in January 2012 and he was suspended from playing in the league at that point. He succeeded in defecting from Cuba to

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

in 2013, and then moved to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

American baseball career

González pitched in some games for the

Toros de Tijuana The Toros de Tijuana (English: Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican baseball team based in Tijuana, Mexico, that competes in the Mexican Baseball League. The team plays its home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Original Attempt The franchise w ...

of the

Liga Norte de México The Liga Norte de México (''LNM'') (English: ''Northern League of México'') is a professional baseball minor league based in northwest Mexico, with seven teams in the states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. Formerly known as ...

as a showcase for American scouts, including those from the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

. On July 26, 2013, stories in the press reported that González agreed to a six-year contract with the

, worth $60 million. However, the Phillies never confirmed the report and subsequent reports mentioned that the deal might not happen. On August 30, 2013, the Phillies announced they had signed González to a three-year, $12 million contract with a vesting option for 2017. Entering spring training, it was still unknown whether he would be a member of the big league starting rotation, bullpen, or whether he would start the season with the Phillies

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

affiliate, the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

. Ultimately, he opened the season on the 60-day

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

(DL) "after not exactly impressing in a poor spring"; the official reason for his placement on the DL was "right shoulder tendinitis". Upon returning from injury, Gonzalez ascended through the Phillies' minor league system on a rehab assignment, compiling 54 strikeouts in innings pitched. Used primarily out of the bullpen in his rehab stint, Gonzalez completed his minor league assignment with a 3.11

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) and .231 opponent batting average. Deemed healthy and ready to begin his MLB career, Gonzalez was activated and assigned to the Phillies on September 2 as part of the roster expansion call-ups. He recorded a 6.75 ERA in innings pitched in the major leagues. A poor spring training in 2015 led to the Phillies outrighting González to the minor leagues and removing him from the 40-man roster. He was released by the Phillies on April 1, 2016.

Death

González was killed in a traffic accident in Havana, Cuba, on November 23, 2017.

References

External links