Miguel Eduardo Olivo Peña (born July 15, 1978) is a Dominican former professional

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 plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player. He played as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

for several teams 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) from 2002 to 2014. He also played in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

from 2014 to 2017.

Professional career

MLB

Oakland Athletics

Olivo was signed as an undrafted

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 ...

by the Oakland Athletics in 1996 and played in the A's minor-league system through 2000.

Chicago White Sox

On December 13, 2000, he was traded to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

in an early trade for Chad Bradford. In July 2001, while playing for White Sox Class AA affiliate in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, Olivo was suspended for six games and barred from that year's All-Star Futures Game for using a corked bat. Olivo maintained the bat, which had an A's logo on it, had been given to him by a former teammate while playing in the Athletics system. He made his major league debut on September 15, 2002 with the White Sox and hit a home run in his first Major League at-bat, off

Andy Pettitte Andrew Eugene Pettitte (; born June 15, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the New York Yankees. He also pitched for the Houston Astros. Pettitte won fiv ...

of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. He played 6 games that year, with 4 hits in 19 at-bats. He was the backup catcher for the White Sox for all of 2003 and the first half of 2004. In 166 games with the White Sox, he hit .245 with 14 homers and 58 RBI.

Seattle Mariners

Olivio was traded from the Sox to 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) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

on June 27, 2004 along with

Jeremy Reed Jeremy Thomas Reed (born June 15, 1981) is an American former professional baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Early life Reed graduated from Bonita High School in La Verne, California in 1999, and went on to play college basebal ...

in exchange for

Freddy García Freddy Antonio García (born October 6, 1976), is a former Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher. He is best known for his many seasons with seven Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, including the Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox, and ...

and Ben Davis.

San Diego Padres

After struggling with the Mariners he was traded to 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 penn ...

in on July 31, 2005 for minor leaguer Daniel Mateo and

Miguel Ojeda Miguel Arturo Ojeda (born January 29, 1975) is a Mexican former professional baseball catcher. He has also served as a manager for both the Mexican Baseball League and Minor League Baseball. Playing career Minor League Career Ojeda was signed ...

. He played in 37 games for the Padres and hit .304. Olivo is remembered by Padres broadcaster Mark Grant for an interview in which he started talking about newly acquired pitcher Chan Ho Park, when instead he was asked about the Padres stadium, Petco Park

Florida Marlins

He signed as a free agent with 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 fran ...

on January 3, 2006. He spent the next two seasons with the Marlins, hitting .263 in 127 games in 2006 and .237 in 122 games in 2007. In 2007, he had the lowest fielding percentage of all NL catchers (.986.) On September 29, 2007 the second to last game of the season in a game against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, Olivo charged across the diamond and attempted to throw a punch at Jose Reyes (instead hitting Sandy Alomar Sr. who blocked the punch) starting a bench-clearing brawl between the teams. He was ejected from the game for starting the brawl and Reyes stayed in the game. Olivo was not offered a new contract by the Marlins and became a free agent on December 12, 2007.

Kansas City Royals

On December 27, 2007, Olivo signed a one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals. On August 3, 2008, during a game against the White Sox, he was hit by a pitch thrown by D. J. Carrasco. Olivo charged after Carrasco and started another bench-clearing brawl. On November 6, 2009, the Royals declined his option, making him a free agent. In 198 games over two seasons, he hit .251 with 35 homers and 106 RBI.

Colorado Rockies

On January 4, 2010, Olivo signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Rockies. Olivo made headlines in early 2010 for having to leave the Rockies' April 29 game against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

at the beginning of the eighth inning to pass a

kidney stone Kidney stone disease, also known as nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, is a crystallopathy where a solid piece of material (kidney stone) develops in the urinary tract. Kidney stones typically form in the kidney and leave the body in the urine s ...

. Remarkably, he was able to re-enter soon after and finished the game. On October 1, Olivo was hit in the back of the head by the bat of Albert Pujols. He suffered a mild concussion, but returned to the team later in the game. In 112 games with the Rockies, he hit .269 with 14 homers and 58 RBI.

Second stint with the Mariners

On November 4, 2010, Olivo was traded to the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

as part of a conditional deal. The Blue Jays declined to exercise his contract option for 2011 but offered him arbitration; he declined, becoming a free agent. Olivo signed a 2-year, $7 million contract with the

on December 9, 2010. Olivo hit his second grand slam of his career on July 21, 2011, against the Blue Jays in Rogers Centre. In 2011, Olivo had the worst walk-to-strikeouts ratio in the major leagues, with 0.14 walks for every strikeout. On October 24, 2012, the Mariners announced that they would not pick up Olivo's $3 million club option for 2013. Olivo was paid a $750,000 buyout.

Cincinnati Reds

On February 1, 2013, the Cincinnati Reds signed Olivo to a minor-league deal with an invitation to Spring training. On March 27, 2013, he asked for, and was granted, his release from the Reds.

Second stint with the Marlins

On March 27, 2013, Olivo signed a one-year deal with the Miami Marlins, just one day after requesting his release from the Reds. On June 14, 2013, in frustration over a lack of playing time, Olivo 'walked out' on the Marlins at the start of their game that evening, demanding that the team release him. Olivo watched the team play the first inning of the game from the clubhouse, then changed into street clothes and left the ballpark. In response, the Marlins declined the request and instead placed him on the 'restricted list', during which time he was not paid (his one-year contract was worth $800,000) and he could not seek employment with another team.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On January 21, 2014, he signed a minor league contract with 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 (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

and was assigned to the Triple-A

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an e ...

. He was purchased by the Dodgers and added to the 25 man active roster on April 30, 2014. In 8 games with the Dodgers, he hit only .217 before he was optioned back to Triple-A on May 14. On May 20, 2014, Olivo was involved in an altercation with Isotopes teammate Alex Guerrero. During the incident, Olivo bit off a piece of Guerrero's ear, an injury which required cosmetic surgery to repair. Two days later the Dodgers gave him his unconditional release. He had been hitting .368 in Triple-A at the time of his release, with 4 home runs and 20 RBI in 20 games.

San Francisco Giants

On January 29, 2016, Olivo signed a minor league deal with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

and was assigned to the Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 ...

Mexican League

Tijuana Toros

On June 26, 2014, Olivo signed with the

Tijuana Toros The Toros de Tijuana (or Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican Minor League Baseball, Baseball team based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They are members of the Mexican Baseball League and play their home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Ori ...