Arnulfo Acevedo Espinosa (August 15, 1953 – December 24, 1987) was a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 ...

, who played 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) for 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 ...

, Philadelphia Phillies, and

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 ...

. He threw and batted right-handed. Espinosa signed as an amateur free agent with the Mets in September , at the age of 17. He was a September call-up for the Mets. For his Mets career, Espinosa compiled a 25–33 record. Following the season, he was traded to the Phillies for

Richie Hebner Richard Joseph Hebner (born November 26, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from through , most prominently as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams tha ...

and José Moreno. In , Espinosa had a 14–12 record, with a 3.65

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 212 innings pitched. Espinosa went 3–5, with a 3.77 ERA, while contributing to the 1980 Phillies World Series championship run, but was not part of the postseason roster. After struggling early in the following year, he was released midway through the season. The

picked him up, but after only one inning in relief in which he gave up one earned run and four hits, they released him, too. Espinosa retired from baseball after an unsuccessful attempt to make the Pittsburgh Pirates in

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

. Espinosa died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

, at age 34, on Christmas Eve, 1987.

References

External links

, o
Baseball Almanac
o
The Ultimate Mets DatabaseNino Espinosa
at Baseballbiography.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Espinosa, Nino 1953 births 1987 deaths Águilas Cibaeñas players Chicago Cubs scouts Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic New York Mets players Philadelphia Phillies players Pompano Beach Mets players Toronto Blue Jays players Key West Sun Caps players Victoria Toros players Spartanburg Phillies players Tidewater Tides players Visalia Mets players