Rafael Eduardo Medina (born February 15, 1975) is a Panamanian 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 played for 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 ...

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 1998 to 1999. He also has played for the

Panama national baseball team The Panama national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Panamá'') is the baseball team that represents Panama at an international level. Along with Nicaragua, they are considered to be the best baseball team in Central America, and ...

Career

Medina was originally signed by 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 ...

as an amateur free agent in 1992. He began his professional career the following year with the Yankees' rookie team, then spent 1994 with the

Oneonta Yankees Oneonta may refer to several places: Communities *Oneonta, New York, A small city and inspiration for some of the other "Oneontas" *Oneonta (town), New York, a town that surrounds the City of Oneonta *Oneonta, Alabama, Blount County * Oneonta, Ke ...

, where he had a win–loss record of 3-7 and a 4.66

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) in 14 games. He split 1995 with the

Greensboro Bats Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

and

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

. With Tampa, he had a 2.37 ERA in six games. Medina was promoted to the

Norwich Navigators Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

, and had a 5-8 record, a 3.06 ERA, and 112 strikeouts in 19 games. After the 1996 season ended, 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 ...

with

Rubén Rivera Rubén Rivera Moreno (born November 14, 1973) is a Panamanian former professional baseball player. He played Major League Baseball for five different teams, from to . His cousin, Mariano Rivera, was the former long-time Closer (baseball), close ...

for

Hideki Irabu was a Japanese professional baseball player of American and Japanese mixed ancestry. He played professionally in both Japan and the United States. Irabu played for the Lotte Orions / Chiba Lotte Marines and Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professiona ...

and

Homer Bush Homer Giles Bush (born November 12, 1972) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played for the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball from 1997 to 2002 and in 2004. He was a pa ...

. Medina spent 1997 with the Las Vegas Stars, the Padres' AAA affiliate. He had a 7.56 ERA in 13 games, and scouts no longer considered him a top prospect like they had a season prior due to the poor stats and a lack of confidence. After a season with the Padres, they traded him to the

with Steve Hoff and

Derrek Lee Derrek Leon Lee (born September 6, 1975), nicknamed "D-Lee", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Lee played with the San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates ...

for

Kevin Brown Kevin Brown may refer to: Entertainment * Kevin Brown (blues musician) (born 1950), English blues guitarist * Kevin Brown (author) (born 1960), American journalist and translator * Kevin Brown (poet) (born 1970), American poet and teacher * Kevin ...

. With the Marlins, he made the opening day roster, and pitched in 12 games for the team in 1998, going 2-6 with a 6.01 ERA. The Marlins then tried using Medina as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

, and he split 1999 with Florida and the

Calgary Cannons The Calgary Cannons were a minor league baseball team located in Calgary, Alberta, for 18 seasons, from 1985 until 2002. They were a member of the AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL) and played at Foothills Stadium. The Cannons displaced the Calg ...

. With the major league squad he had a 5.79 ERA in 20 games. After the season, Medina was picked up by the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

. He spent the next two seasons with the Syracuse SkyChiefs and the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

, then spent 2002 with the Algodoneros de Torreón of 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 ...

. He spent two more seasons playing professional baseball, then joined the

. He was part of the team during the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference tie ...

, and pitched a third of an inning in one game.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medina, Rafael 1975 births Living people Algodoneros de Torreón players Calgary Cannons players Charlotte Knights players Criollos de Caguas players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Puerto Rico Expatriate baseball players in Italy Florida Marlins players Gigantes de Carolina players Greensboro Bats players Gulf Coast Yankees players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente pitchers Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Panama Memphis Redbirds players Mexican League baseball pitchers Norwich Navigators players Oneonta Yankees players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Canada Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Mexico Panamanian expatriate baseball players in the United States Panamanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Parma Baseball Club players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Sportspeople from Panama City Syracuse SkyChiefs players Tampa Yankees players Tigres de Aragua players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Victoria Capitals players 2009 World Baseball Classic players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Chinatrust Whales players