Rafael Orlando Robles Natera (October 20, 1947 – August 13, 1998) was a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

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), ...

. He was born in

San Pedro de Macorís San Pedro de Macorís is a city and Municipalities of the Dominican Republic, municipality (''municipio'') in the Dominican Republic and the capital of the San Pedro de Macorís Province, San Pedro de Macorís province in the east region of the ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. He was signed by 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 Yor ...

as an amateur free agent before the 1967 season, and later drafted by 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 penna ...

from the

as the 51st pick in the

1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft The 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft was conducted to stock up the rosters of four expansion teams in Major League Baseball created via the 1969 Major League Baseball expansion and which would begin play in the 1969 season. The expansi ...

. He played for the

from 1969 to 1970, and again in 1972. Robles was the first player to come to bat in

history. On April 8, 1969, he led off the bottom of the 1st against right-hander Don Wilson of the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. He reached base on an error by

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

second baseman

Joe Morgan Joe Leonard Morgan (September 19, 1943 – October 11, 2020) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, ...

, then stole second base, but did not score. He was at best an average fielding

(.958) and a below-average hitter (.188) during his brief major league career. (47

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

) Rafael Robles died in

New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...

at the age of 50. His son Orlando Robles is a New York-based Latin urban artist who goes by the stage name of YoungSosa. In interviews his son has been asked about his father's baseball career and has stated he is very proud of his fathers accomplishments as a professional baseball player.

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robles, Rafael 1947 births 1998 deaths Charleston Charlies players Decatur Commodores players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Elmira Pioneers players Fresno Giants players Hawaii Islanders players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball shortstops Salt Lake City Bees players San Diego Padres players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players