Richard José Hidalgo (born June 28, 1975) is a former professional

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. He played with 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 ...

(1997–2004),

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 ...

(2004), and the Texas Rangers (2005) of

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). He batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

Career

Hidalgo was signed as a 16-year-old by the Houston Astros from its Venezuela academy. After hitting .306 and .303 in his first two seasons, his numbers came down with a .227

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

, although he showed some power with 15

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s in 383 at-bats. He required season-ending surgery to treat a congenital knee condition. Hidalgo blossomed in 2000, when he hit .314 with 44 home runs and 122

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. That season Hidalgo set the Astros'

extra-base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire anot ...

streak record, matched in 2017 by Alex Bregman, at 10 games. In September 2000 Hidalgo set an Astros' of .476 average record that was surpassed by

José Altuve José Carlos Altuve (; born May 6, 1990) is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Astros signed Altuve as an amateur free agent in 2007, and he made his major league debut ...

in 2018. He signed a 4-year $32 million contract after that season. On November 22, 2002, Hidalgo was shot in the left forearm during a carjacking in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. In 2003, he returned to good form both at the plate and in the field. He posted numbers of .309, 28, 88, collected three homers in a game, and led the majors outfielders in assists with 22, while committing only four errors. Despite being named National League player of the month for April 2004, Hidalgo struggled at the plate and was benched by manager,

Jimy Williams James Francis Williams (born October 4, 1943) is an American former professional baseball infielder, coach and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was born in Santa Maria, California, and briefly appeared in two MLB seasons as a seco ...

, by May. The Astros then traded him to the

for David Weathers and

Jeremy Griffiths Jeremy Richard Griffiths (born March 22, 1978) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the New York Mets and Houston Astros. Career Griffiths spent three years as a pitcher for the University of Toledo baseball team. In 1998, he played c ...

. He set a Mets record by homering in 5 consecutive games. Hidalgo hit .239 with 25 homers and 82 RBIs for the season. Hidalgo, a free agent, signed with the Texas Rangers for the 2005 season. In 2006, he signed a minor league contract with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, but left the team before the season started, when his wife became ill. Hidalgo requested to be released from his contract, allowing to him to go to Japan where he would have a starting role. In the 2006 off-season, the

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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

reportedly showed interest in signing Hidalgo. In January 2007, the Astros signed him again, this time to a minor league contract. This second tenure was short-lived, as Hidalgo was released by the Astros on March 25, 2007, after refusing a minor league assignment. Hidalgo was a Major League .269 lifetime hitter with 171 home runs and 560 RBIs in 987 games. Defensively, he recorded a .987

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

playing at all three outfield positions. On April 10, 2007, Hidalgo joined the Long Island Ducks. Before

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

, however, he announced his retirement from professional baseball. On July 8, 2008, Hidalgo signed with the Ducks again but left the team during the last week of August. In early 2008, Hidalgo's attempt to create a so-called "field of dreams" on his

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

property was voted down by residents of his neighborhood. Hidalgo has three sons who live with his wife in Florida.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
o
Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
: {{DEFAULTSORT:Hidalgo, Richard 1975 births Living people Asheville Tourists players Gulf Coast Astros players Houston Astros players Jackson Generals (Texas League) players Long Island Ducks players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Major League Baseball right fielders Mexican League baseball right fielders Navegantes del Magallanes players New Orleans Zephyrs players New York Mets players Baseball players from Caracas Quad Cities River Bandits players Sultanes de Monterrey players Texas Rangers players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Shooting survivors

Career

See also

References

External links