Ricardo Gutiérrez (born May 23, 1970) is an American former

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 ...

in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from through for 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 ...

(1993-),

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 ...

(-),

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 ...

(-),

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

(-),

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 ...

() and

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 ...

(2004). 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 ...

. He was also the only

player to get a base hit in

Kerry Wood Kerry Lee Wood (born June 16, 1977) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and New York Yankees. Wood first came to prominence as a 20-year-old rook ...

's 20-strikeout game.

Background

Gutiérrez was 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 ...

' second pick in the 1988 MLB Draft, the second of four compensatory supplemental selections between the first two rounds (28th overall). After falling behind

Manny Alexander Manuel De Jesús Alexander (born March 20, 1971) is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He has played for the Baltimore Orioles (–, –), New York Mets (), Chicago Cubs (1997–), Boston Red Sox (), Texas Rangers () and San Dieg ...

on the organization's depth chart at shortstop, Gutiérrez was sent to San Diego on September 4, 1992 to complete a transaction made four days earlier on August 31 when

Erik Schullstrom Erik Paul Schullstrom (born March 25, 1969) is a former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Minnesota Twins in its 1994 and 1995 seasons. Listed at , 220 pounds, Schullstrom threw and batted right-handed. He was born in San Diego, Ca ...

was also dealt to the Padres for

Craig Lefferts Craig Lindsay Lefferts (born September 29, 1957) is a German-American former relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Ranger ...

. Listed at 6'1", 195 pounds, Gutiérrez started his career at shortstop and became a valuable

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

later in his career. In the field, he had decent range and an above-average arm. He was a sharp line-drive hitter, and spent most of his career in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

. His most productive season came in 2001 with the Cubs, when he posted career-highs in

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(.290), RBI (66), runs (76), hits (153) and

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 ...

(147). He finished the year leading the

sacrifice hit In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, and ...

s (17). He also had the fourth most

sacrifice flies In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

in the league (11), and was tenth in

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

(117).

Boston Red Sox

On July 21, 2004, the

acquired Gutiérrez from the

for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Red Sox General Manager

Theo Epstein Theo Nathaniel Epstein (born December 29, 1973) is an American Major League Baseball executive, who currently works for MLB as a consultant. He was the vice president and general manager for the Boston Red Sox and then the president of baseball o ...

lauded Gutiérrez as "a veteran with a tremendous makeup ... he'll fit in well as a utility guy for us." Gutiérrez wore number 16, the same number as other Red Sox players such as

Jim Lonborg James Reynold Lonborg (born April 16, 1942) is an American former professional baseball right-handed starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and Philadelphia Phillies. Though nickname ...

Hank Johnson Henry Calvin Johnson Jr. (born October 2, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is anchored in Atlanta's inner eastern suburbs, includ ...

, Dave Sax and Bob Zupcic. His greatest offensive performance came on August 28, 2004 versus the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. Gutiérrez, who filled in at second base while Mark Bellhorn took over at third for

Bill Mueller William Richard Mueller ( ; born March 17, 1971) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Mueller's MLB playing career was spent with the San Francisco Giants (1996–2000, 2002), Chic ...

, went 3 for 4 with a two-run single with the bases loaded in the fifth inning. Teammate

Alan Embree Alan Duane Embree (born January 23, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Embree played for the Cleveland Indians (1992–1996), Atlanta Braves (1997–1998), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998), San Francisco Giants (1999–2001), Chic ...

was in awe: "He's been sitting a long time, to come off the bench and contribute like he did tonight was incredible." After winning the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

, Gutiérrez carried an industrial-sized broom to remind victory parade goers of the final tally (a 4-0 "sweep" of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

). While with the Red Sox, Gutiérrez was a .275 hitter (11-for-40) with 3 RBI in 21 games, including 6 runs, 1 double, 1

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

, and a .310

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

. The Red Sox were 14-7 in games in which Gutiérrez appeared. Over an 11-season career, Gutiérrez was a .268 hitter (967-for-3632) with 38

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 and 357 RBI in 1074 games, including 463 runs, 138 doubles, 25 triples, 49 stolen bases, and a .338 on-base percentage.

Personal life

Gutiérrez's nephew, James Jones, played in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

, and currently serves as the general manager for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

. Gutiérrez is currently the manager of the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

, the Double-A minor league affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds.

References

Sources

*''The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia'' – Gary Gillette, Peter Gammons, Pete Palmer. Publisher: Sterling Publishing, 2005. Format: Paperback, 1824pp. Language: English.
2004 Gamelogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutierrez, Ricky Boston Red Sox players Chicago Cubs players Cleveland Indians players Houston Astros players New York Mets players San Diego Padres players Major League Baseball shortstops Baseball players from Florida 1970 births Living people Minor league baseball managers Bluefield Orioles players Frederick Keys players Hagerstown Suns players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Rochester Red Wings players Tucson Toros players New Orleans Zephyrs players Jackson Generals (Texas League) players Daytona Cubs players San Angelo Colts players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Iowa Cubs players Charlotte Knights players Portland Beavers players American Senior High School (Miami-Dade County, Florida) alumni

Background

Boston Red Sox

Personal life

See also

References

Sources