Robert Alexander Suárez Subero (born March 1, 1991) is a

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 ...

n professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 previously played for the

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

and

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railway ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB).

Career

Saraperos de Saltillo

On April 16, 2015, Suárez signed with the

Saraperos de Saltillo The Saraperos de Saltillo (English: Saltillo Serape Wearers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Francisco I. Madero in Saltillo, Coahuila. They have won three championships (198 ...

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 ...

. In 43 games for Saltillo, Suárez logged a 5–0

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

and 1.71

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) with 48

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

On November 2, 2015, Suarez signed with the

(NPB) . On April 10, 2016, Suarez made his NPB debut. In 2016, he finished the regular season with a 2–6 record, a 3.19 ERA, 64 strikeouts, 26 holds, and one save in 53 2/3 innings. On February 8, 2017, Suarez was selected to the

Venezuela national baseball team The Venezuela national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Venezuela'') is the national team of Venezuela. It is currently ranked sixth in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, directly behind the US and ahead ...

for the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

. On March 12, he injured his right elbow in a game against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He had

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

on April 14. On August 11, 2018, Suarez pitched in the

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

against the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a ...

for the first time in two years. He finished the regular season with 11 games pitched, a 1–1 win–loss record, a 6.30 ERA, 3 holds, and 10 strikeouts in 10 innings. Suarez finished the 2019 regular season with 9 Games pitched, a 0–4 Win–loss record, a 5.74ERA, and 27 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings. He pitched in the

2019 Japan Series The 2019 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2019'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) 2019 season. The 70th edition of the Japan Series, it was played from 19-23 October. Th ...

. On November 28, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks announced that the team would not re-sign Suárez for next season. On December 2, 2019, he became free agent.

Hanshin Tigers

On December 19, 2019, Suárez signed with the

of the NPB. In 2020, Suárez pitched to a 2.24 ERA over 52.1 innings. On December 2, 2020, he became a free agent. On December 24, Suárez re-signed with the Tigers. On June 13, 2021, Suárez set a Hanshin club record by recording a save in his 12th consecutive mound appearance, breaking the previous record of 11 held by former Tigers pitcher

Kyuji Fujikawa is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Fujikawa pitched in the 2006 and 2009 World Ba ...

. On June 30, Suárez’s streak ended when he came in to pitch in a tie game, with the new record being set at 14 consecutive mound appearances with a save.

San Diego Padres

On December 1, 2021, Suárez signed a one-year contract with a 2023 player option with the

. On April 7, 2022, Suárez made his major league debut against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

, walking the first two batters he faced on a combined nine pitches before throwing a wild pitch, and then a hitting a batter. Suárez was removed from the game without having recorded an out. All three runners he allowed later scored, earning him the loss. On November 17, 2022 the Padres signed Suárez to a 5-year, $46 million contract.

Personal

Albert Suárez is his brother, who pitches in the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

for the

Samsung Lions The Samsung Lions () are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982. They are based in the southeastern city of Daegu and are members of the KBO League. Their home stadium is Daegu Samsung Lions Park. They have won the Korean Champ ...

References

External links

NPB stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suarez, Robert 1991 births Living people Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players Hanshin Tigers players San Diego Padres players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Saraperos de Saltillo players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Japan Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela 2017 World Baseball Classic players People from Bolívar (state)