Ronald Joel Flores (born August 9, 1979) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed relief pitcher who played with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

from 2005 to 2007.

Amateur career

A native of Whittier, California, Flores graduated from El Rancho High School in

Pico Rivera, California Pico Rivera is a city located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California. The city is situated approximately southeast of downtown Los Angeles, on the eastern edge of the Los Angeles basin, and on the southern edge of the area known as the ...

and is the younger brother of fellow major leaguer Randy Flores. He went on to attend the University of Southern California (USC), playing college baseball for the Trojans from 1998 to 2001. Flores was a member of USC's 1998 national championship baseball team, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from USC. After the 1998 season, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the Chatham A's of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

Professional career

The

selected Flores in the 29th round (870th overall pick) of the

2000 Major League Baseball draft First round selections Compensation picks Background The Florida Marlins made Adrián González of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, California the first overall selection in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft. González, who was rated as ...

. In limited appearances with Oakland, Flores was mostly the second or third lefty in the bullpen. He pitched a career-high four shutout innings for his first big league win on June 29, 2006 against the San Diego Padres. His first major league save came after he pitched a scoreless 10th inning in the final game of the 2006 season. On December 12, 2007, Flores signed a minor league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, uniting him with older brother Randy. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

contract with the Cincinnati Reds, only to be released by the organization on April 1, 2009. After being released by the Reds, Flores signed with the independent

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor-league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "partne ...

. He pitched in 53 games for them before retiring.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flores, Ron 1979 births Living people Baseball players from California American baseball players of Mexican descent Oakland Athletics players Long Island Ducks players Major League Baseball pitchers USC Trojans baseball players Chatham Anglers players Sportspeople from Whittier, California American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Bravos de Margarita players Mat-Su Miners players Memphis Redbirds players Midland RockHounds players Modesto A's players Sacramento River Cats players Vancouver Canadians players Visalia Oaks players