Ruben Amaurys Mateo (born February 10, 1978 in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic) is a former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern 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 c ...

. He has played six seasons in

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), ...

, playing for the Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Kansas City Royals. He also played in the Korea Baseball Organization for the

LG Twins LG Corporation (or LG Group) (), formerly Lucky-Goldstar from 1983 to 1995 (Korean: ''Leokki Geumseong''; ), is a South Korean multinational conglomerate founded by Koo In-hwoi and managed by successive generations of his family. It is t ...

Career

He was signed as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the Rangers in . Mateo played his first professional season, in American baseball, with their Single-A

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Hi ...

in . In , he played for the Milwaukee Brewers' Double-A club, the

Huntsville Stars The Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1985 to 2014. They competed in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics from 1985 to 1998 and Mil ...

and the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

of the independent Atlantic League, where he played in the championship series. Mateo returned to Newark Bears of the Atlantic League for the season. In , he played in 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 ...

for the

Broncos de Reynosa The Reynosa Broncos (''los Broncos de Reynosa'') were a Mexican team that played in the Adolfo Lopez Mateos stadium in the city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. The Broncos de Reynosa played in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol and it was part of the Zona Nor ...

, his most recent professional season. He was once regarded as the top prospect in the Texas Rangers system and was frequently rumored to be involved in many high-profile trades. On June 2, 2000, Ruben Mateo broke his leg trying to beat out a ground ball to first base. At the time, he was leading all rookies in batting average. He went on to miss the remainder of the season. Mateo won the most valuable player award during the 2013 Mexican League season while playing for Delfines del Carmen. He batted .322, leading the league in home runs (37) and finishing second in RBI (119).

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1978 births Broncos de Reynosa players Charleston RiverDogs players Charlotte Rangers players Cincinnati Reds players Delfines de Ciudad del Carmen players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in South Korea Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Huntsville Stars players Kansas City Royals players KBO League outfielders LG Twins players Leones del Escogido players Living people Louisville Bats players Louisville RiverBats players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mexican League baseball left fielders Mexican League baseball right fielders Mexican League Most Valuable Player Award winners Nashville Sounds players Newark Bears players Oklahoma RedHawks players Pittsburgh Pirates players Texas Rangers players Tiburones de La Guaira players Tulsa Drillers players Vaqueros Laguna players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Venezuela {{DominicanRepublic-baseball-outfielder-stub