Rafael Antonio Orellano Hernandez (born April 28, 1973) is a former pitcher who played for the

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 s ...

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 ...

from 1998 to 2000.

Playing career

American minor leagues

The left-handed hurler began his professional baseball career in 1993, playing in 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 ...

minor league system. In 1995, he was ranked the club's 6th-best prospect by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' after going 11-3 with a 2.36 ERA for the

GCL Red Sox The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior ...

and

Sarasota Red Sox Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

the year before. After going 11-7 with a 3.09 ERA in 27 starts for the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the Doub ...

in 1995, he was named Boston's 9th-best prospect for 1996. His career soon soured, however, and he was out of the minor leagues after the 1997 season. He was 32-29 with a 4.70 ERA in 100 career games (81 starts) at that level.

Japan

Orellano signed with the Nippon Ham Fighters for 1998 and appeared in 14 games for the club that year, going 1-3 with a 7.50 ERA in 14 games (4 starts). In 30 innings, he allowed 29 walks and struck out 22 batters. In 1999, he was 1-5 with a 4.99 ERA in 21 games (5 starts) and in 2000, he made a single appearance, allowing two walks, one hit and an earned run in 1/3 of an inning. Overall, he went 2-8 with 58 walks, 49 strikeouts and a 6.17 ERA in 36 games (9 starts) in his NPB career.BR Minors page
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Personal life

He was born in

Humacao Humacao () is a city and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north of Yabucoa; south of Naguabo; east of Las Piedras; and west of Vieques Passage. Humacao is spread over 12 barrios and Humacao Pueblo (the ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orellano, Rafael Living people 1973 births Gulf Coast Red Sox players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Nippon Ham Fighters players Sarasota Red Sox players Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Humacao, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Japan Trenton Thunder players Utica Blue Sox players