Wirfin Y. Obispo Vargas (born September 26, 1984) is a Dominican

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League. He previously played in

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 ...

for the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

of the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

(2007–2010) and

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 s ...

of 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 ...

(2011).

Career

Boston Red Sox

Obispo was originally signed by 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 ...

as an international free agent on January 20, 2002. He played in the Dominican Summer League with the DSL Red Sox as a shortstop before being released on November 3, 2003.

Cincinnati Reds

On January 23, 2004, Obispo signed a minor league contract with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

organization. Obispo appeared in 14 games for the DSL Reds in 2006, recording a 4–5 record and 2.04 ERA.

Yomiuri Giants

Obispo signed with the

for the 2007 season, but only made 2 appearances for the club, pitching a scoreless inning in total. In 2008, Obispo appeared in 37 games for Yomiuri's minor league club, recording a 4.24 ERA with 41 strikeouts, but did not play with the main team. In 2009, Obispo pitched in 14 games for Yomiuri, registering a 6–1 record and 2.45 ERA with 48 strikeouts. Obispo won the

2009 Japan Series The 2009 Japan Series was the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) championship series for the 2009 season. It was the 60th Japan Series and featured the Pacific League Climax Series champions, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, against the Central ...

with the Giants that year. In 2010, Obispo pitched to a 5.21 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 14 games for the Giants.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

On November 6, 2010, Obispo was traded to the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in exchange for outfielder

Toshimasa Konta is a former Nippon Professional Baseball 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 t ...

and southpaw Hideki Sunaga. Obispo only made 2 appearances for the Fighters in 2011, allowing 6 runs in 1.0 inning of work.

Cincinnati Reds (second stint)

On February 2, 2012, Obispo signed a minor league contract with the

organization. He split the 2012 season between the Triple-A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

and the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos, where he pitched to a 5–3 record with a 3.00 ERA in 35 games, 13 of them starts.

Atlanta Braves

On November 5, 2012, Obispo signed a minor league deal with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

organization that included an invitation to spring training. He spent the 2013 season with the Triple-A

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

, registering a 2–4 record and 3.53 ERA in 54 games. The Braves added him to their 40-man roster on November 1, 2013. On May 31, 2014, Obispo was designated for assignment by the Braves following the promotion of

Shae Simmons Shae Austin Simmons (born September 3, 1990) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners. Career Simmons attended Scott City High School in Scott City, ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

On June 1, 2014, Obispo was claimed off waivers by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

and was assigned to the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

. On August 13, 2014, Obispo was designated for assignment by the Pirates after they claimed Ramon Cabrera off waivers. On August 21, Obispo was outrighted to Indianapolis.

Milwaukee Brewers

On December 2, 2014, Obispo signed a minor league contract with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

organization. He was assigned to the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers to begin the season. He pitched to a 1.99 ERA in 24 games for Biloxi and the Triple-A

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...

before being released on July 25, 2015.

Sultanes de Monterrey

On February 2, 2016, Obispo signed with the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey ( en, Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monterrey, Mexico. They compete in the Northern Division. The team also joined the Mexican Pacific League for the 2019–20 season f ...

of the Mexican League. He was named an All-Star that season after pitching to a 6–5 record with a 3.15 ERA in 48 games. Obispo was again an All-Star in 2017, after recording a stellar 2.12 ERA and a 7–5 record with 99 strikeouts in 57 appearances. Obispo was an All-Star for a third straight year in 2018, striking out 77 in 52 games. Obispo earned his fourth LMB All-Star nod in 2019, after he pitched to a 2.62 ERA and 6–5 record with 77 strikeouts. Obispo did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Mexican League season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In 16 games with Monterrey in 2021, Obispo logged a 1–3 record and 3.86 ERA.

Pericos de Puebla

On July 2, 2021, Obispo was traded to the Pericos de Puebla of the Mexican League. In 2 appearances, he registered a 13.50 ERA and gave up 3 runs (1 earned).

Acereros de Monclova

On July 12, 2021, Obispo was traded to the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League in exchange for pitchers David Richardson and Adam Quintana.

Legal issues

On November 23, 2020, Obispo was arrested in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

after confronting police with a shotgun when he was out past curfew.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Obispo, Wirfin 1984 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players Biloxi Shuckers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Reds players Estrellas Orientales players Gwinnett Braves players Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players Indianapolis Indians players Louisville Bats players Mexican League baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Pericos de Puebla players Baseball players from San Pedro de Macorís Sultanes de Monterrey players Yomiuri Giants players