Waldis Joaquín de la Cruz (born December 25, 1986) is a Dominican 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 t ...

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 ...

. He played for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

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) from 2009 through 2011. Joaquín throws three pitches: a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

, a

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

, and a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

. Signed by the Giants in 2003, Joaquín reached the major leagues in 2009 and appeared in 10 games, which would be his highest total in an MLB season. Part of the Opening Day roster in 2010, he pitched in four games during San Francisco's World Series championship season. The

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

attempted to claim him off waivers in the offseason, but he refused to report to them, nullifying the waiver claim. Returning to the Giants in 2011, he five games for them in September and received his lone MLB decision, a win. In 2012, Joaquín was signed by the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

, but he missed the season with an injury. He then pitched for four seasons in the

Mexican Baseball 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 t ...

. In 2017, he signed with the Detroit Tigers but made it no higher than the Double-A level.

Career

San Francisco Giants

Waldis Joaquín de la Cruz was born on December 25, 1986, in La Vega,

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 with ...

. On October 31, 2003, the

signed Joaquín as an amateur

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 ...

. His first professional experience came with the Dominican Summer League Giants in 2004; in 14 games (13 starts), he had six wins and a 1.61

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). He pitched for the

Arizona League Giants Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Four C ...

in 2005, posting a 1–1 record with a 3.64 ERA, 37

strikeouts 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 ...

, and 10 walks in innings. He did not play in 2006 due to surgery on his right elbow, but he returned in 2007, for the

Salem-Keizer Volcanoes The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes are a baseball team located in Keizer, Oregon, who are charter members of the Mavericks Independent Baseball League, a four-team league entirely based in the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area and playing all their hom ...

of the

Single-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each ...

(short season)

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Basebal ...

, with whom he went 3–0 with a 2.84 ERA, 30 strikeouts, and 16 walks in 38 innings. In 2008, Joaquín played for the Single-A

Augusta GreenJackets The Augusta GreenJackets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at SRP Park in North Augusta, South Carolina, which opened in April 2018. They previo ...

of the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

and the Single-A advanced

San Jose Giants The San Jose Giants are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Located in San Jose, California, the Giants play their home games at Excite Ballpark. Games San Jose Giants ga ...

of the California League. He was had a combined 1–3 with a 4.42 ERA in innings over 36 games (seven starts). After the season, he made eight starts for the

Waikiki BeachBoys The Waikiki BeachBoys were a minor league baseball team in the Hawaii Winter Baseball league. They were based in Honolulu, Hawaii. The BeachBoys name derives from the "Beach Boys of Waikiki," a group credited with the rebirth of surfing in Hawa ...

of the

Hawaii Winter Baseball Hawaii Winter Baseball (HWB), based in Honolulu, Hawaii, was a professional baseball league in the Hawaiian islands. It was loosely affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB). History The HWB league first began play in 1993. Funded by Major ...

League, posting a 2–3 record and a 5.97 ERA. ATT Sunset Panorama

Joaquín began 2009 with the Double-A

Connecticut Defenders The Connecticut Defenders were a Minor League Baseball team based in Norwich, Connecticut. The team, which played in the Eastern League, was the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major-league club from 2003 until following the 2009 ...

of the Eastern League. He had a 4–5 record, a 2.67 ERA, 40 strikeouts, and 28 walks in 54 innings pitched. On August 1, Joaquín was called up to the Giants' bullpen; he replaced

Ryan Sadowski Ryan Keith Sadowski (born October 4, 1982) is a retired American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants and in Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) for the Lotte Giants. He is currently ...

on the roster. He made his Major League debut on August 4, giving up one run on two hits in pitching the ninth inning in an 8–1 win over the Houston Astros. He was optioned to the minors the next day to make room for Joe Martinez on the roster. Joaquín spent the rest of the minor league season with the Triple-A

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in d ...

of the Pacific Coast League; in eight games, he had a 1–0 record, an 0.00 ERA, 16 strikeouts, and two walks in 10 innings pitched. He was called up again on September 1 when rosters expanded, and he made nine more appearances for the Giants that year. In 10 games with the Giants, which would be his most in an MLB season, Joaquín had no record, a 4.22 ERA, 12 strikeouts, and seven walks in innings pitched. After the season, he made 16 relief appearances for the

Gigantes del Cibao The Gigantes del Cibao (English: Cibao giants) are a baseball team that plays in the Dominican Winter League. The team was founded in 1996 as ''Gigantes del Noroeste ''then with a change of ownership the name was changed several times, being cal ...

of the

Dominican Winter League Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Domi ...

, posting a 1–0 record and a 2.35 ERA. Joaquín made the Giants' Opening Day roster in 2010. He threw a scoreless of an inning in his first outing, but he gave up runs in each of his next three outings. At the beginning of May, he was sent down to Fresno when

Aaron Rowand Aaron Ryan Rowand (born August 29, 1977) is an American former professional baseball center fielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and the San Francisco Giants and won two World Series ch ...

came off the disabled list. He was called up again on May 27 following an injury to

Jeremy Affeldt Jeremy David Affeldt (; born June 6, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He threw and batted left-handed and played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds and San Franc ...

, but he was sent down to Fresno days later without making an appearance. In four games with the Giants, Joaquín had no record, a 9.64 ERA, two strikeouts, and seven walks in innings pitched. From June 18 to August 5, he was on Fresno's disabled list with a disc problem in his back. In 23 games (five starts) for Fresno, he had a 1–2 record, a 4.93 ERA, 33 strikeouts, and 22 walks in innings. He was left off the postseason roster as the Giants won the 2010 World Series against the Texas Rangers. On November 22, Joaquín was claimed off of waivers by the

. Refusing the waiver claim, he became a free agent. He was re-signed to a minor league contract by the Giants in December 2010. He pitched for the Gigantes in the offseason but only made three appearances, losing one and posting a 27.00 ERA. Joaquín was invited to spring training by the Giants in 2011, but he was reassigned to extended spring training on April 4 before being assigned to Fresno on May 2. From May 16 through June 2, he was on the disabled list with an elbow injury. In 35 games for the Grizzlies, he had a 2–2 record, a 3.44 ERA, 27 strikeouts, and 23 walks in innings pitched. The Giants re-added him to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

on August 4, and they called him up on September 2. On September 17, he recorded the only MLB decision of his career. After he recorded the final two outs of the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies, the Giants scored four runs in the eighth to take the lead and held on for a 6–5 victory, with Joaquín getting the win. In his last outing of the season, on September 24, he relieved starter Barry Zito with two runners on base and the Giants trailing 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 ...

6–2. Joaquín threw two wild pitches as he allowed both runners to score in addition to giving up three runs of his own in one inning of work; San Francisco went on to lose 15–2. For the Giants in 2011, Joaquín appeared in five games, posting a 1–0 record and a 4.26 ERA in innings, with three strikeouts and three walks. He became a free agent on November 30.

Washington Nationals organization

On December 14, 2011, Joaquín signed a minor league contract with the

with an invitation to spring training. He was reassigned to minor league camp on March 15, 2012. However, he did not pitch for any of their minor league teams due to an injury. He did pitch in nine games for the Gigantes after the season, winning one and posting a 6.23 ERA. On November 12, he became a free agent.

Mexican League

Joaquín spent the next four seasons in the

. In 2013, he pitched for the Sultanes de Monterrey. Making 26 appearances, he had a 4–2 record, four saves, a 3.96 ERA, 10 strikeouts, and seven walks in 25 innings. He made 34 appearances for Monterrey in 2014, posting a 2–5 record, one save, a 4.67 ERA, 33 strikeouts, and 19 walks in innings pitched. After the season, he pitched in the Dominican Winter League, though this time for the Estrellas de Oriente. In 13 games, he had a 1–0 record and a 6.00 ERA. In 2015, Joaquín pitched for two Mexican League teams. Making 31 appearances for the

Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico. Their home ballpark is Estadio de Béisbol Monclova, which has a capacity of 11,000 people. The Ace ...

, he had a 2–2 record, eight saves, a 3.41 ERA, 32 strikeouts, and eight walks in innings. He also made 17 appearances for the

Rieleros de Aguascalientes The Rieleros de Aguascalientes (English: Aguascalientes Railroaders) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Aguascalientes, Mexico. History Baseball arrived in Aguascalientes in hand with the railroad at the beginning o ...

, posting a 2–1 record, three saves, a 3.74 ERA, 14 strikeouts, and eight walks in innings. Following the season, he returned to the Estrellas, posting a 1–1 record and a 3.86 ERA in 15 games. Joaquín pitched for two Mexican League teams again in 2016. In eight games for 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 (19 ...

, he had no record, three saves, a 4.32 ERA, seven strikeouts, and one walk in innings. He also made eight appearances for the

Vaqueros Laguna The ''vaquero'' (; pt, vaqueiro, , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in Mexico from a methodology brought to Latin America from Spain. The vaquero became t ...

, where he had no record, one save, a 2.35 ERA, five strikeouts, and four walks in 19 innings. After the season, he played winter ball in

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 ...

, this time for the

Caribes de Anzoátegui The Caribes de Anzoátegui ( en, Anzoátegui Caribs) is a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League based in Puerto la Cruz, Anzoátegui. Franchise history In January 1987, a local businessmen group based in Puerto la Cruz, ...

. In 18 games, he had a 1–0 record and a 1.89 ERA. He also made one appearance for the Estrellas, allowing two runs in of an inning.

Detroit Tigers organization, winter ball

On December 20, 2016, Joaquín signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers. Assigned to extended spring training at the start of the 2017 season, he then pitched in three games for the

Lakeland Flying Tigers The Lakeland Flying Tigers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Lakeland, Florida, and play their home games at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. H ...

of the Single-A Advanced Florida State League before being promoted to the Erie SeaWolves of the Double-A Eastern League. In 12 games (one start), he had a 2–4 record, a 6.06 ERA, 14 strikeouts, and six walks in innings. He was released on June 19. Later that year, Joaquin made six appearances with the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseba ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He had a 1–0 record, a 15.43 ERA, five strikeouts, and four walks in innings. Over the 2017–18 offseason, Joaquín made 14 appearances for the Caribes, accumulating no record but recording three saves and posting a 4.97 ERA. He made one appearance for the

Toros del Este The Los Toros del Este (formerly Azucareros del Este) are a 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 pl ...

of the Dominican Winter League in the 2018–19 offseason, pitching a scoreless inning. On March 21, 2020, Joaquín signed with the Hamilton Cardinals of the

Intercounty Baseball League The Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) is a Canadian amateur baseball league, comprising teams of college players and former professionals from North America and beyond. The teams are located in Southern Ontario. The league was formed in 1919 and ...

. However, he did not pitch for the Cardinals, as the league's season was cancelled due to the impact of COVID-19.

Pitching style

Joaquín throws three pitches: a

, a

, and a

. The fastball travels to and travels quickly to the upper inside corner of the

strike zone In baseball, the strike zone is the volume of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's k ...

for right-handed batters. Left-handed batters can see it more easily. The slider travels in the middle range. Sam Corun of '' Bleacher Report'' mentioned in 2010 that his changeup needed to be better in order for him to walk fewer hitters.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joaquin, Waldis 1986 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players Arizona League Giants players Augusta GreenJackets players Connecticut Defenders players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Fresno Grizzlies players Gigantes del Cibao players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mexican League baseball pitchers Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players San Francisco Giants players San Jose Giants players Sultanes de Monterrey players Rieleros de Aguascalientes players Waikiki Beach Boys players Estrellas Orientales players Saraperos de Saltillo players Vaqueros Laguna players Caribes de Anzoátegui players Erie SeaWolves players Lakeland Flying Tigers players York Revolution players Toros del Este players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Venezuela