Alexander Cintrón (born December 17, 1978) is a Puerto Rican 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 ...

infielder and current hitting coach for the Houston Astros of

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). He played in MLB for 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 ...

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 ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, and

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 ...

Playing career

Arizona Diamondbacks

Cintrón was drafted in the 36th round (1,103rd overall) of the

1997 Major League Baseball draft The 1997 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1997. A total of 1607 players were drafted over the course of 92 rounds. First round selections ...

by the

. He spent the 1997 season with the

Arizona League Diamondbacks The Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Salt River Fields ...

where he

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

.197 with six doubles, a

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

and 20 RBI in 43 games. He also appeared in one game with the Lethbridge Black Diamonds in the Pioneer League and went 1-for-3. In 1998, Cintrón spent the season with Rookie-League Lethbridge and hit .264 with 11 doubles, four triples, three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 34 RBI in 67 games. Cintrón hit .307 with 25 doubles, four triples, three home runs and 64 RBI in 128 games with the Class-A Advanced

High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eigh ...

during the 1999 season. He was also named to the California League All-Star team. Cintrón played in 125 games for the Double-A

El Paso Diablos "El Paso Diablos" refers to two different professional baseball teams based in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. The most recent Diablos were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, wh ...

and hit .301 with 30 doubles, six triples, four home runs and 59 RBIs in 2000. He was fourth in the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

in hits with 157, fifth in at-bats with 522 and tenth in average. He was also named to the Texas League All-Star team. In 2001, Cintrón hit .292 with 24 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 35 RBIs in 107 games for the Triple-A

Tucson Sidewinders , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. He was recalled from Tucson to the Diamondbacks on July 23. Cintrón made his major league debut with the D-Backs on July 24, 2001. He collected his first major-league hit with a single off the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

Donne Wall Donnell Lee Wall (born July 11, 1967) is a former professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball for the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, and Anaheim Angels, primarily in relief from 1995 to 2002. Wall was born ...

on August 3. Cintrón hit .286 with a triple in eight games with the Diamondbacks, and was optioned back to Tucson on August 6. Cintrón played in 38 games with the D'Backs over four separate stints in 2002, batting .213 with 4 RBI. He was initially recalled on May 8, but played in just two games. He was recalled a second time on June 11 and reported to

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

to play against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. He was optioned to Tucson again on June 26, but returned on July 1 after

Erubiel Durazo Erubiel Durazo Cárdenas (born January 23, 1975) is a Mexican former professional baseball player. Durazo played for the Arizona Diamondbacks (–) and the Oakland Athletics (–) in Major League Baseball. Major league career He helped the Dia ...

was injured. Cintrón was returned to Tucson after the All-Star Break but was recalled for the final time on August 21. In 2003, Cintrón had a break-out season after being recalled on May 6 following an injury to

Craig Counsell Craig John Counsell (born August 21, 1970) is an American former professional baseball player who is the manager for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Counsell became the Brewers' manager in May 2015; he became the longest-te ...

. Cintrón went on to lead Arizona with a .317 average, ranked second with 26 doubles and third with 70 runs scored and a .489 slugging percentage. He started 90 games at shortstop, 14 at

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

and five at second base. He batted .311 with runners in scoring position. He hit his first major-league home run on May 14 against the Philadelphia Phillies, a solo shot off

Brett Myers Brett Allen Myers (born August 17, 1980) is an American singer and former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Chicago White Sox, and Cleveland Indians. Born and r ...

. Cintrón posted three straight three-hit games from June 14 to June 17. He hit his first

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will no ...

on June 20 against the Cincinnati Reds off

Scott Williamson Scott Ryan Williamson (born February 17, 1976) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) right-handed relief pitcher who played for the Cincinnati Reds (1999–2003), Boston Red Sox (2003-), Chicago Cubs (2005–2006), San Diego Padres ( ...

. Cintrón continued his success into 2004, where he led the Diamondbacks in games played (154) and at-bats (564) and finished second in doubles (31) and third in hits (148). He was the everyday shortstop for most of the season until a late-season stretch of starts at second base. Cintrón became the first player in franchise history to hit a home run from both sides of the plate on July 8 against 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 ...

, hitting a solo home run off

Dustin Hermanson Dustin Michael Hermanson (born December 21, 1972) is an American former right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). Hermanson pitched for several MLB teams between 1995 and 2006. He had his best season with the 2005 Chicago White S ...

in the fourth inning and a three-run shot off

Wayne Franklin Gary Wayne Franklin (born March 9, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros (2000-2001), Milwaukee Brewers (2002-2003), San Francisco Giants (2004), ...

in the seventh, finishing with a career-high 4 RBI. Cintrón appeared in 122 games with Arizona in 2005, down from 154 in 2004. He played in 39 games at shortstop, 32 at third base and 23 at second base. He hit .304 with three doubles, three home runs and 12 RBIs as a pinch-hitter, sharing the major-league lead among pinch-hitters in home runs, tied for third in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

in RBIs and ranked ninth in average. He hit the pinch-hit homers off

Jim Brower James Robert Brower (born December 29, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for eight Major League Baseball (MLB) teams: the Cleveland Indians (-), Cincinnati Reds (-), Montreal Expos (2002), San Francisco Giants ( ...

Kent Mercker Kent Franklin Mercker (born February 1, 1968) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played for nine teams over his 17-year career. Career Mercker was born in Brownsburg, Indiana and lived in several different citi ...

and

Jon Lieber Jonathan Ray Lieber (born April 2, 1970) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He stands tall and weighs . He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1994–1998), Chicago Cubs (1999–2002 and 2008), ...

. Cintrón had four walk-off hits during the season, the most in MLB in 2005.

Chicago White Sox

On March 8, 2006, Cintrón was traded to the

for Jeff Bajenaru. That season, Cintrón made 41 appearances at shortstop, 26 at second base and 11 at third base, compiling a .972 fielding percentage. Cintrón stole a career high 10 bases. He batted .288 with all of his five home runs left-handed and .274 from the right side of the plate. He went only 2–18 as a pinch hitter. Cintrón recorded at least one at-bat in all positions in the lineup except leadoff, his best spot being second batting .315. He made two starts at

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

going 2–12 and hit .310 in

interleague play Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season. Pri ...

. Cintrón hit two triples on April 13 against the Detroit Tigers, the first Sox player to accomplish the feat since

José Valentín José Antonio Valentín (born October 12, 1969) is a Puerto Rican former American Major League Baseball infielder. He played for the Milwaukee Brewers (–), Chicago White Sox (–), Los Angeles Dodgers (), and New York Mets (–). His ...

in 2004. He batted .243 with two home runs and 19 RBI in 68 games in his second season with the White Sox in 2007. He made 19 appearances at third base, 17 at shortstop and 14 at second base. He also made two starts as designated hitter going 0–7. Cintrón compiled a .941 fielding percentage and batted .244 with two home runs left-handed and from the right side of the plate. He hit .273 on the road, compared to .209 at home. He hit .333 with runners in scoring position. The White Sox waived Cintrón on November 28, 2007.

Baltimore Orioles

Cintrón signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Chicago Cubs on February 18, 2008. He was released on March 26, and was signed to another minor league contract by the

on March 31. After starting the season with the

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

, his contract was purchased by the Orioles, and he was added to the active roster on May 11. He went 4-for-4 in his first start with Baltimore on May 17 against the

. On July 1, Cintrón was placed on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. He was activated on August 1. He hit .352 at

Camden Yards The Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a baseball stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early ...

. 27 of 28 starts came at shortstop. Cintrón filed for free agency after the 2008 season.

Washington Nationals

Cintrón signed a minor league contract with the

for the 2009 season. Although he competed for a spot on the Nationals' roster during spring training, Cintrón was sent to the minors on April 4. His contract was purchased from the Triple-A

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

on April 18. He went 2-for-26 (.077) in 21 games with the Nationals before he was designated for assignment on May 19.

Later career

On July 8, 2009, Cintrón signed a minor league contract with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

. He played 30 games with the Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

, batting .248 with two home runs and 9 RBI. After the 2009 season, he signed a minor league deal with the

. With the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

, Cintrón batted .228 with a home run and 3 RBI in 20 games. On February 8, 2011, Cintrón signed a minor league deal with the

. He signed a minor league contract with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

on May 3, 2011. On May 24, 2011, Padres minor league broadcaster Tim Hagerty announced through

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that Cintrón had retired. No details were given; the tweet simply said "Alex Cintron has retired." It was reported on July 18 that he was considering coming out of retirement. In early 2012, Cintrón came out of retirement to play for the

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the Greater Houston metr ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

Coaching career

Cintrón was Manager of the Azucareros de Yabucoa (his hometown) in Puerto Rico's Superior Baseball League (Double A Category). The Houston Astros hired Cintrón as the club's Spanish-language interpreter, advance scout, and assistant

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

for the 2017 season. He served as the Astros' first base coach in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

. The Astros reassigned him as hitting coach following the

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

season. On August 11,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, Cintrón was suspended 20 games for inciting a brawl with

Ramón Laureano Ramón Laureano Jr. (born July 15, 1994) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2018. Early life Ramón Laureano is the only son of Nina and Ramón Laurea ...

on August 9, one of the longest ever suspensions of an MLB coach for an on-field incident. Cintrón had stepped out of the Astros dugout onto the field and taunted Laureano to approach him, as if to fight, after Laureano complained about getting hit by pitches. Cintrón remained behind several Astros players when Laureano charged at him. In

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

, the Astros won 106 games, the second-highest total in franchise history. They advanced to the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. In the pivotal Game 6, Citron and fellow hitting coach Troy Snitker noticed that Yordan Alvarez had a hitch in his swing (namely due to his weight being shifted in his front leg) that merited adjustment. Cintron looked at video from a few months ago and saw that Alvarez's hands had dropped in his stance from June, which made it harder to deal with a fastball. Alvarez would go on to hit the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning to deliver the championship. The win gave Cintrón his first

title as an Astro. Prior to the

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

season, the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

interviewed Cintrón for their bench coach position. While the Blue Jays had still yet to finalize their decision, it was announced on November 21, 2022, that the Astros signed Cintrón to a contract to remain through the 2025 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cintron, Alex 1978 births Living people Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona League Diamondbacks players Arizona League Mariners players Baltimore Orioles players Bowie Baysox players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chicago White Sox players Diablos Rojos del México players Houston Astros coaches El Paso Diablos players Frederick Keys players High Desert Mavericks players Lethbridge Black Diamonds players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball hitting coaches Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Major League Baseball shortstops Mexican League baseball infielders Norfolk Tides players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Mexico Sugar Land Skeeters players Syracuse Chiefs players Tacoma Rainiers players Tucson Padres players Tucson Sidewinders players Vaqueros Laguna players Washington Nationals players 2006 World Baseball Classic players People from Humacao, Puerto Rico