Marcos Scutaro, better known as Marco Scutaro, (; born October 30, 1975) is a

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 ...

n 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 professiona ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

. He bats and throws right-handed. Scutaro made his major league debut with 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 lea ...

in 2002, and subsequently played for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

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 ...

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 ...

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

and

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 Yo ...

. Scutaro was named the

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...

of the 2012 National League Championship Series while with the Giants; he and the team then won the

2012 World Series The 2012 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2012 season. The 108th edition of the World Series, the series was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion San Francisco Giants and ...

over the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. Scutaro was one of the primary subjects of the 2005 documentary ''A Player to be Named Later''.

Early life

Scutaro was born in San Felipe,

. He is of Italian descent. He began playing baseball at age six.

Professional career

Cleveland Indians

Scutaro originally signed with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

as an amateur free agent on July 26, 1994. As a teenager, Scutaro considered Cleveland infielder and fellow Venezuelan

Omar Vizquel Omar Enrique Vizquel González (; born April 24, 1967), nicknamed "Little O", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. During his 24-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Vizquel played for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland I ...

his favorite player and would often watch Vizquel at spring training.

Milwaukee Brewers

Scutaro was traded by the Indians to 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 ...

on August 30, 2000, as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

in a trade that had sent Kane Davis,

Paul Rigdon Paul David Rigdon (born November 2, 1975) is a former American professional baseball player who was a pitcher for two Major League Baseball seasons. Rigdon played for the Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers from to . Rigdon was born in Jac ...

and Richie Sexson to the Brewers for

Jason Bere Jason Phillip Bere (born May 26, 1971) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and bullpen coach. He played in Major League Baseball for parts of 11 seasons from 1993 to 2003, for the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Bre ...

, Bob Wickman and

Steve Woodard Steven Larry Woodard (born May 15, 1975) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or parts of seven seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1997 until 2003, for the Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and Boston Red ...

on July 28. Scutaro was in the 2005 documentary film ''A Player To Be Named Later'', which followed players from

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 opened ...

, the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, for one season. He was waived at the start of the 2002 season by the Brewers, who needed to make room for Nelson Figueroa on its roster.

New York Mets

Scutaro was claimed off waivers by the

on April 5, 2002. He batted .319 with 22

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

s, seven

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, 28

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the b ...

and 48

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

s scored in 97 games with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides in 2002. He was also selected to the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

squad for the

Triple-A All-Star Game The Triple-A All-Star Game was an annual baseball game held from 1988 to 2019 between professional players from the affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball. These leagues were the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast League ...

that summer. Scutaroprint

Scutaro's first promotion to the majors came on July 19 when the Mets recalled him from the Tides to replace the injured Joe McEwing. Scutaro introduced himself to Mets manager Bobby Valentine that afternoon while the latter was eating lunch at the hotel in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

where the team was staying. Valentine reciprocated the greeting without knowing who Scutaro was. After completing his meal, Valentine inquired about why Scutaro was lingering. "I just got called up", Scutaro responded.

Oakland Athletics

Scutaro was again selected off waivers, this time by the

, on October 9, 2003. Scutaro landed a starting second baseman position after Mark Ellis had a season-ending shoulder injury during 2004

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

. In 2004, Scutaro reached career highs in batting average (.273),

(43), runs (50),

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

(124),

doubles Men's doubles, Women's doubles or Mixed doubles are sports having two players per side, including; * Beach volleyball * Doubles badminton * Doubles curling * Footvolley * Doubles pickleball * Doubles squash * Doubles table tennis * Doubles te ...

(32),

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s (455) and

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

(137). He played multiple positions during his four seasons in Oakland, including second base,

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

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 ...

, left field and

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

Toronto Blue Jays

On November 18, 2007, Scutaro was traded to the

for minor league pitchers Kristian Bell and

Graham Godfrey Graham H. Godfrey (born August 9, 1984) is a former professional baseball player. He played for the Oakland Athletics in Major League Baseball. Career Amateur Godfrey attended Memorial High School in Houston, Texas and the College of Charleston ...

. Scutaro was the Jays' third baseman for at least a month, after teammate Scott Rolen injured a finger, and then Scutaro returned to a starter's role after teammate

David Eckstein David Mark Eckstein (; born January 20, 1975) is an American former professional baseball player. He was an infielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for ten seasons. He played college baseball for the University of Florida and played professiona ...

injured his right hip flexor on May 6. Shortly after Eckstein's return, Eckstein and Blue Jays teammate Aaron Hill collided trying to catch a fly ball. Hill suffered from concussion-like symptoms, and Scutaro filled in at second base. Scutaro was the starting shortstop for the Blue Jays in 2009, and had his best season to date, achieving career highs in almost every offensive category: 12 home runs, 60 runs batted in, 35 doubles, 235 total bases, 162 hits, 100 runs, 14

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe o ...

s, and 90 walks in 574 at-bats, all while playing slick defense all year.

Boston Red Sox

On December 3, 2009, Scutaro agreed to a two-year, $11 million deal with the

. The deal also included a third-year mutual option. On April 12, 2010, Scutaro recorded the first hit in

Target Field Target Field is a baseball stadium in the historic warehouse district of downtown Minneapolis. Since its opening in 2010, the stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins. The stadium hosted the 2014 Major Leagu ...

history on a single up the middle in the first inning off

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

starter Carl Pavano. Soon after, Scutaro was caught stealing second base, making him the first out recorded at the Twins' new ballpark. In his first season with the team, Scutaro set a number of career highs, including games (150), at-bats (632), hits (174) and doubles (38) while suffering for much of the season with a right shoulder injury which forced him out of practice.

Colorado Rockies

On October 30, 2011, the Red Sox and Scutaro agreed to exercise their mutual contract option. Then, on January 21, 2012, Scutaro was traded to the

for

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 dr ...

Clayton Mortensen Clayton Grant Mortensen (born April 10, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current coach. He played in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies, and Boston Red Sox. Amateu ...

San Francisco Giants

On July 27, 2012, Scutaro was traded, along with cash considerations, to the

for infielder Charlie Culberson. In a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on August 8, 2012, Scutaro drove in a career high seven runs, including a grand slam. He hit .306 for the regular season, including .362 as a Giant, helping the Giants win the

National League West The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...

title. He was awarded the

NLCS MVP The League Championship Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players deemed to have the most impact on their teams' performances in each of the two respective League Championship Series that ...

after tying the NLCS record with 14 hits and also batting .500 (14-for-28) with six runs scored and four runs batted in during the seven game series against the Cardinals. On October 28, in the tenth inning of Game 4 of the

, Scutaro drove in

Ryan Theriot Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an electo ...

for the winning run, as the Giants swept the

. After the 2012 season, Scutaro and the Giants agreed to a three-year, $20 million contract, which became official on December 7, 2012. In 2013, Scutaro was the starting second baseman, with

Tony Abreu Etanislao Toni "Tony" Abreu h-BREH-yu(born November 13, 1984) is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals and San Francisco ...

and Nick Noonan as his main backups. In 81 games in the first half, Scutaro hit .316/.367/.400 with two home runs, 22 runs batted in and 37 runs, and he was named to the 2013 All-Star Game. Scutaro played his last game of 2013 on September 15, and was officially shut down on September 24. He underwent surgery on September 27 that inserted a pin in his left pinkie correcting his mallet finger, an injury he suffered on June 11 against the Pirates when he was hit by Tony Watson. In 127 games in 2013, he hit .297/.357/.369 with two home runs, 31 runs batted in and 57 runs. Scutaro started the 2014 season on the disabled list with back problems. He played in five games in July before his back issues forced him to return to the disabled list for the remainder of the season. On December 19, 2014, Scutaro underwent back surgery that some reports indicated could end his career. The Giants designated him for assignment on January 21, 2015, and he was removed from the 40-man roster. On January 28, 2015, Scutaro was released by the Giants. The Giants re-signed Scutaro to a major league contract on June 17 and placed him on the 60-day disabled list. He continued to rehabilitate his injury with the Giants, not with the intention of playing, but "in hopes of maintaining a quality of life and be pain-free with his family," according to the Giants.

World Baseball Classic

Because of his Italian heritage, Scutaro was given the option of playing for either

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in the

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums that are in and around Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puert ...

. He chose to play for Venezuela as a utility infielder. He again represented Venezuela in the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference ti ...

and

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike t ...

. Venezuela won the bronze medal in 2009, but in 2013 earned an early exit after a loss to Puerto Rico 6–3. However, Venezuela won against newcomers Spain to earn a direct qualification for the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

References

External links

Pura Pelota – Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scutaro, Marco 1975 births Living people Akron Aeros players Boston Red Sox players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Caribes de Oriente players Colorado Rockies players Columbus RedStixx players Indianapolis Indians players Kinston Indians players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops National League All-Stars National League Championship Series MVPs New York Mets players Norfolk Tides players Oakland Athletics players Pastora de los Llanos players Pawtucket Red Sox players People from San Felipe, Venezuela San Francisco Giants players Toronto Blue Jays players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Venezuelan people of Italian descent World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players