Hernán Alcides Iribarren (born June 29, 1984) is a Venezuelan former professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base.
Standard arrangement of positions
In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...
and current
coach. He played in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB) for the
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
and
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
.
Professional career
Milwaukee Brewers
Minor leagues
Iribarren was first signed as an undrafted
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...
by the
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
on March 26, 2002. He spent his first professional season () with the rookie–level
Arizona League Brewers and Single–A
Beloit Snappers.
Iribarren stayed at the Single–A level in , playing with the
West Virginia Power. He was promoted to the High–A
Brevard County Manatees in , and then the Double–A
Huntsville Stars in . On March 14, 2008, Iribarren was assigned the Brewers' Triple–A affiliate, the
Nashville Sounds
The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...
.
Iribarren also played two seasons in the
Dominican Summer League
The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only ...
. After playing in 130 games, he accumulated a .329
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
, 4
home runs
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 ...
, 61
RBI, and 24
stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions 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 or out ...
s.
Major leagues
After beginning the 2008 season in the minor leagues, Iribarren was recalled on April 10, 2008. The team planned to use him in the outfield as well as the infield. On April 12, Iribarren got his first career hit off
Carlos Muñiz of the
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
, a single to shallow center. Iribarren saw sporadic playing time with Milwaukee in 2008 and 2009, spending much of his time with Triple–A Nashville. He went 2–for–14 (.143) with one RBI in 12 games in 2008, and went 3–for–13 (.231) with one RBI in another 12 games in 2009.
Texas Rangers
On March 13, 2010, Iribarren was claimed off waivers by the
Texas Rangers. On March 24, he was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A
Oklahoma City RedHawks. In 128 games for Oklahoma City, Iribarren hit .275/.333/.385 with eight home runs, 70 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. He became a free agent after the 2010 season ended.
Colorado Rockies
On January 5, 2011, it was reported that Iribarren signed a minor league contract with the
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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...
that included an invitation to spring training. He suffered a knee injury in spring training and missed the entire 2011 season. Iribarren elected free agency after the season.
On January 31, 2012, Iribarren re–signed with the Rockies on a new minor league contract. He spent the season with the Triple–A
Colorado Springs SkySox, batting .302/.368/.378 with one home run, 40 RBI, and 20 stolen bases. Iribarren became a free agent following the season.
On December 7, 2012, Iribarren re–signed with the Rockies organization on another minor league contract. Playing in 84 games for Colorado Springs in 2013, he hit .312/.368/.407 with two home runs, 32 RBI, and nine stolen bases. Iribarren elected free agency following the season on November 4.
Cincinnati Reds
On January 17, 2014, Iribarren signed a minor league contract with the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
. In 99 games for 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, wi ...
, he hit .233/.304/.297 with one home run and 20 RBI. Iribarren returned to Louisville in 2015, playing in 111 contests and slashing .256/.324/.305 with one home run and 28 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2015.
On November 23, 2015, Iribarren re-signed with the club on a new minor league contract, and began the 2016 season with Louisville. On September 4, 2016, the Reds selected Iribarren's contract, adding him to their active roster. In 24 games for Cincinnati, he batted .311/.311/.444 with two RBI and one stolen base. On October 28, Iribarren was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Triple–A Louisville. He elected free agency following the season on November 7.
On December 9, 2016, Iribarren signed another minor league contract with Cincinnati. In 2017, he played in 94 games for 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, wi ...
, Iribarren hit .285/.331/.382 with 4 home runs and 32 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2017.
On March 25, 2018, Iribarren re–signed with Cincinnati on a minor league deal. He played in 82 games for Triple–A Louisville, slashing .265/.325/.349 with no home runs and 15 RBI. Iribarren elected free agency following the season on November 2. On March 22, 2019, re-signed to a minor league deal with the Reds. However, he did not appear in any games and was released on June 16.
Coaching career
He had retired as an active player and signed on as bench coach for the
Billings Mustangs of the
Pioneer League for the 2019 season. Iribarren became the bench coach for the
Dayton Dragons in 2020.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball players from Venezuela
Since 1939, over 400 Venezuelan baseball players have played in Major League Baseball. This list shows players who appeared in at least one game in MLB, including number indicating order of arrival, name of player, position, starting team, and dat ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iribarren, Hernan
1984 births
Living people
Arizona League Brewers players
Beloit Snappers players
Brevard County Manatees players
Cardenales de Lara players
Cincinnati Reds players
Colorado Springs Sky Sox players
Huntsville Stars players
Louisville Bats players
Major League Baseball players from Venezuela
21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen
Major League Baseball second basemen
Milwaukee Brewers players
Minor league baseball coaches
Nashville Sounds players
Oklahoma City RedHawks players
Baseball players from Barquisimeto
Venezuelan baseball coaches
Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States
West Virginia Power players