José Luis Paniagua Sánchez (born August 20, 1973) is a Dominican 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 ...

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. He appeared in

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from 1996 through 2003 with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

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

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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

, and

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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

from 1996 to 2003.

Career

Early career

Jesús Alou Jesús María Rojas Alou (, March 24, 1942 – March 10, 2023) was a Dominican professional baseball outfielder. During a 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played for the San Francisco Giants (1963–68), the Houston Astros (1969� ...

, working as a

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for the

, signed Paniagua in 1990. Paniagua pitched in the Dominican Republic in 1991 and 1992, making his debut in the United States in 1993 in the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the low ...

(GCL) with the GCL Expos. Named one of the Expos' top ten prospects by ''

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'' before the 1994 season, Paniagua pitched for the

West Palm Beach Expos The West Palm Beach Expos were a Florida State League minor league baseball team which existed from 1969 through the 1997 season in West Palm Beach, Florida. History The West Palm Beach Expos were a Class A affiliate of the Montreal Expos and pla ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

that year. In 1995, Paniagua started the season with the

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League B ...

Eastern League, but was promoted to the

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal Exp ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

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 (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

to pitch in the Governors' Cup, the league championship series. He pitched in game one, recording the win.

Major League Baseball

Paniagua made his

(MLB) debut on April 5, 1996, defeating 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 ...

, as the Expos needed a starter to replace the injured Carlos Pérez. However, the Expos sent him back to the minor leagues later that month, when Perez returned. In 22 games for the Expos in 1996 and 1997, Paniagua pitched to a 3–6

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with a 5.74

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 ...

. The

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...

selected Paniagua from the Expos in the 1997 MLB expansion draft. Later that offseason, the

selected Paniagua from waivers. Paniagua spent most of the 1998 season with the

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

, the Mariners' Class AAA affiliate, which play in the

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

. He received a promotion to the Mariners in August, joining the Mariners'

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

as a

. On December 16, 2001, the Mariners traded Paniagua with Brian Fuentes and

Denny Stark Dennis James Stark (born October 27, 1974) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) right-handed pitcher who played with the Seattle Mariners across two separate stints, as well as for the Colorado Rockies, from 1999 to 2009. Amateur c ...

to 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 ...

for

Jeff Cirillo Jeffrey Howard Cirillo (born September 23, 1969) is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball. In a 14-season career, Cirillo was a .296 hitter with 112 home runs and 727 RBI in 1617 games. He was named an All-Star in and . He ...

. Though the Rockies intended to send Paniagua to the

for Shane Halter, the trade fell apart. On March 25, 2002, the Rockies traded Paniagua to the

for Víctor Santos and

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. The Tigers released Paniagua during September. Paniagua signed as a free agent with the Devil Rays in February 2003, but was released in March. He played for the Rojos del Águila de Veracruz in the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

, until the

purchased him on August 26, 2003. He appeared in one game with the White Sox, on September 9. Paniagua entered the game with a six-run lead in the ninth inning. He proceeded to allow four earned runs on three hits and a walk in of an inning. He then was pulled from the game by manager

Jerry Manuel Jerry Lorenzo Manuel Sr. (born December 23, 1953), nicknamed "the Sage", is an American former professional baseball second baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Montreal Expos, and San Diego Padres ...

. On his way to the dugout, he started arguing with

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

Mark Carlson, who ejected him. Paniagua responded by giving Carlson

the finger "The finger", or the middle finger (as in giving someone the (middle) finger, flipping the bird or flipping someone off) is an obscene hand gesture. The gesture communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent in meaning t ...

. Although he expressed remorse for his actions in a meeting with Manuel and general manager Kenny Williams, the White Sox released him the next day; Williams said that he could understand Paniagua was somewhat rusty, but felt that "the loss of composure at a crucial time or situation is just something we can’t tolerate."

Later career

Paniagua signed with 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 ...

in January 2007, but was released in March. 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

signed him in July; he was granted free agency in October. He also saw time in the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

and

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

organizations. Paniagua split 2008 in

independent league baseball Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

between the St. George RoadRunners of the

Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the Western United States, Western Canada and northwest Mexico. The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the org ...

and the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "par ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paniagua, Jose 1973 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Altoona Curve players Cardenales de Lara players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Detroit Tigers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Gulf Coast Expos players Gulf Coast Pirates players Harrisburg Senators players Leones del Escogido players Long Island Ducks players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 20th-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Mexican League baseball pitchers Montreal Expos players Ottawa Lynx players People from San José de Ocoa Province Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players Seattle Mariners players St. George Roadrunners players Tacoma Rainiers players Toledo Mud Hens players West Palm Beach Expos players Dominican Summer League Marlins players Macoto Cobras players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Venezuela