Luis Anibal Montañez (born December 15, 1981) is a Puerto Rican 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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

. 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

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Professional career

Minor leagues

Montañez was drafted by the

with the third overall pick of the 2000 MLB draft. He spent seven seasons in the Cubs'

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

but never made it to the major leagues. On January 5, 2007, Montañez signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles. After batting .335 with 26

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 97 RBI in 116 games for the Orioles Double-A affiliate

Bowie Baysox The Chesapeake Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. From 1993 to 2024, th ...

, he was called up to the majors for the first time. In 2008, Montañez won the Eastern League Triple Crown despite missing nearly a month of the season after getting called up to the majors.

Baltimore Orioles

Montañez made his major league debut on August 5, 2008, playing an inning defensively and without making a

plate appearance In baseball, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner. This ha ...

. The next day, he hit a

in his first major-league

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 upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

, making him the second Oriole to accomplish the feat, the first having been Buster Narum in 1963. After starting the 2009 season playing for the Orioles Triple-A affiliate,

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

, Montañez was recalled to the majors on April 21 after an injury to

Ryan Freel Ryan Paul Freel (March 8, 1976 – December 22, 2012) was an American professional baseball player. A utility player, Freel played second base, third base, and all three outfield positions in Major League Baseball for the Baltimore Orioles, Chica ...

. On November 10, 2010, Montanez became a minor league

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 ...

Chicago Cubs

Montañez signed a minor league deal with the

on January 12, 2011. He was called up from the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

on May 24, 2011 and was in the lineup that night at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

against 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 ...

. His first at-bat resulted in an RBI double. He elected free agency on November 28.

Late career

Montañez was signed to a minor league contract by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

on December 21, 2011. He also received an invitation to spring training. He began the year with Triple-A

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...

. On May 4, Montañez was released. On May 21, Montañez signed a minor league deal with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

and was assigned to Triple-A

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

. In 101 total games that year, Montañez hit .241 with two home runs and 26 RBI in 359 plate appearances. On April 3, 2013, Montañez signed with the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American professional Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team based in Bridgewater, New Jersey. They are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League (EL), known as the Double-A Nort ...

of the

Atlantic League 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 loc ...

. In 52 games with the club, he hit .313 with six home runs and 41 RBI. On June 20, Montañez signed a minor league deal with the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

. He was assigned to Double-A

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. On April 25, 2014, Montañez again signed with the Somerset Patriots. He became a free agent after the season. In 130 games he hit .289/.350/.471 with 17 home runs, 74 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montanez, Lou 1981 births Living people Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Arizona League Cubs players Lansing Lugnuts players Daytona Cubs players Boise Hawks players Peoria Chiefs players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Iowa Cubs players Bowie Baysox players Norfolk Tides players Gulf Coast Orioles players Frederick Keys players Baltimore Orioles players Chicago Cubs players Baseball players from Bayamón, Puerto Rico Lehigh Valley IronPigs players 21st-century American sportsmen Memphis Redbirds players Somerset Patriots players Arkansas Travelers players