Luis Vizcaíno Árias (born August 6, 1974) is a

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

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 ...

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 ...

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

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

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 , the team ...

in his career.

Career

Vizcaíno was signed by the

as an amateur free agent in . After gradually working his way through the Athletics minor league system, he made one relief appearance for the A's in , 12 in , and 36 in , but continued to spend significant time in Triple-A. In , he was traded to the Texas Rangers for

Justin Duchscherer, and the Rangers in turn traded him to the

for Jesús Peña. In his three years with the Brewers, Vizcaíno was a workhorse. After an outstanding 2002 (5-3, 2.99

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

, 76 appearances), he slumped badly in (4-3, 6.39 ERA, 75 appearances) before having a bounce-back campaign (4-4, 3.75 ERA, 73 appearances). Milwaukee then sent him to the

along with Scott Podsednik and Travis Hinton for Carlos Lee. With the White Sox, Vizcaíno had another solid year, going 6–5 with a 3.73 ERA in 65 appearances for the World Champions (he pitched one scoreless inning during the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

in his only playoff appearance). After the season, Chicago traded him to the

. In , Vizcaíno went 4-6 and posted a 3.75 ERA in 70 games for the Diamondbacks. On January 9, , Vizcaíno was traded to the

with three prospects for

Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed, "the Big Unit," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle Mariners and Arizo ...

. He achieved a rare feat on July 21, 2007, when he was credited with both wins in relief in a day-night doubleheader for the Yankees, joining about 30 other pitchers. In 2007, he pitched in 77 games, which was 4th-most in the AL. On December 21, 2007, he signed with the

. On January 6, 2009, Vizcaíno was traded to the

for Jason Marquis. Vizcaíno was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

and released by the Cubs on April 23, 2009. On May 8, 2009, Vizcaíno signed a minor league deal with the

. He then was signed to a major league deal on May 14. He was designated for assignment on June 23, and released on June 30 after clearing waivers. Vizcaíno performed well in the

Dominican Winter League The Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League ( or LIDOM) is a professional baseball Winter league baseball, winter league consisting of six teams spread across the Dominican Republic; it is the highest level of professional baseball played ...

following the 2010 season. On December 19, 2010, Vizcaíno signed a minor league contract to return with

with an invitation to spring training. His contract was voided on February 9, 2011, because of a tear to his

achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

. On June 29, 2011, he was suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball for testing positive for the banned

performance-enhancing drug Performance-enhancing substances (PESs), also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. Many substances, such as anabolic steroids, can be used to improve at ...

stanozolol Stanozolol (Abbreviation, abbrev. Stz), sold under many brand names, is a synthetic androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication derived from dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It is used to treat hereditary angioedema. It was developed by American ph ...

. Despite pitching 546.2 career innings in the major leagues, Vizcaino handled 83

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

(30 putouts, 53 assists) without an

error An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

. Vizcaino signed a minor league deal with 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 ...

in January 2014. He was released in March, and ended his career with the Mexican League in 2015.

Personal life

Vizcaino was born in

Baní Baní is a capital town of the Peravia Province, Dominican Republic. It is the commercial and manufacturing center in the southern region of Valdesia. The town is located 65 km south of the capital city Santo Domingo. Baní is the headquart ...

. Vizcaino's second cousin, José Vizcaíno, was a long-time MLB

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 ...

. On October 27, 2008, Vizcaíno was arrested in Tampa for

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI) is the crime of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while one is impaired from doing so safely by the effect of either alcohol (drug), alcohol (see drunk driving) or some other drug, whether re ...

after being pulled over for driving in a zone.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vizcaino, Luis 1974 births Águilas Cibaeñas players Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona League Athletics players Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States EDA Rhinos players Huntsville Stars players Living people Leones de Yucatán players New York Yankees players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 20th-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Mexican League baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players Modesto A's players Oakland Athletics players Baseball players from Baní Sacramento River Cats players Southern Oregon Timberjacks players Sultanes de Monterrey players Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions players Vancouver Canadians players