Michel Enríquez Tamayo (born November 2, 1979) is a

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n 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 ...

who currently serves as a coach for the

Algodoneros de Unión Laguna The Algodoneros de Unión Laguna (English: Laguna Union Cottoneers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB). Based in Torreón, Coahuila, they play in the North Division of LMB. History Early years The team was established ...

of 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 ...

Biography and career

Enríquez, who plays third base for

Isla de la Juventud Isla de la Juventud (; ) is the second-largest Cuban island (after Cuba's mainland) and the seventh-largest island in the West Indies (after mainland Cuba itself, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and Andros Island). The island was ...

in the

Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, or SNB) is a domestic baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the National Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. For most ...

, led the league in

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 ...

and

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

in the 2005-06 season, at .447 and .690, respectively. Enríquez is a roster fixture at third base for the

Cuban national baseball team The Cuba national baseball team () represents Cuba at regional and international levels. The team is generally made up of players from the domestic Cuban national baseball system, though it has at times included professional players who defect ...

. He holds National Series records for hits (152) and doubles (35) in a season (1999, 90 games), and was part of Cuba's

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

-winning team at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

and the second place team at 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 in or around Tokyo, Japan, and the American cities o ...

. He has one brother and one sister. Enríquez was left off of Cuba's roster for the 2000 Olympics, with some speculating fear of defection and others opining that it was due to Enríquez's youth (still just 21 years old) and lack of experience in international tournaments relative to some of the other available options. He hit .353/.451/.595 in the 2000-2001 Serie Nacional. On June 13, 2013, Enríquez signed with the

Piratas de Campeche The Piratas de Campeche (English: Campeche Pirates) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico. History In 1980, the Alacranes de Durango moved to Campeche, and played their home games at Ven ...

of the

. In seven appearances for Campeche, he batted .240/.321/.240 with two RBI and three walks. Enríquez was released by the Piratas on June 24. In 2017, while playing for Vegueros de Pinar del Río, Enríquez collected his 2000th professional hit.

References

External links

1979 births Living people Olympic baseball players for Cuba Olympic silver medalists for Cuba Olympic gold medalists for Cuba Olympic medalists in baseball Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for Cuba Pan American Games gold medalists for Cuba Baseball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Baseball players at the 2003 Pan American Games 2003 Baseball World Cup players 2005 Baseball World Cup players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players People from Nueva Gerona Sportspeople from Isla de la Juventud Piratas de Campeche players Isla de la Juventud players Pan American Games gold medalists in baseball Pan American Games bronze medalists in baseball Pan American Games baseball players for Cuba Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Cuba Competitors at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in baseball Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games 21st-century Cuban sportsmen Baseball players from Isla de la Juventud {{Cuba-baseball-third-baseman-stub