Tomás Orlando Pérez Garcia (born December 29, 1973) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball

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 batting practice pitcher for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

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). Pérez was a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player or utility man is a player who has the ability to play more than one position in the field and is primarily used as a substitute. The term super utility player may be used to refer to a player who can play all or mos ...

who throws right-handed and switch hits. As of 2019, he is an infield instructor for the

. Before landing in Philadelphia in 2000, Pérez had played for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

from 1995 to 1998, where he was selected under the provisions of the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. He has also played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

at the MLB level. Pérez is considered to be versatile because of his ability to play all four infield positions.

Professional career

Pérez had his best year in 2003. Shifted between

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...

, first base,

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

, and also as an emergency

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, ...

, Pérez was an asset off the bench. Known for throwing shaving cream pies, Pérez was a popular player with both fans and teammates alike in his six years in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Despite being signed through 2006, Pérez was released by the Phillies on April 2, 2006; he signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on April 6. On

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in Mar ...

, May 14, 2006, Perez was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished a pink bat to benefit th
Breast Cancer Foundation
In 2006, he became the fourth player in Tampa Bay history to have four extra-base hits in a game, a feat that wasn't again matched by a Rays player until Sam Fuld did in April 2011. On May 30, 2007, he was traded from the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

to the

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 ...

for Dwayne Pollok. Through 2008, Pérez was a .240 hitter with 24

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 180 RBI in 789 games. On November 22, 2007, Perez signed a minor league contract with an invitation to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

with the

. He was added to the 25-man roster by the end of spring training. He played 8 games in the majors for Houston and became a free agent at the end of the season. He signed 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 ...

in March 2009 but was released by the organization a month later. On February 9, 2011 Italian baseball team Bbc Grosseto signed Tomàs Pérez to one-year contract, but he was waived on March 6 due to an elbow injury. Perez was named as the infield coach for the A advanced Florida Fire Frogs in the

organization for the 2018 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Tomas 1973 births Living people Burlington Bees players Cardenales de Lara players Caribes de Anzoátegui players Charlotte Knights players Edmonton Trappers players Gulf Coast Expos players Houston Astros players Las Vegas 51s players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 20th-century Venezuelan sportsmen Navegantes del Magallanes players Pastora de Occidente players Baseball players from Barquisimeto Petroleros de Cabimas players Philadelphia Phillies players Reading Phillies players Round Rock Express players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Syracuse Chiefs players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Toronto Blue Jays players Venezuelan baseball coaches Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela 2006 World Baseball Classic players

Professional career

See also

References

External links