Willis Alexander Otáñez (born April 19, 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 ...

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 ...

. 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

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 ...

, and in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL) for the

Macoto Cobras is a unisex Japanese name although it is more commonly used by males. As a noun, Makoto means "sincerity" (誠) or "truth" (真, 眞). People Given name * Makoto (musician) (born 1977), drum and bass artist *Makoto (Sharan Q) ( まこと), d ...

Career

Otáñez was originally signed by 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 ...

as an amateur free agent in 1990. He played in the Dodgers farm system through the 1995 season, then was traded along with

Miguel Cairo Miguel Jesús Cairo i'-row(born May 4, 1974), is a Venezuelans, Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder and currently the Coach (baseball), bench coach for the Washington Nationals. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine ...

to the

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 ...

in exchange for Mike Blowers. He lasted just a couple months with Seattle before being placed on waivers and claimed by the

. Otáñez made his Major League Baseball debut with the

on August 25, 1998. He played the remainder of 1998 and part of {1999 with the Orioles before being claimed on waivers by the

. In 2000, he returned to the minor leagues for the Blue Jays. Otáñez went on to play in 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 ...

organization in 2001, then played for the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseb ...

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 ...

in 2002. After starting 2003 with the Bluefish, he returned to the Orioles system to finish the season. After spending another half season at Bridgeport in 2004, he has split each subsequent season in the minors and independent leagues and also has played winter ball in the

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

. Otáñez was named the most valuable player of the 2010 Mexican League season while playing with the

Pericos de Puebla The Pericos de Puebla (English: Puebla Parrots) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Puebla. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Hermanos Serdán. Established in 1938, the Pericos have won five Mexican League ...

. He batted a league-best .393, adding 12 home runs and 76 RBI.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
1973 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players Bakersfield Dodgers players Baltimore Orioles players Bowie Baysox players Bridgeport Bluefish players Broncos de Reynosa players Camden Riversharks players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Estrellas Orientales players Great Falls Dodgers players Greenville Braves players Guerreros de Oaxaca players Gulf Coast Orioles players Langosteros de Cancún players Leones del Escogido players Long Island Ducks players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball third basemen Mexican League baseball first basemen Mexican League baseball third basemen Mexican League Most Valuable Player Award winners Navegantes del Magallanes players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Newark Bears players Olmecas de Tabasco players Pericos de Puebla players Petroleros de Minatitlán players Piratas de Campeche players Rochester Red Wings players Rieleros de Aguascalientes players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players San Antonio Missions players Saraperos de Saltillo players Sultanes de Monterrey players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Tennessee Smokies players Tigres del Licey players Toronto Blue Jays players Toros del Este players Vero Beach Dodgers players People from Cotuí Sportspeople from Sánchez Ramírez Province {{Baseball-third-baseman-stub