List of Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico

Location of Puerto Rico's main island (green)

Puerto Rico currently has the fourth-most active players in Major League Baseball (MLB) among Latin American jurisdictions, behind the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Cuba.^[1] More than two hundred players from the archipelago have played in the major leagues since 1942. This includes players who were born in either one of the archipelago's islands and those of Puerto Rican heritage who have represented Puerto Rico in international competition. Only those players who have worked in the league are listed, not those active in the minor leagues.

The first player from Puerto Rico to play in MLB was Hiram Bithorn.^[2] After the baseball color line was abandoned following Jackie Robinson's debut in the league, more players from the island signed contracts. This led to an improvement in their performance, and some of them were selected to participate in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Including their names in the Major League Baseball draft is a requisite for first-year players born in Puerto Rico, because the league recognizes the island as a jurisdiction within the United States.^[3] Following the implementation of this measure, Puerto Rico's government requested exclusion from the draft and help to develop players, in order to reduce the impact of the change in the format of talent development.^[3]

Historical performance and regulations

Baseball was introduced to Puerto Rico by immigrants during the nineteenth century. The first sanctioned baseball game in the island was played on January 9, 1898 in Santurce, Puerto Rico, where two teams composed of Puerto Rican, American and Cuban players participated.^[4] After this game, baseball became a widespread sport and professional and amateur leagues were organized. During this time period, the Puerto Rico national teams experienced success on international competition and Afro-Puerto Rican players began to participate in the Negro Leagues.^[5]

Map listing the countries that participated in the first edition of the World Baseball Classic

The first player born in Puerto Rico who played in MLB was Hiram Bithorn, who debuted as a pitcher with the Chicago Cubs on April 15, 1942.^[2] This was followed by the introduction of African American players in Major League Baseball, which allowed more chances to players born in the island. Subsequently, Afro-Puerto Rican players such as Orlando Cepeda and Victor Pellot Power began having solid performances in the league, and were selected to participate in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.^[6] In 1973, Roberto Clemente became the first player from Puerto Rico and first Latin American to be elected as a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.^[7] Since then Puerto Rico has kept a stable amount of players in the league. During this timeframe, several players have been selected to participate in the All-Star Game or won awards for their performance, while others imposed records within the league. These include Javy López, who holds the record for most home runs hit by a catcher in a single season.^[8] Both Iván Rodríguez and Roberto Alomar hold the record for most Gold Glove Awards in their positions.^[9][10] Recipients of the Most Valuable Player Award include Orlando Cepeda, Juan González and Iván Rodríguez. Roberto Clemente and Mike Lowell also won the World Series MVP Award in their respective divisions.^[11] Carlos Delgado is the only Latin to hit 4 homers in a game.

Originally, players who were either born or naturalized in Puerto Rico were able to sign with MLB teams as free agents, usually receiving minor-league contracts prior to their debut in the league. In 1989, Major League Baseball decided to include the island in the list of jurisdictions within the United States, which made mandatory that first-year players include their name in the Major League Baseball Draft in order to receive a contract.^[3] This was based on an initiative that was supposed to create a national and international drafting system. The change reduced the amount of players that were able to participate in the league, by limiting the number of them selected by the teams;^[3] this led to the island's Secretary of Recreation and Sports, to formally ask to Major League's involvement in developing specialized schools to produce more players and other measures to reduce the impact of the draft's implementation.^[3] The original proposal included Puerto Rico's exclusion of the draft for a period of ten years, but this was not approved by the league.

Puerto Rico was one of sixteen teams to participate in the inaugural edition of the World Baseball Classic.^[12] The tournament was created by Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association, and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world, including the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League. The first event was organized in 2006, and was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation. The Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico served as one of the venues for the first and second rounds.^[13] The stadium also hosted 22 Montreal Expos home games in 2003, after the league decided to relocate the team to San Juan as part of an experiment to "globalize" baseball.^[14] During the series there was an average attendance of 14,222.^[15]

List of players

This includes baseball players from Puerto Rico that have played in MLB from 1942 to the present day. While the majority of the players were born on the archipelago, the list also includes players born on the mainland US to Puerto Rican parents, such as John Candelaria, Bobby Bonilla and John Valentin. Puerto Ricans typically consider the diaspora as their own.

A–E

Carlos Beltrán

Ramón Castro

Name	Debut team	Years active	Reference
Juan Agosto	Chicago White Sox	1981–1993	[16]
Luis Aguayo	Philadelphia Phillies	1980–1989	[17]
Jonathan Albaladejo	Washington Nationals	2007–present	[18]
José Alberro	Texas Rangers	1995–1997	[19]
Luis Alcaraz	Los Angeles Dodgers	1967–1970	[20]
Luis Alicea	St. Louis Cardinals	1988–2002	[21]
Sandy Alomar, Jr.	San Diego Padres	1988–2007	[22]
Sandy Alomar, Sr.	Milwaukee Braves	1964–1978	[23]
Roberto Alomar	San Diego Padres	1988–2004	[24]
Luis Alvarado	Boston Red Sox	1968–1977	[25]
Orlando Álvarez	Los Angeles Dodgers	1973–1976	[26]
Luis Aquino	Toronto Blue Jays	1986–1995	[27]
Luis Arroyo	St. Louis Cardinals	1955–1963	[28]
Luis Atilano	Washington Nationals	2010	[29]
Ramón Avilés	Boston Red Sox	1977–1981	[30]
Benny Ayala	New York Mets	1974–1985	[31]
Carlos Baerga	Cleveland Indians	1990–2005	[32]
Javier Báez	Chicago Cubs	2014–present	[33]
Carlos Beltrán	Kansas City Royals	1998-2017	[34]
Juan Beníquez	Boston Red Sox	1971–1987	[35]
Yamil Benítez	Montreal Expos	1995–1998	[36]
Tony Bernazard	Montreal Expos	1979–1991	[37]
Carlos Bernier	Pittsburgh Pirates	1953	[38]
José Berríos	Minnesota Twins	2016–Present	[39]
Hiram Bithorn	Chicago Cubs	1942–1947	[2]
Hiram Bocachica	Los Angeles Dodgers	2000–2007	[40]
Ricky Bones	San Diego Padres	1991–2001	[41]
Juan Bonilla	San Diego Padres	1981–1987	[42]
Hiram Burgos	Milwaukee Brewers	2013–present	[43]
Fernando Cabrera	Cleveland Indians	2004–2010	[44]
Ivan Calderón	Seattle Mariners	1984–1993	[45]
Kiko Calero	St. Louis Cardinals	2003–2010	[46]
Robinson Cancel	Milwaukee Brewers	1999–2011c	[47]
John Candelaria	Pittsburgh Pirates	1975–1993	[48]
Víctor Caratini	Chicago Cubs	2017–present	[49]
Javier Cardona	Detroit Tigers	2015–present	[50]
Rafael Carmona	Seattle Mariners	1995–1999	[51]
Raúl Casanova	Detroit Tigers	1996–2009	[52]
Ramón Castro	Florida Marlins	1999–2011	[53]
Xavier Cedeño	Washington Nationals	2011–present	[54]
Juan Centeno	New York Mets	2013–present	[55]
Orlando Cepeda	San Francisco Giants	1958–1974	[56]
Alex Cintrón	Arizona Diamondbacks	2001–2010	[57]
Edgard Clemente	Colorado Rockies	1998–2005	[58]
Alex Claudio	Texas Rangers	2014–present	[59]
Roberto Clemente	Pittsburgh Pirates	1955–1972	[60]
Jaime Cocanower	Milwaukee Brewers	1983–1986	[61]
Willie Collazo	New York Mets	2007	[62]
Joe Colón	Cleveland Indians	2016	[63]
Onix Concepción	Kansas City Royals	1980–1987	[64]
Ramón Conde	Chicago White Sox	1962	[65]
Alex Cora	Los Angeles Dodgers	1998–2011	[66]
Joey Cora	San Diego Padres	1987–1998	[67]
Wil Cordero	Montreal Expos	1992–2007	[68]
Carlos Corporán	Houston Astros	2009–present	[69]
Carlos Correa	Houston Astros	2015–present	[70]
Edwin Correa	Chicago White Sox	1985–1987	[71]
César Crespo	San Diego Padres	2001–2004	[72]
Felipe Crespo	Toronto Blue Jays	1996–2001	[73]
Héctor Cruz	St. Louis Cardinals	1973–1982	[74]
Julio Cruz	Seattle Mariners	1977–1986	[75]
Iván Cruz	New York Yankees	1997–2002	[76]
José Cruz	St. Louis Cardinals	1970–1988	[77]
José Cruz, Jr.	Seattle Mariners	1997–2008	[78]
Cirilo "Tommy" Cruz	St. Louis Cardinals	1973–1977	[79]
Iván DeJesús	Los Angeles Dodgers	1974–1988	[80]
José De La Torre	Boston Red Sox	2014–present	[81]
José De León	Los Angeles Dodgers	2016–present	[82]
Luis DeLeón	St. Louis Cardinals	1981–1989	[83]
Carlos Delgado	Toronto Blue Jays	1993–2009	[84]
Puchy Delgado	Seattle Mariners	1977	[85]
Alex Díaz	Milwaukee Brewers	1992–1999	[86]
Carlos Díaz	Atlanta Braves	1982–1986
Edgar Díaz	Milwaukee Brewers	1986–1990	[87]
Edwin Díaz	Arizona Diamondbacks	1998–1999	[88]
Edwin Díaz	Seattle Mariners	2016–present	[89]
Mario Díaz	Seattle Mariners	1987–1995	[90]
Mike Díaz	Chicago Cubs	1983–1988	[91]
Angel Echevarría	Colorado Rockies	1996–2002	[92]
Nino Escalera	Cincinnati Redlegs	1954	[93]

F–L

Rubén Gotay

Javier López

Mike Lowell

Name	Debut team	Years active	Reference
Irving Falú	Kansas City Royals	2012–2014	[94]
Jesús Feliciano	New York Mets	2010	[95]
Pedro Feliciano	New York Mets	2002–2013	[96]
Sergio Ferrer	Minnesota Twins	1974–1979	[97]
Ed Figueroa	California Angels	1974–1981	[98]
Luis Figueroa	Pittsburgh Pirates	2001–2007	[99]
Gil Flores	California Angels	1977–1979	[100]
Miguel Fuentes	Seattle Pilots	1969	[101]
Rey Fuentes	San Diego Padres	2013–2017	[102]
Pedro García	Milwaukee Brewers	1973–1977	[103]
Leo Gómez	Baltimore Orioles	1990–1996	[104]
Rubén Gómez	New York Giants	1953–1962	[105]
Andy González	Chicago White Sox	2007–2009	[106]
Dicky Gonzalez	New York Mets	2001–2004	[107]
Fernando González	Pittsburgh Pirates	1972–1979	[108]
Juan González	Texas Rangers	1989–2005	[109]
Julio González	Houston Astros	1977–1983	[110]
Raúl González	Chicago Cubs	2000–2004	[111]
Julio Gotay	St. Luis Cardinals	1960–1969	[112]
Rubén Gotay	Kansas City Royals	2004–2008	[113]
Edwards Guzmán	San Francisco Giants	1999–2003	[114]
José Guzmán	Texas Rangers	1985–1994	[115]
Von Hayes	Cleveland Indians	1981–1992
Jesús Hernáiz	Philadelphia Phillies	1974	[116]
Alex Hernández	Pittsburgh Pirates	2000–2001	[117]
Enrique Hernández	Miami Marlins	2014–present	[118]
José Hernández	Texas Rangers	1991–2006	[119]
Ramón Hernández	Atlanta Braves	1967–1977	[120]
Roberto Hernández	Chicago White Sox	1991–2007	[121]
Willie Hernández	Chicago Cubs	1977–1989	[122]
Orlando Isales	Philadelphia Phillies	1980	[123]
Joe Jiménez	Detroit Tigers	2017–present	[124]
Coco Laboy	Montreal Expos	1969–1973	[125]
Ricky Ledée	New York Yankees	1998–2007	[126]
José León	Baltimore Orioles	2002–2004	[127]
Carlos Lezcano	Chicago Cubs	1980–1981	[128]
Sixto Lezcano	Milwaukee Brewers	1974–1985	[129]
Frankie Librán	San Diego Padres	1969	[130]
José Lind	Pittsburgh Pirates	1987–1995	[131]
Francisco Lindor	Cleveland Indians	2015–present	[132]
Art López	New York Yankees	1965	[133]
Felipe López	Toronto Blue Jays	2001–2011	[134]
Javier López	Colorado Rockies	2003–2016	[135]
Javy López	Atlanta Braves	1992–2006	[136]
Jorge López	Milwaukee Brewers	2015–present	[137]
Luis López	San Diego Padres	1993–2005	[138]
Mike Lowell	Boston Red Sox	1998–2010	[139]
Seth Lugo	New York Mets	2016–present	[140]

M–Q

Bengie and Yadier Molina

Joel Piñeiro

Jorge Posada

Name	Debut team	Years active	Reference
Candy Maldonado	Los Angeles Dodgers	1981–1991	[141]
Martín Maldonado	Milwaukee Brewers	2011–present	[142]
Ángel Mangual	Pittsburgh Pirates	1969–1976	[143]
Pepe Mangual	Montreal Expos	1972–1977	[144]
Félix Mantilla Lamela	Milwaukee Braves	1956–1966	[145]
Luis Márquez	Boston Braves	1951–1954	[146]
Oreste Marrero	Montreal Expos	1993–1996	[147]
Carmelo Martínez	Chicago Cubs	1983–1991	[148]
Edgar Martínez	Seattle Mariners	1987–2004	[149]
Javier Martínez	Pittsburgh Pirates	1998	[150]
Ramón Martínez	San Francisco Giants	1998–2009
Damon Mashore	Oakland Athletics	1996–1998	[151]
Luis Matos	Baltimore Orioles	2000–2007	[152]
Edwin Maysonet	Houston Astros	2008–2012	[153]
Francisco Meléndez	Philadelphia Phillies	1984–1989	[154]
José Meléndez	Seattle Mariners	1990–1994	[155]
Luis Meléndez	St. Louis Cardinals	1970–1976	[156]
Héctor Mercado	Cincinnati Reds	2000–2003	[157]
Orlando Mercado	Seattle Mariners	1982–1990	[158]
Orlando Merced	Pittsburgh Pirates	1990–2003	[159]
Félix Millán	Atlanta Braves	1966–1977	[160]
Ángel Miranda	Milwaukee Brewers	1993–1997	[161]
Bengie Molina	Anaheim Angels	1998–2010	[162]
José Molina	Chicago Cubs	1999–2014	[163]
Yadier Molina	St. Louis Cardinals	2004–present	[164]
Rafael Montalvo	Houston Astros	1986	[165]
Lou Montañez	Baltimore Orioles	2008–2011	[166]
Willie Montañez	California Angels	1966–1982	[167]
Charlie Montoyo	Montreal Expos	1993	[168]
Jerry Morales	San Diego Padres	1969–1983	[169]
José Morales	Minnesota Twins	2007–2011	[170]
José Morales	Oakland Athletics	1973–1984	[171]
Roger Moret	Boston Red Sox	1970–1978	[172]
Steven Moya	Detroit Tigers	2014–present	[173]
Manny Muñiz	Philadelphia Phillies	1971	[174]
Bobby Muñoz	New York Yankees	1993–2001	[175]
Pedro Muñoz	Minnesota Twins	1990–1996	[176]
Jaime Navarro	Milwaukee Brewers	1989–2000	[177]
Julio Navarro	Los Angeles Angels	1962–1970	[178]
Rey Navarro	Baltimore Orioles	2015 –present	[179]
Tito Navarro	New York Mets	1993	[180]
Juan Nieves	Milwaukee Brewers	1986–1988	[181]
Melvin Nieves	Atlanta Braves	1992–1998	[182]
Wil Nieves	San Diego Padres	2002–present	[183]
Edwin Núñez	Seattle Mariners	1982–1994	[184]
Ed Olivares	St. Louis Cardinals	1960–1961	[185]
Omar Olivares	St. Louis Cardinals	1990–2001	[186]
Francisco Oliveras	Minnesota Twins	1989–1992	[187]
Luis Rodríguez Olmo	Brooklyn Dodgers	1943–1951	[188]
José Oquendo	New York Mets	1983–1995	[189]
Héctor Ortiz	Kansas City Royals	1998–2002	[190]
José Ortiz	Chicago White Sox	1969–1971	[191]
Junior Ortíz	Pittsburgh Pirates	1982–1994	[192]
Willis Otáñez	Baltimore Orioles	1998–1999	[193]
Ricky Otero	New York Mets	1995–1997	[194]
Jorge Padilla	Washington Nationals	2009	[195]
Juan Padilla	New York Yankees	2004–2005	[196]
Ángel Pagán	Chicago Cubs	2006–present	[197]
José Pagán	San Francisco Giants	1959–1973	[198]
Sam Parrilla	Philadelphia Phillies	1970	[199]
Victor Pellot	Philadelphia Athletics	1954–1965	[200]
Bert Peña	Houston Astros	1981–1987	[201]
Luis Peraza	Philadelphia Phillies	1969	[202]
Michael Pérez	Tampa Bay Rays	2018–present	[203]
Mike Pérez	St. Louis Cardinals	1990–1997	[204]
Roberto Pérez	Cleveland Indians	2014–present	[205]
Joel Piñeiro	Seattle Mariners	2000–2011	[206]
Juan Pizarro	Milwaukee Braves	1957–1974	[207]
Carlos Ponce	Milwaukee Brewers	1985	[208]
Jorge Posada	New York Yankees	1995–2011	[209]
Luis Quiñones	Oakland Athletics	1983–1992	[210]
Rey Quiñones	Boston Red Sox	1986–1989	[211]
Luis Quintana	California Angels	1974–1975	[212]

R–W

Iván Rodríguez

Rubén Sierra

Bernie Williams

Name	Debut team	Years active	Reference
Mario Ramírez	New York Mets	1980–1985	[213]
Milt Ramírez	St. Louis Cardinals	1970–1979	[214]
Alex Ríos	Toronto Blue Jays	2004–2015	[215]
Armando Ríos	San Francisco Giants	1998–2003	[216]
Juan Ríos	Kansas City Royals	1969	[217]
Yacksel Ríos	Philadelphia Phillies	2017–present	[218]
Bombo Rivera	Montreal Expos	1975–1982	[219]
Carlos Rivera	Pittsburgh Pirates	2003–2004	[220]
Germán Rivera	Los Angeles Dodgers	1983–1985	[221]
Luis Rivera	Montreal Expos	1986–1998	[222]
Mike Rivera	Detroit Tigers	2001–2011	[223]
René Rivera	Seattle Mariners	2002–present	[224]
Roberto Rivera	Chicago Cubs	1995–1999	[225]
Saúl Rivera	Washington Nationals	2006–2010	[226]
T.J. Rivera	New York Mets	2016–present	[227]
Yadiel Rivera	Milwaukee Brewers	2015–present	[228]
Dereck Rodríguez	San Francisco Giants	2018–present	[229]
Eduardo Rodríguez	Milwaukee Brewers	1973–1979	[230]
Edwin Rodríguez	New York Yankees	1982–1985	[231]
Ellie Rodríguez	New York Yankees	1968–1976	[232]
Iván Rodríguez	Texas Rangers	1991–2010	[233]
José Rodríguez	St. Louis Cardinals	2000–2002	[234]
Tony Rodríguez	Boston Red Sox	1996	[235]
Ed Romero	Milwaukee Brewers	1977–1989	[236]
J. C. Romero	Minnesota Twins	1999–2012	[237]
Gil Rondón	Houston Astros	1976–1979	[238]
Jorge Roque	St. Louis Cardinals	1970–1973	[239]
José Rosado	Kansas City Royals	1996–2000
Luis Rosado	New York Mets	1977–1980	[240]
Eddie Rosario	Minnesota Twins	2015–present	[241]
Jimmy Rosario	San Francisco Giants	1971–1976	[242]
Santiago Rosario	Kansas City Athletics	1965	[243]
Dave Rosello	Chicago Cubs	1972–1981	[244]
Rico Rossy	Atlanta Braves	1991–1998	[245]
Chico Ruiz	Atlanta Braves	1978–1980	[246]
Ángel Sánchez	Kansas City Royals	2006–2013	[247]
Jonathan Sánchez	San Francisco Giants	2006–2013	[248]
Orlando Sánchez	St. Louis Cardenals	1981–1984	[249]
Rey Sánchez	Chicago Cubs	1991–2005	[250]
Benito Santiago	San Diego Padres	1986–2005	[251]
Héctor Santiago	Chicago White Sox	2011–present	[252]
José "Pantalones" Santiago	Cleveland Indians	1954–1956	[253]
José "Palillo" Santiago	Kansas City Athletics	1963–1970	[254]
José Santiago	Kansas City Royals	1997–2005	[255]
Rafael Santo Domingo	Cincinnati Reds	1979	[256]
Ángel Santos	Boston Red Sox	2001–2003	[257]
Omir Santos	Baltimore Orioles	2008–2013	[258]
Candy Sierra	San Diego Padres	1988	[259]
Rubén Sierra	Texas Rangers	1986–2006	[260]
Geovany Soto	Chicago Cubs	2005–2017	[261]
Neftalí Soto	Cincinnati Reds	2013–2014	[262]
Danny Tartabull	Seattle Mariners	1984–1997	[263]
Valmy Thomas	New York Giants	1957–1961	[264]
Dickie Thon	California Angels	1979–1993	[265]
Andrés Torres	Detroit Tigers	2002–2013	[266]
Félix Torres	Los Angeles Angels	1962–1964	[267]
Rusty Torres	New York Yankees	1971–1981	[268]
Pedro Valdés	Chicago Cubs	1996–2000	[269]
Javier Valentín	Minnesota Twins	1997–2008	[270]
José Valentín	Milwaukee Brewers	1992–2007	[271]
Julio Valera	New York Mets	1990–1996	[272]
Héctor Valle	Los Angeles Dodgers	1965	[273]
Eddie Vargas	Pittsburgh Pirates	1982–1984	[274]
Kennys Vargas	Minnesota Twins	2014–2017	[275]
Roberto Vargas	Milwaukee Braves	1955	[276]
Christian Vázquez	Boston Red Sox	2014–present	[277]
Javier Vázquez	Montreal Expos	1998–2011	[278]
Ramón Vázquez	Seattle Mariners	2001–2009	[279]
Jesús Vega	Minnesota Twins	1979–1982	[280]
Carlos Velázquez	Milwaukee Brewers	1973	[281]
Otto Vélez	New York Yankees	1973–1983	[282]
José Vidro	Montreal Expos	1997–2008	[283]
Héctor Villanueva	Chicago Cubs	1990–1993	[284]
Ismael Villegas	Atlanta Braves	2000	[285]
Ozzie Virgil, Jr.	Philadelphia Phillies	1980–1990	[286]
Bernie Williams	New York Yankees	1991–2006	[287]

See also

• List of current Major League Baseball players by nationality

References

External links

• "Welcome to Puerto Rico". ESPN. 2006-01-16. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
• "A look at all of the Puerto Rican players who've played in MLB". MLB.com. 2018-04-17. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
• "Major League Baseball Players Born in Puerto Rico / Played in 2017". baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved 2018-08-23.