Ricky Gutiérrez

Ricky Gutiérrez
Shortstop
Born: (1970-05-23) May 23, 1970
Miami, Florida
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 13, 1993, for the San Diego Padres
Last MLB appearance
October 3, 2004, for the Boston Red Sox
MLB statistics
Batting average .266
Home runs 38
Runs batted in 357
Teams

Ricardo "Ricky" Gutiérrez (born May 23, 1970) is an American former shortstop in Major League Baseball who played from 1993 through 2004 for the San Diego Padres (1993-1994), Houston Astros (1995-1999), Chicago Cubs (2000-2001), Cleveland Indians (2002-2003), New York Mets (2004) and Boston Red Sox (2004). He batted and threw right-handed. He was also the only Houston Astros player to get a base hit in Kerry Wood's 20-strikeout game.

Background

Listed at 6'1", 195 pounds, Gutiérrez started his career at shortstop and became a valuable utility player later in his career. In the field, he had decent range and an above-average arm. He was a sharp line-drive hitter, and spent most of his career in the National League.

His most productive season came in 2001 with the Cubs, when he posted career-highs in batting average (.290), RBI (66), runs (76), hits (153) and games played (147). He finished the year leading the National League in sacrifice hits (17). He also had the fourth most sacrifice flies in the league (11), and was tenth in singles (117).

Boston Red Sox

On July 21, 2004, the Boston Red Sox acquired Gutiérrez from the Chicago Cubs[1] for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein lauded Gutiérrez as "a veteran with a tremendous makeup ... he'll fit in well as a utility guy for us."

Gutiérrez wore number 16, the same number as other Red Sox players such as Jim Lonborg, Hank Johnson, Dave Sax and Bob Zupcic. His greatest offensive performance came on August 28, 2004 versus the Detroit Tigers. Gutiérrez, who filled in at second base while Mark Bellhorn took over at third for Bill Mueller, went 3 for 4 with a two-run single with the bases loaded in the fifth inning. Teammate Alan Embree was in awe: "He's been sitting a long time, to come off the bench and contribute like he did tonight was incredible."

After winning the World Series, Gutiérrez carried an industrial-sized broom to remind victory parade goers of the final tally (a 4-0 "sweep" of the St. Louis Cardinals).

While with the Red Sox, Gutiérrez was a .275 hitter (11-for-40) with 3 RBI in 21 games, including 6 runs, 1 double, 1 stolen base, and a .310 on-base percentage. The Red Sox were 14-7 in games in which Gutiérrez appeared.

Over an 11-season career, Gutiérrez was a .268 hitter (967-for-3632) with 38 home runs and 357 RBI in 1074 games, including 463 runs, 138 doubles, 25 triples, 49 stolen bases, and a .338 on-base percentage.

Personal life

Gutiérrez's nephew, James Jones, plays in the National Basketball Association.[2] He is currently the manager of the Daytona Tortugas, a minor league baseball affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds .

See also

Sources

  • The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia – Gary Gillette, Peter Gammons, Pete Palmer. Publisher: Sterling Publishing, 2005. Format: Paperback, 1824pp. Language: English. ISBN 1-4027-4771-3

References

  1. ↑ "Ricky Gutierrez Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. ↑ "James Jones". hurricanesports.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
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