Odúbel Herrera

David Odúbel Herrera (pronounced oh-DOO-bull er-RAIR-uh; born December 29, 1991), nicknamed "El Torito", is a Venezuelan professional baseball center fielder in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Phillies. After he spent 2008 to 2014 in the Texas Rangers farm system, the Phillies selected him in the Rule 5 draft in December 2014. Herrera made his big league debut in 2015 as the team’s opening day center fielder. In 2019 he was suspended retroactive to June 24 for the rest of the season, for a domestic violence incident.

Odúbel Herrera
Herrera with the Phillies in 2019
Philadelphia Phillies
Center fielder
Born: (1991-12-29) December 29, 1991
Zulia, Venezuela
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 6, 2015, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
(through 2019 season)
Batting average.276
Home runs60
Runs batted in233
Stolen bases56
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Herrera was born in Zulia, Venezuela, and grew up in Venezuela. He was known for being "strong and powerful when he was a kid." Consequently, his father gave him the nickname "El Torito" – Spanish for "the little bull".[1]

Professional career

Texas Rangers

Herrera was signed by the Texas Rangers as an international free agent in 2008 at age 16.[2] He began his professional career in the Dominican Summer League, making 34 errors in 51 games at shortstop for an .863 fielding percentage in 2009, and slowly progressed through the farm system, albeit behind several other top prospects.[3][4] In 2012, he made 51 errors playing 110 games in the field between second base and shortstop, for the Class A-Advanced Myrtle Beach Pelicans.[3]

Playing for the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders in 2013, he batted .257/.289/.339 with 2 home runs in 389 at bats.[3] Predominantly an infielder in the Rangers' system, he began playing sporadically in the outfield during the 2014 season, in which he split time between Myrtle Beach and Frisco RoughRiders, winning the Texas League batting title.[4] He also participated in the Venezuelan Winter League, where he earned recognition as the most valuable player (MVP) by posting a .372 batting average with six home runs and a .988 on-base plus slugging (OPS).[5]

Philadelphia Phillies
Herrera with the Phillies in 2015

Herrera was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies from the Rangers in the 2014 Rule 5 draft, which stipulated that he must remain a part of their roster for the 2015 season.[6][7] Phillies' general manager Rubén Amaro, Jr. said that the Phillies viewed Herrera as an intriguing prospect, insofar as he "fits the bill" of what the club sought to do – develop speed and athleticism within their lineup, as well as give younger players a chance to prove themselves.[8] Paula Wolf, a writer for LNP, compared Herrera to another former Phillies' outfielder selected in the Rule 5 draft, Shane Victorino.[7]

2015

He was named the 2015 Opening Day center fielder, with the Phillies moving Ben Revere to left field. Herrera later got his first hit against the Washington Nationals, hitting a walkoff double. Herrera then received less playing time, with Revere moving back to center field. Herrera became a starter again after Revere was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays.[9] He finished the season batting .297/.344/.418 and 8 home runs and 41 RBIs.[10] For the season, he had the highest batting average on balls in play (.387) of all major league players, and while he stole 16 bases his 8 caught stealing were 7th in the NL.[11]

2016
Herrera talking to reporters at 2016 All-Star Game

In May 2016, Manager Pete Mackanin benched Herrera for not hustling on a ground ball, something he had observed Herrera do before.[12][13] Herrera would go on to have a breakout season in 2016. On July 5, Herrera was named to the NL All-Star team, the first time in his career. He finished the season batting .286/.361/.420 and 15 home runs and 49 RBIs, and leading the majors in infield hits (30) and leading NL center fielders in errors (9).[10][14] On December 15, Herrera signed a 5-year, $30.5 million contract extension.[15]

2017

In June 2017, Herrera hit 14 doubles, a Phillies franchise record. In July, following him catching the unfavorable attention of his manager for ignoring signs and taking what his manager felt was a lackadaisical approach to the game, he was benched mid-game by Manager Mackanin for not hustling.[16] He finished the season batting .281/.325/.452 and 14 home runs and 56 RBIs.[10]

2018

On May 7, 2018, Herrera became the fastest player in Phillies history to reach 500 career hits since Chase Utley in 2007. He recorded his 500th hit in his 476th career game. Utley did so in 474 games.[17] On May 20, Herrera's 45-game on-base streak came to an end with a dropped third strike against the St. Louis Cardinals. It was the fourth-longest on-base streak in Phillies history.[18] From June 17 to June 22, Herrera homered in five consecutive games, tying the Phillies' franchise record.[19]

For the season, he batted a career-low .255 with a .310 on base percentage and a .420 slugging percentage, and 22 home runs, 71 RBIs, and a career-low 5 stolen bases, playing 133 games in center field and 9 games in right field.[10] He had the slowest baserunning sprint speed of all major league center fielders, at 26.7 feet/second.[20]

2019

Herrera's 2019 season was short-lived as he played only 39 games batting a career-low .222/.288/.341, with a home run and 16 RBIs in 126 at bats.[10] He had the slowest sprint speed of all major league center fielders, at 26.7 feet/second.[21] On July 6, he was suspended for the rest of the season retroactive to June 24, due to his violating MLB's Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy, in a domestic violence incident on May 27.[22]

On January 14, 2020, Herrera was designated for assignment by the Phillies.

Player profile

Standing 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighing 200 pounds (91 kg), entering 2015, he cumulatively hit .294 during his minor league career, with a .354 on-base percentage.[4] Power hitting is not a strength, but the Phillies were optimistic about his potential to develop as a major league hitter.[6] In 2015 scouts called him a line drive hitter with the ability to "use his speed to create havoc."[23] Some felt he had potential to develop into a base stealer if he could embody a more cerebral approach on the basepaths. Defensively, he spent most of his early minor league career as a second baseman or shortstop before transitioning to the outfield.[4]

On May 27, 2019, Herrera was arrested at the Golden Nugget Atlantic City hotel and casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, after a report of domestic violence.[24] He was charged with simple assault for allegedly assaulting his 20-year-old girlfriend, Melany Martinez-Angulo, who had visible signs of injury on her arms and neck including "handprint markings" and scratches, and released from custody with a summons and a court date.[24][25][26] The maximum penalty in New Jersey for simple assault was six months in jail, plus a $1,000 fine.[27] He was placed on administrative leave by MLB the next day.[28][29] The domestic violence charges were dropped after his girlfriend opted not to testify and proceed with the case.[30][25]

MLB and its players association had agreed to a Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy, giving the Commissioner of Baseball the right to investigate such incidents and impose discipline.[31] On July 5, it was announced that Herrera would be suspended without pay, retroactive to June 24, for the remainder of the 2019 season, and participate in confidential and comprehensive evaluation and treatment programs supervised by the league.[22][32]

See also

References
  1. Breen, Matt (April 2, 2015). "No bull: Odubel Herrera has a nickname". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  2. Cole, Jason (February 28, 2012). "Scouting Rangers Prospect #28: Odubel Herrera". Scout.com. Scout.com. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  3. Odubel Herrera Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com
  4. Floyd, Jay (January 24, 2015). "Prospect Nation 2015: #18 IF/OF Odubel Herrera". Prospect Nation. Phillies Nation. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  5. "Top Houston prospect Carlos Correa bids Astros farewell with big night". MiLB.com News. Minor League Baseball. April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  6. Gelb, Matt. "Phillies Notes: Phils select intriguing outfield prospect in Rule 5 draft". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  7. Wolf, Paula (April 3, 2015). "The Phillies' Odubel Herrera has earned the chance to play". LNP. Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  8. Zolecki, Todd (March 30, 2015). "Amaro weighs in on Opening Day roster decisions". phillies.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  9. "Phillies move Ben Revere to left field to make room for Odubel Herrera in center". NBCSports.com. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  10. Odubel Herrera Stats | Baseball-Reference.com
  11. Major League Leaderboards » 2015 » Batters » Advanced Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball
  12. Phillies manager didn't like his player's lack of hustle, so he benched him - CBSSports.com
  13. "Phillies Fans Back Odubel Herrera Benching"
  14. Major League Leaderboards » 2016 » Batters » Batted Ball Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball
  15. "MLB Hot Stove: Phillies sign Odubel Herrera to five-year contract extension"
  16. Odubel Herrera flips his bat on a fly ball, gets benched for lack of hustle – HardballTalk
  17. "Odubel Herrera extends on-base streak to 36" | Philadelphia Phillies
  18. Harris, Joe (20 May 2018). "Odubel's on-base streak ends at 45 in Phils loss". Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  19. "Leading Off: Herrera's HR streak, Kershaw back, Mariners dip". June 22, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  20. "Statcast Sprint Speed Leaderboard" | baseballsavant.com
  21. "Statcast Sprint Speed Leaderboard | baseballsavant.com". Baseballsavant.mlb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  22. "Phillies player Odúbel Herrera suspended 85 games for MLB domestic abuse violation; The outfielder's girlfriend declined to press charges against him after a fight in Atlantic City that police said left her visibly injured."
  23. Baer, Bill (March 5, 2015). "Odubel Herrera could prove dynamic to the Phillies". Crashburn Alley. SweetSpot Network, an ESPN affiliate. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  24. "Man Charged with Simple Assault Following Domestic Incident". tip411.com. Atlantic City Police Department. May 28, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  25. Domestic violence charges against Phillies' Odubel Herrera dropped | Crime | pressofatlanticcity.com
  26. MLB suspends Odúbel Herrera 85 games for violating Domestic Violence Policy | KYW
  27. McLaughlin, Eliott C.; Sterling, Wayne (May 28, 2019). "Phillies' Odubel Herrera arrested after allegedly injuring girlfriend, police say". cnn.com. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  28. Salisbury, Jim; Seidman, Corey (May 28, 2019). "Odubel Herrera arrested in domestic violence incident". NBCsports.com. Comcast SportsNet. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  29. Kelly, Tim (May 28, 2019). "Odubel Herrera has been removed from the All-Star Game ballot". Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  30. "MLB Suspends Odúbel Herrera for Remainder of 2019 Season"
  31. "Phillies' Odubel Herrera arrested in domestic case, put on leave". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press (AP). May 28, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  32. Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera suspended for rest of season - CNN
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