Olmedo Sáenz
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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|
|---|---|
| New York Mets — No. 91 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born: October 8, 1970 | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| May 28, 1994 for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2007) |
|
| Batting average | .263 |
| On-base percentage | .340 |
| Home runs | 73 |
| Teams | |
Olmedo Sánchez Sáenz (born October 8, 1970 in Chitré, Panama) is a Major League Baseball player for the New York Mets organization. Primarily a pinch hitter, he occasionally plays first base or third base.
Sáenz signed with the Chicago White Sox as an undrafted free agent on May 11, 1990, and begin his pro baseball career in the minor league's in 1991 with the South Bend White Sox of the class A Midwest League. His minor league career in the White Sox organization (1991-1998) also included stops with the "A" Sarasota White Sox, "AA" Birmingham Barons, "AAA" Nashville Sounds and the "AAA" Calgary Cannons. He missed most of the 1997 season because of a torn achilles tendon suffered in spring training.
He had a brief major league call-up with the White Sox in 1994, making his major league debut at third base against the Baltimore Orioles on May 28, 1994. He got one hit in three at bats in that game, collecting his first hit in the third inning against Ben McDonald. He had 2 hits in 14 at bats during the five games he spent on the White Sox roster before returning to Nashville.
Released by the White Sox, Sáenz signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics on November 13, 1998, and made the Athletics opening day roster. He was used primarily as a designated hitter during his four seasons with Oakland, getting occasional playing time at either 1st or 3rd.
He suffered a ruptured right Achlles tendon while running out a grounder in the 2002 American League Division Series against Minnesota and was sidelined for the remainder of the post season and most of 2003.
A question mark because of his injury history, Sáenz was not retained by the A's and wound up attending spring training with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a non-roster invitee, earning a spot on their roster as the primary right-handed pinch hitter. He was part of Major League history when, on September 8, he hit a pinch-hit grand slam homer, marking the first time in MLB history that a team had a pinchhit grand slam in back-to-back games, as Robin Ventura hit one on September 7. [1]
He was one of the Dodgers' most consistent players coming off the bench. Sáenz is well known as being a dead fastball hitter. He rarely plays in the field anymore, making only an occasional start at either first or third base.
He Played for Panama in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006 and had two hits and an RBI in three games
His nickname is "The Killer Tomato"
His long tenure with the Dodgers ended when he filed for free agency on October 11, 2007[2]. On February 12, 2008, Sáenz signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets and was invited to spring training. [3]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
