Omar Infante
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Infante with the Braves in 2008 Photo by Chris Nelson |
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| Atlanta Braves — No. 4 | |
| Utility player | |
| Born: December 26, 1981 Puerto la Cruz, Anzoátegui, Venezuela |
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| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| September 7, 2002 for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through June 10, 2008) |
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| Batting average | .254 |
| Home runs | 32 |
| Runs batted in | 159 |
| Teams | |
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Omar Rafael Infante [in-FAHN-tay] (born December 26, 1981 in Puerto la Cruz, Anzoátegui, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball utility player who is currently on the Atlanta Braves. He bats and throws right-handed.
In his career, Infante is a .253 hitter with 32 home runs and 154 RBI in 494 games.
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[edit] 2003 season
Infante entered the 2003 season as the starting shortstop for the Detroit Tigers. Ramón Santiago, considered a better glove-man started the season at second base. Considered 2 of the Tigers better prospects, both proved overmatched; Infante hit only .222 with 0 home runs and 8 RBI in over 200 at-bats. Midway through the season, Tigers manager Alan Trammell sent Infante to the minor leagues for failiing to hustle on a consistent basis. Santiago switched to shortstop after Infante was sent down.
[edit] 2004 season
In 2004, Infante lost any chance to claim the starting shortstop role when the Tigers acquired Carlos Guillén, who went on to be an All-Star that year (Ramón Santiago had been included in the trade for Guillén) . With Guillén at shortstop and free agent acquisition Fernando Viña at second base, Infante was likely to spend much of the season in the minors. Then he received an opportunity in mid-May to play every day at second base when Viña was sidelined for the year by a hamstring injury. He responded by playing solid defense and hitting .264 with 16 home runs and 55 RBI in 142 games.
[edit] 2005 season
Infante's rebound in 2004 fueled speculation that he may one day become a star at second base. In 2005, however, he regressed, and the Tigers sought his replacement. In June of that year, the Tigers traded for Plácido Polanco, who had been filling a utility role with the Philadelphia Phillies. Polanco became the starting second baseman, and Infante moved to the bench.
[edit] 2006 and 2007
Following his move to the bench, Infante became a valuable asset as a backup infielder and outfielder. He proved his versatility by filling in at 7 different positions during the 2007 season. Infante also displayed the best offensive numbers of his career.
[edit] 2008
On November 12, 2007 Infante was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Jacque Jones.
On December 4, 2007 Infante was traded again, this time along with Will Ohman to the Atlanta Braves for Jose Ascanio.
On January 18, 2008, Infante had surgery to repair his broken left hand. The Braves believe that he will be benched until the last week of March. This has led to some speculation that he will begin the season on the Disabled List.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
- Infante maturing rapidly (article)
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