Raúl Ibáñez
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Seattle Mariners — No. 28 | |
| Left Fielder | |
| Born: June 2, 1972 | |
| Bats: Left | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| June 24, 1998 for the Seattle Mariners | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2007) |
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| Batting average | .285 |
| Home runs | 159 |
| Runs batted in | 684 |
| Teams | |
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Raúl Javier Ibáñez (pronounced /ɨˈbɑːnjɛz/) (born June 2, 1972 in New York, New York) is an outfielder and DH in Major League Baseball who plays with the Seattle Mariners. From 1996 through 2007, Ibánez has posted a .285 average with 159 home runs and 684 RBI in 1,222 games.
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[edit] Community College Years
Ibáñez attended Miami-Dade Community College and was a student and a baseball letterman. In baseball, he was an All-Conference selection.
[edit] Professional Career
He was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 36th round of the 1992 Free Agent Draft. Ibáñez played as a catcher and outfielder at three levels in the Mariners organization, including his major league first game in 1996. He was selected an All-Star in 1994-1995 and he was honored by Baseball America as its Class-A All-Star catcher for 1995.
He was used primarily by the Mariners as a pinch-hitter and reserve catcher-outfielder. He was signed by the Kansas City Royals as a free agent before the 2001 season.
Ibáñez finished his first year for the Royals with a .280 average and 54 RBI. He teamed with Mike Sweeney and Carlos Beltrán to become just the second trio in major league history to homer in the same three consecutive games. The only other teammates to accomplish the same feat were Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla and Larry Walker with Colorado in 1995.
Ibáñez enjoyed his most productive season with the Mariners in 2006, when he collected career-highs in home runs (33), RBIs (123), doubles (33) and triples (5), and hit .289 with 103 runs. In 2003, he batted 18 homers with 90 RBIs and hit .294 for the second straight season (179-for-608); led the team with 33 doubles, and was second with 157 games played, 95 runs and 90 RBI. He also posted career-highs in games, at-bats (608), runs, hits, walks (49) and stolen bases (10).
After three seasons with the Royals, Ibánez returned to Seattle in 2004 and hit a career-high .304 average. He also collected a 24-game go-ahead RBI string, matched a club record by reaching base 11 consecutive times, set a career-high and a club record and matched the American League record with six hits, and joined Ichiro Suzuki as only Mariners ever with two five-hit games in one season.
With Edgar Martínez retired, Ibáñez moved to the DH spot before the 2005 season. In 2005 Ibánez hit .280 with 20 home runs and 89 RBI.
The Mariners acquired the switch hitting designated hitter Carl Everett from the Chicago White Sox during the 2005 off season, forcing Ibánez to move back to where he played before, namely left field.
Ibanez finished the 2006 season with a .289 batting average, and set career highs with 33 home runs and 123 runs batted in.
Raúl Ibáñez has batted a career worst against C.J. Wilson of the Texas Rangers, going 1-17 with 7 strikeouts.
In 2007, the Mariners acquired Jose Vidro to assume the role of DH. Ibáñez moved back out to left field and he finished the 2007 season with a .291 batting average.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- ESPN - career profile and daily updates
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
