Lenin Alberto Picota (born July 23, 1966) is a Panamanian former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played two seasons in the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

for the

Hanwha Eagles The Hanwha Eagles () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon that competes in the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark. They have won the Korean Series once, in 1999, and the league penn ...

, and five seasons in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL) for the

Mercuries Tigers The Mercuries Tigers () were a professional baseball team belonging to Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) between 1990 and 1999. History The Tigers were owned and administered by the local Mercuries Corporation whose then cha ...

Taipei Gida Taipei Gida () was a Taiwanese professional baseball team that existed from 1997 to 2002. It was one of the four Taiwan Major League (TML) teams and was based in Taipei, Taiwan. Its historical sponsors included local Sampo Corporation and Macoto ...

Sinon Bulls In Greek mythology, Sinon (Ancient Greek: Σίνων, from the verb "σίνομαι"—''sinomai'', "to harm, to hurt") or Sinopos was a Greek warrior during the Trojan War. He is not mentioned by Homer, but his story is given in the ''Aenei ...

. During his career, Picota has gone by multiple names, his full name (Lenin) as well as two shortened versions (Len or Leny).

Playing career

Picota — a , right-hander — was a starting pitching prospect in the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

farm system who got as high as Triple-A but never reached the major leagues. He was signed as a free agent on December 18, 1983. Perhaps his best season in the minors was 1986, with the Savannah Cardinals. That year, he went 6–2 with a 2.00 ERA in 85 innings. Although he walked 67 and struck out only 45, the fact that he gave up only 55 hits attributed to his success. The 1988 campaign was also a good season for Picota. With the St. Petersburg Cardinals, he went 11–10 with a 2.89 ERA in 143 innings. He only gave up 130 hits that year, but he only struck out 65 batters. In 2006 Picota represented Panama in the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized in World Baseball Clas ...

. He had multiple stints in international based ball leagues, including the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

, and

. He also played independent league baseball with the Nashua Pride. In 2007, Picota pitched three innings in the

Pan-American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

, striking out two batters and allowing two runs. Picota was signed by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

at one point in his career after playing foreign ball for seven years. He was released by the team before

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

Coaching career

Picota served as the manager for the

Saraperos de Saltillo The Saraperos de Saltillo (English: Saltillo Serapes) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Francisco I. Madero in Saltillo, Coahuila. They have won three championships (1980, 2009 ...

of the

for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Picota, Len 1966 births 2003 Baseball World Cup players 2006 World Baseball Classic players Baseball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Baseball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for Panama Erie Cardinals players Harrisburg Senators players Arkansas Travelers players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Savannah Cardinals players Jacksonville Suns players Calgary Cannons players Ottawa Lynx players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Canada Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Panamanian expatriate baseball players in South Korea Hanwha Eagles players Living people Mercuries Tigers players Sinon Bulls players Taipei Gida players Saraperos de Saltillo managers Panamanian expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Estrellas Orientales players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Mexico Panamanian expatriate baseball players in the United States