Sergio Ferrer Marrero (born January 29, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

Minnesota Twins

Ferrer was born in

Santurce, Puerto Rico Santurce (, from the Basque language, Basque ''Santurtzi'' which means Saint George) is a Barrios of San Juan, Puerto Rico, barrio or district in the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan. Its population in 2020 was 69,469. It is also ...

, and signed with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brookl ...

at nineteen years old. After three seasons in their farm system, in which he batted .280 with nine home runs and 121 runs batted in, he was taken by the Minnesota Twins in the rule 5 draft. Ferrer made the Twins out of

Spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives establ ...

, and immediately made an impact on his new club. In the season opener, he went two-for-five with two

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted ball ...

. The second came in the eleventh inning, when the speedy Ferrer scored from second base on a deep sacrifice fly to centerfield by

Larry Hisle Larry Eugene Hisle (; born May 5, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and hitting coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies (1968–71), Minnesota Twins (1973–77), an ...

. He spent the first two months of the season as the Twins' starting shortstop, batting a respectable .281 and scoring twelve runs in the lead-off spot of the Twins' batting order, however, his inconsistent fielding led Twins

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Frank Quilici Francis Ralph Quilici (May 11, 1939 – May 14, 2018) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager who spent his entire Major League Baseball career with the Minnesota Twins. Quilici served the team for all or part of five year ...

to give the starting shortstop job back to incumbent

Danny Thompson Daniel Henry Edward Thompson (born 4 April 1939) is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist. He has had a long musical career playing with a large variety of other musicians, particularly Richard Thompson and John Mart ...

. He was optioned to the triple A Tacoma Twins in late May, but his glove showed no improvement, and he remained in the minors for the rest of the season. Ferrer again started the season in the majors in . He got most of his playing time early in the season backing up Hall of Famer Rod Carew at second, but the

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers. Characteristics Right-handed batters generally hit better ag ...

was soon moved into a

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

with Thompson at short. It proved effective, as Ferrer batted .333 against

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

pitchers In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. Regardless, he was optioned back to Tacoma at the start of June much to the dismay of Carew, who openly expressed his unhappiness with this decision. After the season, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

Larry Cox.

New York Mets

With All-Stars

Larry Bowa Lawrence Robert Bowa (born December 6, 1945) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB), who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets. Bowa went on to m ...

and Dave Cash in the Phillies' middle

infield Infield is a sports term whose definition depends on the sport in whose context it is used. Baseball In baseball, the diamond, as well as the area immediately beyond it, has both grass and dirt, in contrast to the more distant, usually grass-c ...

, Ferrer was unable to crack the major league roster, and spent the season in triple A. Following Cash's departure via free agency, Ferrer went into Spring training battling Ted Sizemore for the job at second base. When Sizemore won the job, Ferrer was dealt to the New York Yankees for outfielder

Kerry Dineen Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

. After one season with the triple A

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas * Syracuse, M ...

, he went cross-town to the New York Mets in exchange for third baseman Roy Staiger at the

Winter Meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

on December 9, 1977. When starting shortstop

Tim Foli Timothy John Foli (born December 6, 1950), is an American former professional baseball player, coach and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, San Francisco Giants, ...

tore the outer ligament on his left knee early in the season, Ferrer saw his first major league action in nearly three years. Unfortunately for Ferrer, Mets manager Joe Torre opted to shift second baseman

Doug Flynn Robert Douglas Flynn, Jr. (born April 18, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1975 to 1985 as an infielder for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Montreal Expos ...

to short, and added

Bobby Valentine Robert John Valentine (born May 13, 1950), nicknamed "Bobby V", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He also served as the athletic director at Sacred Heart University. Valentine played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (19 ...

to his starting line-up at second rather than giving playing time to Ferrer. He appeared in 37 games for the Mets, mostly as a

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

or late inning defensive replacement. Once Foli returned from the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

, Ferrer was optioned back to triple A Tidewater. He returned to the club in late July, but his role didn't change much. His stint with the Mets in proved even less eventful; he appeared in 32 games and logged just nine plate appearances.

Liga Mexicana de Béisbol

Midway through the season, Ferrer was released by the Mets. He briefly played minor league ball with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

before heading to Mexico to play in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

, where he played through . In , he played for the St. Petersburg Pelicans and St. Lucie Legends in the

Senior Professional Baseball Association The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the ''Senior League'', was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had ei ...

References

External links

Sergio Ferrer
at Ultimate Mets Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrer, Sergio Major League Baseball shortstops Minnesota Twins players New York Mets players Indianapolis Indians players Daytona Beach Dodgers players Oklahoma City 89ers players Tacoma Twins players Tidewater Tides players Bakersfield Dodgers players Syracuse Chiefs players El Paso Dodgers players People from Santurce, Puerto Rico Waterbury Dodgers players St. Petersburg Pelicans players St. Lucie Legends players Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico 1951 births Living people Plataneros de Tabasco players Piratas de Campeche players Petroleros de Poza Rica players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Mexico