Ezequiel Franklin Astacio (born November 4, 1979) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher 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 ...

. He played in MLB for the Houston Astros in 2006.

Career

Philadelphia Phillies

Astacio begin his professional career by signing with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2001. He was assigned to the

GCL Phillies The Florida Complex League Phillies are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Phillies. The team plays ...

upon signing. In 2002, he was promoted to the Single-A

Lakewood BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locat ...

, where he would spend the entire season. In 2003, he was promoted to the advanced Single-A

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, with whom he would spend the season with, playing in 25 games.

Houston Astros

On November 3, , Astacio was traded to the Houston Astros along with

Taylor Buchholz Taylor Buchholz (born October 13, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Biography Buchholz stands 6 feet 4 inches tall, and weighs 220 lbs. He bats and throws right-handed. He grew up and lives in Springfield, Pe ...

and

Brandon Duckworth Brandon J. Duckworth (born January 23, 1976) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who is currently a scout. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, and Kansas City Royals, and in Ni ...

in exchange for

Billy Wagner William Edward Wagner (born July 25, 1971), nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He pitched for the Houston Astros (1995–2003), Philadelphia Ph ...

. He would spend the 2004 season with the Double-A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

. Astacio got a taste of the big leagues in posting a 3–6 record with a 5.67

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

. He pitched 100 innings,

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

66 and

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

25. Typical of a lot of younger pitchers with a plus

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

, he also gave up an eye opening 25

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s. He gave up the game-winning home run to

Geoff Blum Geoffrey Edward Blum (born April 26, 1973) is an American former professional baseball infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Montreal Expos, Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox and Arizona Dia ...

in Game 3 of the 2005 World Series against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

Texas Rangers

Astacio was claimed off of waivers by the Texas Rangers on March 26, 2007, but he failed to make the team following spring training. After clearing waivers, Astacio was optioned to Triple-A

Oklahoma RedHawks Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

. He became a free agent on October 29, 2007.

Cincinnati Reds

On January 31, 2008, Astacio signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds organization. On June 28, 2008, Astacio was released before pitching in a game.

Chicago Cubs

On September 1, 2009, Astacio signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs organization, and was assigned to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. He played in 3 games for Iowa before being released on September 15.

San Angelo Colts

Astacio signed with the San Angelo Colts of United League Baseball for the 2010 season. He played in 21 games for San Angelo, pitching to a 5.85 ERA with 125 strikeouts. He became a free agent after the season.

Road Warriors

In 2011, Astacio signed with the

Road Warriors The Road Warriors, also known as the Legion of Doom, were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Road Warrior Hawk (Michael Hegstrand) and Road Warrior Animal (Joseph Laurinaitis).. They performed under the name "The Road Warriors" in t ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He was released after pitching to a 14.40 ERA over 5.0 innings of work.

References

External links

1979 births Living people Atlantic League Road Warriors players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Houston Astros players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Oklahoma RedHawks players People from Hato Mayor del Rey Round Rock Express players San Angelo Colts players Florida Complex League Phillies players Gigantes del Cibao players Iowa Cubs players Lakewood BlueClaws players Leones del Escogido players {{DominicanRepublic-baseball-pitcher-stub