Franklin Rafael Gutiérrez (born February 21, 1983), nicknamed "Guti", is a Venezuelan former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. He played in

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 (A ...

(MLB) for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

and

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) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

. While primarily a

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

throughout his career, Gutiérrez transitioned to

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

for the Mariners in 2016. He is currently a special assignment coach for the

organization.

Professional career

Cleveland Indians

On November 18, 2000, Gutiérrez was signed by the

as an amateur free agent.Franklin Gutierrez Stats , Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> On April 3, 2004, Gutiérrez was traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers with a player to be named later ( Andrew Brown) to the

for

Milton Bradley Milton Bradley (November 8, 1836 – May 30, 1911) was an American business magnate, game pioneer and publisher, credited by many with launching the board game industry, with his eponymous enterprise, which was purchased by Hasbro in 1984, and ...

and was assigned to Double-A

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

. He entered the season ranked by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' as the No. 3 prospect in the

organization and the top position prospect, possessing five-tool ability. Previously, Los Angeles refused to include Gutiérrez in a deal over the winter that would have landed the Dodgers first baseman

Richie Sexson Richmond Lockwood Sexson (born December 29, 1974), nicknamed "Big Sexy", is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman who played for five teams from 1997 to 2008. He is also the field manager for the Windy City ThunderBolts in the ...

. In 2005, Gutiérrez posted a .261

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and 42 RBI for Akron, and hit .254 with seven RBI in 19 games with Triple-A Buffalo (then affiliated with the Indians). Between his two minor league stops, he stole 16 bases in 22 attempts. He was among the players that the Indians called up when major league rosters expanded on August 31. In 2006 after batting .278 in 90 games for Triple-A Buffalo, Gutiérrez played 43 games in the majors after being called up on June 16 and he stayed in the majors the rest of the season. In 2007, he once again began the season in Triple-A Buffalo, but after batting .341, he was called up for good on May 6. On May 27, 2008, Gutiérrez hit his first career grand slam in an 8-2 win over 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 ...

Seattle Mariners

On December 10, 2008, Gutiérrez was traded to the

as part of a three-team trade. Mariners' general manager

Jack Zduriencik John A. “Jack” Zduriencik (; born January 11, 1951) is an American radio broadcaster and former professional baseball executive, scout, and player. He currently works as a radio host for KDKA-FM, which is affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates ...

noted that the trade would not have gone through had Gutiérrez not been included in the trade. In 2008, Gutiérrez ranked 3rd among qualifying big league outfielders in UZR, an all-inclusive fielding statistic. Gutiérrez won a

Fielding Bible Award A Fielding Bible Award recognizes the best defensive player for each fielding position in Major League Baseball (MLB) based on statistical analysis. John Dewan and Baseball Info Solutions conduct the annual selection process, which commenced in 2 ...

as the top fielding right fielder in MLB.

Dave Niehaus David Arnold Niehaus (February 19, 1935 – November 10, 2010) was an American sportscaster. He was the lead play-by-play announcer for the American League's Seattle Mariners from their inaugural season in until his death after the 2010 season ...

called Gutiérrez "Death to Flying Things" after a diving catch, a nickname that previously belonged to Bob Ferguson. 001U1253 Franklin Gutiérrez (cropped)

In 2009, Gutiérrez had the most errors by a major league center fielder (7), due in part to the significant number of batted balls that he gets to. He led all of Major League Baseball in UZR and UZR/150, and was 6th in the AL in wins above replacement. Gutiérrez won another

as the top fielding center fielder in MLB. He batted .283/.339/.425, and ranked second in the American League with 13 sacrifice bunts.Franklin Gutierrez Stats, Fantasy & News , MLB.com
/ref> On January 6, 2010, it was reported that Gutiérrez and the Mariners were working on a 4-year contract extension for $20.5 million with a team option for a fifth year. In 2010, Gutiérrez was awarded his first

Gold Glove The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in b ...

. He finished the season with a 1.000 fielding average in 146 games as an outfielder. He also came in second place for Defensive Player of the Year on MLB.com awards. He batted .245/.303/.363. In 2011, in 92 games he batted .224/.261/.273 with one home run. In 2012, in 40 games he batted .260/.309/.420 with 4 home runs. Franklin Gutierrez hitting HR

On April 22, 2013, Gutiérrez spent 60 days on the disabled list due to hamstring injuries (trying to catch a ball), and was activated on June 22 against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

, but injured his hamstring again after six innings. On February 13, 2014, he informed the team that he would not be able to play during the 2014 season due to

ankylosing spondylitis Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a type of arthritis characterized by long-term inflammation of the joints of the spine typically where the spine joins the pelvis. Occasionally areas affected may include other joints such as the shoulders or hi ...

and

irritable bowel syndrome Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a "disorder of gut-brain interaction" characterized by a group of symptoms that commonly include abdominal pain and or abdominal bloating and changes in the consistency of bowel movements. These symptoms may ...

. On January 26, 2015, the Mariners re-signed Gutiérrez to a minor-league deal with a spring training invite. On June 24, he was recalled from AAA Tacoma to re-join the Major League club. On July 21, 2015, he hit a pinch-hit

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Los Angeles Dodgers

On February 20, 2017, the

signed Gutiérrez to a one-year, $2.6 million, contract. He played in 35 games for the Dodgers, primarily as a pinch hitter, and had 13 hits in 56 at-bats (.232 average) with one homer and eight RBI. His season was shut down for good in June because of a recurrence of ankylosing spondylitis, which had caused him to also miss the 2014 season. He elected free agency on November 2.

Coaching career

On January 27, 2021, it was announced that Gutiérrez had joined the

organization as a special assignment coach.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gutiérrez, Franklin 1983 births Living people Akron Aeros players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cleveland Indians players Gold Glove Award winners Gulf Coast Dodgers players Jacksonville Suns players Las Vegas 51s players Leones del Caracas players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Venezuela People from Caracas Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Seattle Mariners players South Georgia Waves players Tacoma Rainiers players Vero Beach Dodgers players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States