Guillermo Antonio Quiroz (; born November 29, 1981) is a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

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 ca ...

. He has 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 (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

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 team ...

, Texas Rangers,

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

Amateur career

Quiróz was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela on November 29, 1981. He played Little League Baseball for Cocquivacoa, and was teammates with

Yusmeiro Petit Yusmeiro Alberto Petit (; born November 22, 1984) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, Washi ...

. In 1994, Cocquivacoa won Venezuela's first

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the Wor ...

title. Then aged 10, Quiróz started every game that season as a catcher. Two year later, Quiróz won the

Senior League World Series The Senior League World Series is a baseball tournament for adolescence aged 13 to 16 years old that began in 1961. In 2017, the tournament was moved from Bangor, Maine to Easley, South Carolina. (Easley was the site of the Big League World Seri ...

Professional career

Toronto Blue Jays

Quiróz was signed by the

as a non-drafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 1998, before his 17th birthday, with a $1 million signing bonus. He progressed through Toronto's system as the team's number-one catching prospect. In addition, Baseball America rated him as the Blue Jays' third best prospect in their 2004 pre-season rankings, and the 35th best prospect in all of baseball. Defensively, Quiróz has good skills. In 2003, he threw out 45% of base stealers, and was the starting catcher for the World Team in the 2003 All-Star Futures Game. He missed the end of the 2003 season with a

collapsed lung A pneumothorax is an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp, one-sided chest pain and shortness of breath. In a minority of cases, a one-way valve ...

. The broken hand and torn arm muscle he suffered in 2004 hurt his chances of taking over as the Blue Jays' starting catcher in 2005. Gregg Zaun and Greg Myers were re-signed to give Quiróz more time in the minors. However, Quiróz was set further back that season, due to shoulder strain and another collapsed lung. In 2006, the Blue Jays signed catcher Jason Phillips initially as the backup to Gregg Zaun. They later signed Bengie Molina to be their new starter. This placed three catchers ahead of Quiróz on the Blue Jays' depth chart.

Seattle Mariners

On March 31, 2006, Quiróz was put on waivers by the Blue Jays, but was picked up by the

on the same day. Quiróz started the seventh game of the 2006 season for the Mariners, but was outrighted to Triple-A

Tacoma Rainers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

eight days later. Quiróz spent the rest of the season between Triple-A Tacoma and the Double-A San Antonio Missions.

Texas Rangers

Quiróz was signed by the Texas Rangers on December 28, 2006. He spent most of the 2007 season with the 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 ...

until a September call-up to the majors. At the end of the 2007 season, the Rangers outrighted Quiróz to the minors, but he refused the assignment and became a free agent. AAAA3029 Guillermo Quiróz

Baltimore Orioles

On December 3, 2007, Quiróz signed a one-year major league contract with the

. He spent the 2008 season as the backup to catcher

Ramón Hernández Ramón José Hernández Marin (; born May 20, 1976) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Oakland Athletics (1999–2003), San Diego Padres (2004–2005), Baltimore Orioles (2006 ...

. He was invited to spring training and expected to compete for the backup catcher position at the start of the 2009 season, but was released on March 21.

Second stint with Mariners

In April 2009, Quiróz signed a minor league deal with the

. On May 14, 2009, he was assigned to the Double-A

West Tenn Diamond Jaxx The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

from the Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

. On May 26, 2009, he was called up from West Tenn to the Seattle Mariners. On June 19, 2009, Quiróz was designated for assignment. He was later re-signed to a minor league deal in February 2010. Quiróz refused an assignment to the Rainiers at the end of the season and became a free agent on November 3, 2010.

San Diego Padres

On January 5, 2011, Quiróz signed a minor league deal with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

. He was invited to spring training to be the backup to

Nick Hundley Nicholas John Hundley (born September 8, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher and current front office executive. He is currently a special assistant to the general manager for the Texas Rangers. He played in Major League Ba ...

, but did not win the job and spent the season playing for the

Tucson Padres The Tucson Padres were a minor league baseball team representing Tucson, Arizona in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). They were the Triple-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The team moved to Tucson from Portland, Oregon for the 2011 season. I ...

Third Stint with Mariners

Quiróz signed a minor league contract with the

on December 13, 2011. He received an invitation to spring training, but did not play for the Mariners in 2012. Instead he played for their Triple-A affiliate

Boston Red Sox

On September 4, 2012, the Mariners traded Quiróz to the

for cash considerations. Quiróz was designated for assignment on October 4. According to the International League transactions page, Quiróz was outrighted to the

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

on October 10, but chose to become a free agent.

San Francisco Giants

He signed a minor league deal with an invite to spring training with the

in November 2012. On May 4, 2013 Quiróz hit his first career walk-off home run, a tenth inning, pinch-hit homer against former battery mate

Brandon League Brandon Paul League (born March 16, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. League has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He is a former closer and one-t ...

of 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 Brooklyn ...

, leading the Giants to a 10–9 victory. On November 15, 2013, Quiróz signed a minor league contract to return to the Giants. In November 2014, Quiróz was outrighted to Triple A. He refused the assignment and became a free agent on November 3, and then was re-signed to another minor league contract with the Giants.

Cleveland Indians

On February 12, 2016, Quiróz signed a minor league contract with 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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

with an invitation to spring training. He signed another minor league contract with the Indians organization in November 2016. He was released on March 31, 2017.

Coaching career

Quiróz was named a coach for the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

for the 2019 season. In January 2020, he was named manager of the

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Kannapolis, North Carolina, and play their home games at Atrium Health Ballpark. The t ...

, the Single-A affiliate of 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 ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quiroz, Guillermo 1981 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players Baltimore Orioles players Boston Red Sox players Cardenales de Lara players Charleston AlleyCats players Dunedin Blue Jays players Fresno Grizzlies players Hagerstown Suns players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Medicine Hat Blue Jays players New Haven Ravens players Oklahoma RedHawks players Peoria Saguaros players Queens Kings players Sacramento River Cats players San Antonio Missions players San Francisco Giants players Seattle Mariners players Sportspeople from Maracaibo Syracuse SkyChiefs players Tacoma Rainiers players Texas Rangers players Tigres de Aragua players Toronto Blue Jays players Tucson Padres players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players