Enrique Nomar "Kiko" Calero (born January 9, 1975) 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 (A ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

Professional career

Calero is a graduated from University Gardens High School in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

and attended Miami-Dade College Kendall Campus. He was drafted by 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 ...

in the 41st round (1142nd overall) of the

1994 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation picks Compensation Picks Other notable players * Troy Glaus, 2nd round, 37th overall by the San Diego Padres, but did no ...

, but Calero did not sign with the Tigers. Instead he attended St. Thomas University (Florida) and was drafted again in the 1996 Major League Baseball draft, when he was picked in the 27th round (799th overall) by the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

Kansas City Royals

Mainly a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

in the Royals minor league organization, he spent 6 years at the Single-A and Double-A levels before finally reaching Triple-A

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...

in . During his minor league career, Calero excelled for the Royals organization. In 1996, he finished fourth in the Single-A

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Basebal ...

in ERA. He was also named to the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

All Star team in . Through , Calero had 31 wins in a Wrangler uniform and worked as a reliever in after 105 starts. The Royals traded Calero to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

for shortstop Brian Harris in 2002 but was returned to the Royals and granted free agency.

St. Louis Cardinals

Calero was subsequently signed as a

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 i ...

by 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 (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. He made his Major League debut on April 2, 2003 for the Cards against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

, he worked two thirds of an inning, allowing two hits and one walk but no runs. He spent all of and most of in the majors. He played all but one game as a reliever. He was a member of the 2004 St. Louis Cardinals' team that went on to win the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

title and played in the

2004 World Series The 2004 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2004 season. The 100th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National Leag ...

Oakland Athletics

After the 2004 season, Calero was traded from the Cardinals along with starting pitcher

Dan Haren Daniel John Haren (born September 17, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Haren played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Wa ...

and top-hitting prospect

Daric Barton Daric William Barton (born August 16, 1985) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics. Minor league career Barton was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the ...

to 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 ...

for

Mark Mulder Mark Alan Mulder (born August 5, 1977) is an American former professional baseball player. A left-handed starting pitcher, Mulder pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals. He is a two-time All ...

Texas Rangers

After being designated for assignment and released by the Athletics, Calero signed with the Texas Rangers on July 4, . The Rangers signed Calero to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Oklahoma, where he spent the rest of the season.

Florida Marlins

Calero signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

in January . He made the team out of spring training, and was added to the major league roster on April 4.Marlins set 2009 Opening Day roster
/ref>

New York Mets/Los Angeles Dodgers

On March 4, 2010, the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

signed Calero to a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training. On May 16, he was released by the Mets and he 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) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

on June 10 and was assigned to the AAA

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an e ...

. He appeared in 15 games for the Isotopes before they also released him.

Overseas career

Calero has also played on several other teams. He played from 1996 to 2000 with the Indios de Mayagüez (Mayagüez Indians) in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League. During those years, he went on to win two national titles and three participations on the

Serie del Caribe The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is norma ...

. In 1996, Calero was named Rookie of the Year, and he also was selected to participate on three all-star games, during his playing year with the Indios de Mayagüez. Kiko also played on the MLB team at the

Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series The MLB Japan All-Star Series is an irregular end-of-the-season tour of Japan made by an All-Star team from Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1986, contested in a best-of format against the All-Stars from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) or ...

played in Japan in 2004. He was also a member of the 2006

Puerto Rico national baseball team The Puerto Rico national baseball team ( es, Selección de béisbol de Puerto Rico) is the national baseball team of Puerto Rico. The men's senior team is currently ranked 13th in the world. Puerto Rico is the incumbent Pan American and Centra ...

at the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...

Personal life

Calero is well-known and very popular in Puerto Rico. He has a street named after him, on a little part of

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for " river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, ...

called Fair View, where Calero grew up and played Little League ball. Calero is married to Carola Rodriguez and they have two children. He lives in

Caguas, Puerto Rico Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey. Caguas was found ...

during the offseason and during the MLB season in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calero, Kiko 1975 births Living people Sportspeople from San Juan, Puerto Rico St. Louis Cardinals players Oakland Athletics players Florida Marlins players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Dade Sharks baseball players St. Thomas Bobcats baseball players Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Spokane Indians players Wichita Wranglers players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Lansing Lugnuts players Omaha Royals players Memphis Redbirds players Sacramento River Cats players Oklahoma RedHawks players Jupiter Hammerheads players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Albuquerque Isotopes players 2006 World Baseball Classic players