Luis Anibal Montañez (born December 15, 1981) is a Puerto Rican 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 professional ...

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 c ...

. 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 (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

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 ...

and Chicago Cubs.

Professional career

Minor leagues

Montañez was drafted by the Chicago Cubs with the third overall pick of the 2000 MLB draft. He spent seven seasons in the Cubs' farm system but never made it to the major leagues. On January 5, 2007, Montañez signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles. After

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

.335 with 26

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 and 97 RBI in 116 games for the Orioles Double-A affiliate Bowie Baysox, he was called up to the majors for the first time. In 2008, Montañez won the Eastern League

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

despite missing nearly a month of the season after getting called up to the majors.

Baltimore Orioles

Montañez made his major league debut on August 5, 2008, playing an inning defensively and without making a plate appearance. The next day, he hit a

in his first major-league at bat, making him the second Oriole to accomplish the feat, the first having been

Buster Narum Leslie Ferdinand "Buster" Narum (November 16, 1940 – May 17, 2004) was an American professional baseball player. Listed as tall and , he was a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Baltimore Orioles () and Washington ...

in 1963. After starting the 2009 season playing for the Orioles Triple-A affiliate,

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

, Montañez was recalled to the majors on April 21 after an injury to

Ryan Freel Ryan Paul Freel (March 8, 1976 – December 22, 2012) was an American professional baseball player. A utility player, Freel played second base, third base, and all three outfield positions in Major League Baseball for the Baltimore Orioles, Chicag ...

. On November 10, 2010, Montanez became a minor league

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 ...

Chicago Cubs

Montañez signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs on January 12, 2011. He was called up from the Iowa Cubs on May 24, 2011 and was in the lineup that night at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...

against 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 league ...

. His first at-bat resulted in an RBI double. He elected free agency on November 28.

Late career

Montañez was signed to a minor league contract by the Philadelphia Phillies on December 21, 2011. He also received an invitation to spring training. He began the year with Triple-A

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

. On May 4, Montañez was released. On May 21, Montañez signed a minor league deal with 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 ...

and was assigned to Triple-A

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

. In 101 total games that year, Montañez hit .241 with two home runs and 26 RBI in 359 plate appearances. On April 3, 2013, Montañez signed with the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, and w ...

of the Atlantic League. In 52 games with the club, he hit .313 with six home runs and 41 RBI. On June 20, Montañez signed a minor league deal with the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

. He was assigned to Double-A

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

. On April 25, 2014, Montañez again signed with the Somerset Patriots. He became a free agent after the season.

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montanez, Lou 1981 births Living people Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Arizona League Cubs players Lansing Lugnuts players Daytona Cubs players Boise Hawks players Peoria Chiefs players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Iowa Cubs players Bowie Baysox players Norfolk Tides players Gulf Coast Orioles players Frederick Keys players Baltimore Orioles players Chicago Cubs players Sportspeople from Bayamón, Puerto Rico Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Memphis Redbirds players Somerset Patriots players Arkansas Travelers players