Pedro Félix Borbón Marte (born November 15, 1967), generally known as Pedro Borbón Jr., is a Dominican 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 ...

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 dr ...

who 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 five teams, over nine seasons. Borbón was mainly 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 ...

. Borbón's father,

Pedro Borbón Pedro Borbón Rodriguez (December 2, 1946 – June 4, 2012) was a Dominican professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won four National League pennants a ...

was also a pitcher, playing for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and three other teams from 1969 to 1980, winning the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

twice with the

. After his parents divorced when he was 13, young Pedro Borbón left home at 14 and settled in New York City with two of his mother's brothers. In the spring of his freshman year at

DeWitt Clinton High School , motto_translation = Without Work Nothing Is Accomplished , image = DeWitt Clinton High School front entrance IMG 7441 HLG.jpg , seal_image = File:Clinton News.JPG , seal_size = 124px , ...

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

, Borbón cut class, heading for the lunch room. He was stopped by a security guard, who asked to see his student ID. The guard did a double-take when he saw the name. "Are you related to Pedro Borbón, the pitcher?" he asked. The guard also happened to be a baseball coach at the school. He asked Borbón if he played baseball and refused to take "no" for an answer. He took Borbón outside and had him throw 20 pitches. By Borbón's recollection, 18 were strikes. Borbón pitched well enough to earn an athletic scholarship to Ranger Junior College outside

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

but not before parting with his uncles and living for a while in a cheap apartment in the Bronx with two high school buddies that cost them $540 a month. He worked as a messenger after school to pay his third of the rent. He had no contact with his father between the ages of 13 and 20. Borbón played on the 1995

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

, who won the

that year. He pitched one important inning in the

1995 World Series The 1995 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1995 season. The 91st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Atlanta Braves and the Ameri ...

. The Braves were leading two games to one over 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 ...

, and were leading the fourth game going into the ninth inning. However, Braves' closer

Mark Wohlers Mark Edward Wohlers (born January 23, 1970) is a former professional baseball pitcher. A right-hander, he played all or parts of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball, exclusively as a relief pitcher. He is best known for his years with the Atlanta ...

was fatigued after having pitched two and two-thirds innings the previous day. Wohlers allowed the Indians to score a run and put a runner on second in that ninth inning without recording any outs. Borbón then came in to relieve Wohlers, and promptly struck out

Jim Thome James Howard Thome (; born August 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball corner infielder and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 22 seasons (1991–2012). He played for six different teams during the ...

and

Sandy Alomar Jr. Santos "Sandy" Alomar Velázquez Jr. (, ; born June 18, 1966) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher between 1988 and 2007, most notably as a member of the Clev ...

while getting

Kenny Lofton Kenneth Lofton (born May 31, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Lofton was a six-time All-Star (1994–1999), four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1993–1996), and at retirement, was ranked 15th amon ...

to fly out to right. Borbón is right-handed but taught himself to throw left-handed to increase his marketability as a pitcher.

Personal life

Borbón is the brother-in-law of major league

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 ...

Carlos Peguero Carlos Ángel Peguero D'Oleo (born February 22, 1987) is a Dominican former professional baseball left fielder. He signed with the Seattle Mariners as an international free agent on January 20, 2005, with whom he made his Major League Baseball ...

, who is married to sister Maria Jacqueline (née Borbón) Peguero. Borbón was one of three Atlanta Braves to appear on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'' when he made a cameo appearance alongside teammates Gerald Williams and

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
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Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borbon, Pedro Jr. 1967 births Living people Arkansas Travelers players Atlanta Braves players Bridgeport Bluefish players Burlington Braves players Cardenales de Lara players DeWitt Clinton High School alumni Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Durham Bulls players Edmonton Trappers players Greenville Braves players Gulf Coast White Sox players Houston Astros players Long Island Ducks players Los Angeles Dodgers players Macon Braves players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Memphis Redbirds players People from Santa Cruz de Mao Ranger Rangers baseball players Richmond Braves players Salt Lake Stingers players St. Louis Cardinals players Toronto Blue Jays players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Venezuela

Personal life

See also

References

External links