Ricardo Alberto Ledée (born November 22, 1973) 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 (AL), ...

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 ...

who played for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

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 ...

, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies,

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

in his decade-long professional career. He won two

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 World ...

championships with the Yankees in 1998 and 1999.

Professional career

The

selected Ledée in the 16th round of the

1990 Major League Baseball draft The 1990 Major League Baseball ( MLB) Draft was held in June 1990. The draft placed amateur baseball players onto major league teams. 1,487 players were distributed to 26 teams. The draft consisted of first round selections, supplemental first ...

. He didn't break into the Major Leagues until 1998, playing in 42 games with the Yankees. The left-handed outfielder reached base in eight consecutive plate appearances in the

1998 World Series The 1998 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1998 season. The 94th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the National Le ...

and was part of the Yankees' championship teams in both 1998 and 1999. In 2000, Ledée was

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 ...

only .241 for the Yankees when they traded him, along with

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 draw ...

Jake Westbrook Jacob Cauthen Westbrook (born September 29, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was known as a sinker ball pitcher and hit a grand slam as a batter.Harris, J. GeralJake Westbrook: sinkerball pitc ...

and

Zach Day Stephen Zachary Day (born June 15, 1978) is a former right-handed sinker-ball pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for two teams from 2002 to 2006. Career history Day graduated from La Salle High School in Cincinnati in 1996, where he pl ...

, to the

in exchange for David Justice. He played just 17 games for the Indians before they traded him to the Texas Rangers for

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

David Segui. He finished the 2000 season with the Rangers and was a reserve for the club in 2001. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2002. On July 30, 2004, the Phillies traded him with Alfredo Simón to the

for Félix Rodríguez. He signed with the

, and was claimed off of waivers by the

on August 8, 2006. Ledée signed a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics on February 2, 2007, and was invited to their spring training camp, but was released March 25. The Mets signed him to another minor league contract March 31. He was a starting outfielder for their triple-A, Pacific Coast League affiliate, New Orleans Zephyrs, when they recalled him to the Major League roster June 8. On July 8, he was designated for assignment. Ledée retired from baseball on August 21, 2007.

Personal life

Ledée's late father, Toñito Ledée, was the lead singer of Papo Lucca's band, La Sonora Ponceña. Ledee appeared in the '' For Love of the Game'' as a member of the

named Ruiz. Ledée has three children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ledee, Ricky 1973 births Living people Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Major League Baseball outfielders New York Yankees players Cleveland Indians players Texas Rangers players Philadelphia Phillies players San Francisco Giants players Los Angeles Dodgers players New York Mets players Sportspeople from Ponce, Puerto Rico Gulf Coast Yankees players Oneonta Yankees players Greensboro Bats players Columbus Clippers players Norwich Navigators players Oklahoma RedHawks players Jacksonville Suns players Norfolk Tides players New Orleans Zephyrs players 2006 World Baseball Classic players