Roberto Antonio Petagine Hernandez (; born June 2, 1971) is a retired

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 ...

player of Italian descent. His

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 ...

career includes brief stints with the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

(1994),

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 ...

(1995),

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 ...

(1996 and 1997),

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 ...

(1998),

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 eight ...

(2005), and

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 ...

(2006); but he is best known for his success in the Japanese Central League between 1999 and 2004 where, as a member of the

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yo ...

(1999–2002) and

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

(2003–2004), he was among

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

's premier offensive players.

Career

Minor league career

Petagine entered professional baseball on February 13, 1990, at the age of 18, when Houston signed him as an undrafted amateur

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 ...

after starting his career in Venezuela with the Leones del Caracas baseball team in which he contributed with his power for several campaigns becoming a star and a well-known baseball player in his country. Later that year, he played his first pro season with the rookie-level

GCL Astros The Florida Complex League Astros are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Houston Astros, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Astros. The team plays i ...

of the

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...

. His production there, and the following year with Single-A Burlington, was solid (if unspectacular). Petagine would go on to substantial minor league success in his early to mid 20s, but even his early stats hinted at the trends that would define—and perhaps curse—his career in American baseball: always having an above-average OBP, but relatively little

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 ...

power, by the standards historically applied to first basemen. A solid contact hitter who used the whole field with occasional pull power, the young Petagine was indeed most noteworthy for his control of the strike zone, and more specifically for the exceptional rate at which he drew walks. His breakout years were in 1992 through 1994, as he moved through the minors to Triple-A, cumulatively averaging an OBP above .400 and a .500+

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

. ''

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'' twice ranked him among the Astros' top ten prospects (in 1992 and 199
Houston Astros Baseball America Top Ten Prospects, 1992 - 2013
; he was a three-time All-Star (1996–1998) in Triple-A; and he won the

International League MVP Award The International League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual award given to the best player in Minor League Baseball's International League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. Broadcasters, Minor Le ...

in back-to-back years: 1997 as a member of the Mets' Triple-A affiliate in

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and 1998 as a member of the Reds' Triple-A affiliate in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. Despite his early successes, though, Petagine would never become a regular in the majors, nor receive much chance to play his way into the role; he was traded three times between December, 1994 and February, 1998, and in December 1998 the Reds sold his contract to the

Nippon Professional Baseball

A new home helped revitalize Petagine's career. Let go by the Reds in 1998, he proved a welcome addition in the Japanese Central League, as he won three Gold Gloves, two home run titles and one Central League MVP award while playing for the Yakult Swallows (1999–2002) and

(2003–04). For Yakult and Yomiuri, Petagine

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.317 with 223 home runs and 594 RBI in 756 games. In 2003–04, Petagine became the highest-paid baseball player in Japan. The Giants acquired him to take the place of

Hideki Matsui , nicknamed " Godzilla", is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played baseball in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Mats ...

, who had signed with 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 ...

to play in

. However, Petagine was often forced to play as an

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 ...

because the Giants already had a first baseman in

Kazuhiro Kiyohara is a Japanese television personality, YouTuber and former professional baseball player. He played in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league for 23 seasons. He retired following the 2008 season. Born in Kishiwada, Osaka in 1967, his family w ...

. Still, he put up excellent numbers at the plate for those two seasons, producing a total of 73 home runs and 165 RBIs.

Return to North American baseball

Before the 2005 season, the Boston Red Sox agreed to a minor league contract with Petagine. He underwent knee surgery in

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

, preventing him from making the 25-man roster. In August, first baseman

John Olerud John Garrett Olerud, Jr. (; born August 5, 1968), nicknamed "Johnny O", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays te ...

was placed on the 15-day

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

and his roster spot was filled by Petagine, who'd had a productive Triple-A season (including a .327 batting average with 20 home runs and 69 RBI in 74 games at Pawtucket). In 18 games with Boston, he hit .281 (9-for-34) with one home run and nine RBI. The Red Sox declined to sign Petagine for the 2006 season. He signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners, and was invited to spring training. After a productive spring, he made the major league team as a backup to Richie Sexson. On July 9, 2006, he was designated for assignment by the Mariners. To start the 2008 season, Petagine played first base for the Diablos Rojos del Mexico of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. In 37 games, he batted .372 with six home runs and 27 RBIs.

Korean baseball

On May 12, 2008, the LG Twins announced that he would join the team, replacing

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 ...

Jamie Brown on the roster. The contract was worth a prorated $250,000 for the remainder of 2008. In his first full season with the LG Twins in 2009, Petagine hit 26 home runs and had 100 RBIs.

Return to Japan

Petagine returned to NPB in 2010 to play one season for the

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

before retiring. He batted .261 with 10 home runs and 41 RBIs in 81 games.

References

External links

*
Mexican League statistics
*Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics fro
PuraPelota.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petagine, Roberto 1971 births Living people Boston Red Sox players Bravos de Margarita players Burlington Astros players Cincinnati Reds players Diablos Rojos del México players Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players Gulf Coast Astros players Houston Astros players Indianapolis Indians players International League MVP award winners Jackson Generals (Texas League) players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Leones del Caracas players LG Twins players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Mexican League baseball first basemen New York Mets players Nippon Professional Baseball infielders Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners Norfolk Tides players Osceola Astros players Pastora de los Llanos players Pastora de Occidente players Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Nueva Esparta San Diego Padres players Seattle Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players Tucson Toros players Yakult Swallows players Yomiuri Giants players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Japan Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in South Korea Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Venezuelan people of Italian descent Venezuelan Roman Catholics