Teodoro Higuera Valenzuela (born November 9, 1957) is a Mexican former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

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 ...

. He played for nine years (– and –) for 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 ...

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).

Early career

Higuera was named the rookie of the year with the

Indios de Ciudad Juárez Club de Fútbol Indios de Ciudad Juárez, commonly referred as Indios de Ciudad Juárez or simply Indios, was a Mexican football club. Founded in 2005 when CF Pachuca moved its Pachuca Juniors to Ciudad Juárez, it was promoted to the Primera ...

during the 1981 Mexican League season. In 1983, his contract was purchased by the Brewers. After one year in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

, Higuera earned a spot in the team's 1985 rotation after winning a competition with Japanese pitcher Yutaka Enatsu. In his first season with Milwaukee, he posted a 15–8 record with a 3.90 ERA en route to winning

The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award The ''Sporting News'' Rookie of the Year Award is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award established in 1946 by ''Sporting News''. For the first three years (1946–1948) and again in 1950, there was a single award. In 1949 and since 1951, ...

in 1985. was one of Higuera's best seasons. He had his only 20-win season, going 20–11 with 207

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is den ...

s and a 2.79 ERA. It was the first 20-win season by a Mexican-born pitcher in the American League. That season, he was also selected for his only

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

appearance. In the game, Fernando Valenzuela struck Higuera out in the fifth inning to tie

Carl Hubbell Carl Owen Hubbell (June 22, 1903 – November 21, 1988), nicknamed "the Meal Ticket" and "King Carl", was an American Major League Baseball player. He was a pitcher for the New York Giants of the National League from 1928 to 1943, and remained o ...

's All-Star record with five consecutive strikeouts. He followed up his 1986 campaign by winning 18 games in 1987 and setting team marks for strikeouts (240) and consecutive scoreless innings (32). Over his first four years in the league, Higuera had a won loss record of 69–38, 766 strikeouts and a 3.25 ERA and was poised for greater success. However, he began to suffer injury problems that would limit his playing time.

Injuries and retirement

Back surgery and sprained ankles limited Higuera to 22 starts in 1989, although he came back to go 9–6. He was healthy for most of 1990 but had a record of 11–10 with 129 strikeouts. Nevertheless, the Brewers were convinced that he could return to form and signed him to a four-year, $13.1 million contract. Higuera tore his rotator cuff in 1991 and endured several surgeries. He missed the entire 1992 season and saw limited action in 1993 and 1994. The Brewers did not offer him a contract in and Higuera attempted a comeback with the

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 ...

. He did not make the team and retired that season.

Post-retirement

Higuera has served as a pitching coach for his native Mexico in the 2006, 2009, and 2013

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 ...

. In 2011, Higuera was inducted into the

Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame The Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Profesional de México (in English, Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame), commonly called the Salón de la Fama (Hall of Fame) is a baseball hall of fame and museum located in Monterrey, Nuevo León. I ...

.http://baseballdeworld.com/2011/01/24/higuera-named-mexican-hall-fame/

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higuera, Teodoro 1957 births Living people American League All-Stars Baseball players from Sinaloa Beloit Brewers players Denver Zephyrs players El Paso Diablos players Indios de Ciudad Juárez (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Mexico Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Mexican expatriate baseball players in Canada Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican League baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players New Orleans Zephyrs players Sportspeople from Los Mochis Sultanes de Monterrey players Vancouver Canadians players