Ugueth Urtaín Urbina Villarreal (; born February 15, 1974) is a

Venezuelan Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

former

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 ...

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 ...

. A two-time All-Star, Urbina led the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

in saves with 41 in the 1999 season and helped the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

win the

2003 World Series The 2003 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2003 season. The 99th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Florida Marlins and the American Lea ...

. He is the only player in major league history with the initials "UU" or "UUU". His baseball career was cut short after the 2005 season, as he was arrested by Venezuelan authorities for attempted murder, for which he served seven years in prison.

Playing career

In 11 major league seasons, Urbina compiled a 44–49 record with 237 saves, 814

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 3.45 ERA. He played with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...

(1995–2001),

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 ...

(2001–2002), Texas Rangers (2003),

(2003),

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(2004–2005), and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

(2005).

Montreal Expos (1995–2001)

Urbina started his career as a

middle reliever In baseball, a middle reliever or middle relief pitcher, is a relief pitcher who typically pitches during the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings of a standard baseball game. In leagues with no designated hitter, such as in the National League prio ...

with the

, where he pitched for six seasons and was an All-Star once, in 1998. As a 21-year-old in 1995, Urbina made seven pitching appearances, starting four, and went 2–2 with a 6.17 ERA. In 1996 he established himself on Montreal's pitching staff, as he hurled 33 games, including 17 starts and a career-high 114

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

s, and posted a 10–5 record with a 3.71 ERA. His career as a closer began In 1997, when he collected 27 saves with a 3.71 ERA and a 5-8 record in 63 relief appearances. Urbina improved in 1998, going 6–3 with 34 saves and a 1.30 ERA in 64 games. In 1999, he topped the National League with 41 saves, while notching a 6–6 record and a 3.69 ERA in 71 contests. In 2000, Urbina was limited to 13 appearances and ended the year with an 0–1 mark, eight saves and a 4.05 ERA. Urbina started the 2001 season well, going 2–1 with a 4.24 ERA while notching 15 saves in 45 games before being traded to the

on July 31.

Boston Red Sox (2001–2002)

Urbina was headed to the Red Sox in the same transaction that sent

Tomo Ohka (born March 18, 1976) is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Boston Red Sox (–), Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals (2001–), Milwaukee Brewers (2005–), Toronto Blue Jays (), Cleveland Indi ...

and Rich Rundles to Montreal. Urbina appeared in 19 games with Boston, saving nine and compiling a 0-1 record with a 2.25 ERA. Overall, he went 2-2 with 24 saves and a 3.65 ERA in 64 relief opportunities. Urbina earned his second All-Star berth in 2002, when he went 1-6 with 40 saves and a 3.00 ERA in 61 games.

Texas Rangers (2003)

Urbina signed as a

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 ...

with the Texas Rangers on December 23, 2002. He went 0-4 with 26 saves and a 4.19 ERA in 39 games for the Rangers in 2003 before being traded during the midseason.

Florida Marlins (2003)

On July 11, 2003, Urbina was traded by Texas to the

in exchange for

Adrián González Adrián González Savín (born May 8, 1982), also known by his nicknames "A-Gon" and "Titán", is a Mexican-American former professional baseball first baseman He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, ...

, Ryan Snare, and a minor leaguer. For the remainder of the season, Urbina served as a

setup man In baseball, a setup man (or set-up man, also sometimes referred to as a setup pitcher or setup reliever) is a relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer. They commonly pitch the eighth inning, with the closer pitching the ninth. As ...

for Marlins closer Braden Looper, going 3-0 with six saves and a 1.41 ERA in 33 games. He posted a combined record of 3-4 with 32 saves and a 2.81 ERA in 54 appearances during the 2003 season. Urbina finished his short stint with the Marlins by helping them win the

title, while defeating 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 ...

in six games. During his only postseason in the majors, he went 1-0 along with four saves and a 3.46 ERA in 10 games.

Detroit Tigers (2004–2005)

Urbina signed a two-year contract with the

on March 29, 2004. That marked his last year where he was closer for at least part of the season. In 54 games, he went 4-6 with 21 saves and a 4.50 ERA. He began the 2005 season in good form, collecting a 1-3 record with a 2.63 ERA while contributing with nine saves, but then found himself on the move again for the third time in his career.

Philadelphia Phillies (2005)

On June 8, 2005, the Tigers traded Urbina along with

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

Ramón Martínez to the

in exchange for second baseman Plácido Polanco. Urbina went 4-6 with a 4.13 ERA and just one save in 56 games. Overall, he posted a 5-6 record with 10 saves and a 3.62 ERA in a career-high 81 games. He made his last Major League appearance on October 2, 2005, during a 9–3 Phillies victory over the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

RFK Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. It is located about due east of the U.S. Capitol building, near the ...

Pitching attributes

Urbina's pitches included a moving

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

and a slider that enabled him to hold left-handed hitters in check. He also threw a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

which tailed away from right-handers and a splitter that broke sharply.

Mother's kidnapping

In September 2004, Urbina's 54-year-old mother, Maura Villarreal, was kidnapped and held for a $6 million ransom in southwest Venezuela. Urbina's family refused to pay the ransom and an anti-kidnapping unit rescued her in a military-style operation on February 18, 2005.

Attempted murder conviction

On November 7, 2005, Urbina was arrested in Venezuela on a charge of attempted murder for an incident that occurred on October 16. Urbina attacked five farm workers on his property whom he had accused of stealing a gun, wielding a

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and attempting to pour gasoline on them. On March 28, 2007, Urbina was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to fourteen years and seven months in prison. He was released on December 24, 2012, after serving just over seven years of his sentence.

Family

Urbina has a son Juan who pitched in the Mets organization, appearing in three seasons for the short season single-A

Brooklyn Cyclones The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and play at Maimonides Park, just off the Coney Islan ...

References

External links

Ugueth Urbina
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) {{DEFAULTSORT:Urbina, Ugueth 1974 births Living people Albany Polecats players American League All-Stars Boston Red Sox players Burlington Bees players Detroit Tigers players Florida Marlins players Gulf Coast Expos players Harrisburg Senators players Lakeland Tigers players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars National League saves champions Ottawa Lynx players People convicted of attempted murder Philadelphia Phillies players Prisoners and detainees of Venezuela Baseball players from Caracas Ranchers Texas Rangers players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Venezuelan prisoners and detainees West Palm Beach Expos players