Álvaro Alberto Espinoza Ramírez s-pe-noh'-zah/small> (born February 19, 1962) is a

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n former

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

. He batted and threw right-handed.

Early life

Born in

Valencia, Carabobo Valencia () is the capital city of Carabobo State and the third-largest city in Venezuela. The city is an economic hub that contains Venezuela's top industries and manufacturing companies. It is also the largest city in the Valencia-Maracay ...

, he graduated from Pedro Gual High School where he played baseball, soccer and basketball.

Playing career

As a young prospect, Espinoza was let go by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

system. But he went on to have twelve decent seasons with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

(1984–1986),

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

(1988–1991),

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 , the team ...

(1993–1996),

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

(1996) and

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

(1997). Although a free swinger, Espinoza was a good bat handler and contact hitter. His game was to simply put the ball in play and not try to hit for power. As a baserunner, he had average speed. Probably, he was not among the most gifted athletes ever to play shortstop, but he positioned himself extremely well and got to many balls that might have eluded some flashier shortstops. A sure-handed fielder, he had a strong throwing arm and found many ways to turn a

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Le ...

, as well as his concentration and knowledge of the game were his main assets. In a 12-season career, Espinoza hit a .254

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

with 22

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 201 RBI in 942 games, including 252 runs, 105 doubles, nine

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

, and 13

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out a ...

. Espinoza's was one of

public address announcer Bob Sheppard's favorite names to announce. He was also noted for hi
bubble gum hat antics
as well as other practical jokes he and teammate Wayne Kirby used to play on the 1995 Cleveland Indians.

Coaching career

Following his playing career after the 1997 season, Espinoza turned to coaching. In 1998, he worked with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

as their

minor league 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 Nort ...

infield coordinator. Hired by the

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

organization, Espinoza made his

managerial Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

debut in 1999 and guided Class-A

Vero Beach Vero Beach is a city in and the county seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,354. Nicknamed "The Hibiscus City", Vero is situated about southeast of Orlando along the ...

to a 48–85 record in the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

. He spent 2000 and 2001 as the Dodgers Minor League Roving Infield Coordinator. In 2002, Espinoza was signed by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

and then named their infield Instructor in 2004.

References

*''The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia'' – Gary Gillette, Peter Gammons, Pete Palmer. Publisher: Sterling Publishing, 2005. Format: Paperback, 1824pp. Language: English.

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Espinoza, Alvaro 1962 births Caribes de Anzoátegui players Cleveland Indians players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Gulf Coast Astros players Living people Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Major League Baseball shortstops Minnesota Twins players Minor league baseball coaches Minor league baseball managers Navegantes del Magallanes players New York Mets players New York Yankees players Baseball players from Valencia, Venezuela Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Portland Beavers players Seattle Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players Tigres de Aragua players Venezuelan baseball coaches Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Visalia Oaks players Wisconsin Rapids Twins players 20th-century Venezuelan sportsmen

Early life

Playing career

Coaching career

See also

References

External links