Óscar Eduardo Henríquez (born January 28, 1974) 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

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

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 ...

who played for 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 ...

(1997),

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 team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

(1998) and

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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

(2002) in parts of three seasons spanning 1997–2002. Listed at 6' 6", 220 lb., Henríquez batted and threw right handed. He was born in

La Guaira La Guaira () is the capital city of the Venezuelan Vargas (state), state of the same name (formerly named Vargas) and the country's main port, founded in 1577 as an outlet for nearby Caracas. The city hosts its own professional baseball team i ...

, Vargas. In the 1997 season he was with the New Orleans Zephyrs before being called up to the Astros. During the 1996 season he pitched with the Kissimmee Astros of the Gulf Coast league and ranked fifth on the team in strikeouts with 40.

Career

Henríquez was signed as a free agent by the Astros in 1991. Because of his immense size and overpowering fastball, Henríquez became a celebrity in his native Venezuela, where he was dubbed ''Manacho''. In 1995, Henríquez was diagnosed with

myasthenia gravis Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a long-term neuromuscular junction disease that leads to varying degrees of skeletal muscle weakness. The most commonly affected muscles are those of the eyes, face, and swallowing. It can result in double vision, ...

, a rare disorder that affects the nervous system and causes muscle weakness. He had a surgery to remove the thymus gland in the upper neck, and later came down with pneumonia in both lungs. But Henriquez recovered and told the Astros he would be back, and the organization stood by him. In a 49-game career, Henríquez posted a 1–2 record with a 6.06

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

and two saves, including 45

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s and 30 walks in 52 innings of work. In between, Henríquez played winter ball with the

Cardenales de Lara The Cardenales de Lara () is a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP). Founded in 1942 and based in Barquisimeto, the Cardenales have won seven domestic titles, including back-to-back in 1998 and 1999, 2019, 2020 and ...

Navegantes del Magallanes Navegantes del Magallanes B.B.C., commonly known as Navegantes del Magallanes (; ''Strait of Magellan, Magellan Navigators''), or simply Magallanes, are a professional baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP), based in ...

and

Tiburones de La Guaira The Tiburones de La Guaira () are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP). Though they nominally represent La Guaira (playing at the Estadio Jorge Luis García Carneiro), they also play home games at the Estadio Un ...

clubs of the Venezuelan League in 12 seasons spanning 1992–2006, and also pitched for the Hyundai Unicorns of Korea Professional Baseball in 2001. In 2005 he pitched for

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

in the Italian Baseball League.

Sources

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henriquez, Oscar 1974 births Living people Asheville Tourists players Cardenales de Lara players Charlotte Knights players Detroit Tigers players Diablos Rojos del México players Florida Marlins players Houston Astros players Hyundai Unicorns players KBO League pitchers Kissimmee Cobras players Lancaster Barnstormers players Long Island Ducks players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 20th-century Venezuelan sportsmen Mexican League baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players New Orleans Zephyrs players Norfolk Tides players Baseball players from La Guaira Piratas de Campeche players T & A San Marino players Tiburones de La Guaira players Toledo Mud Hens players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Italy Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in South Korea Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in San Marino

Career

See also

Sources

External links