Daadan Magallon Amezcua h-mess'-coo-ah/small> (born March 9, 1974) is a Mexican former professional baseball player. Listed at , , he batted and threw right handed. Amezcua is currently the catching coach for the

Leones de Yucatán The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The team plays its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in 1957 ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

Career

Through the years, Amezcua has established himself as one of the most distinguished

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

s in Mexican baseball history. Though he never has played in a Major League game, Amezcua has spent more than two decades 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 Nort ...

while playing in part or all of 21 seasons spanning 1993–2013. A fine handler of pitchers, he is known for his fine defense, as well for his ability to call a game and frame pitches to influence an umpire's

strike zone In baseball, the strike zone is the area of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's kne ...

. Besides, he has showed off a strong arm with fast release and accuracy backed up by a great instinct of the game. He is equally competent as a

line drive In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

hitter with occasional power, and works the

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

to give other hitter opportunities to see the pitcher.Treto Cisneros, Pedro (2002). ''The Mexican League/La Liga Mexicana: Comprehensive Player Statistics, 1937–2001''. McFarland & Company. A native of

Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican list of states of Mexico, state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding , known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast across from th ...

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

, he was born as Adán Amezcua Magallón to parents of Basque origin. He was signed as a 19-year-old 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 ...

organization in 1993, playing for them eight years before joining the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

(2000–2001) and

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

(2002) systems, reaching Triple-A level with the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

in the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

and the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. Amezcua has also played from 1997 in the

, most prominently for the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey (English: Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball club in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Monterrey, Mexico. Established in 1939 as Carta Blanca, the Sultanes have won ten LMB titles, most recently in 2018. Fro ...

, winning a title with the team in the 2007 season. In addition, he helped the

Tomateros de Culiacán The Tomateros de Culiacán () are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Culiacán, Sinaloa. The ''Tomateros'' have won thirteen league championships and two Caribbean World Series in and . The team was founded in 19 ...

win the 2001–2002

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (, or LMP), also known as the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons, is a professional baseball Winter league baseball, winter league based in Northwestern Mexico. The league comprises 10 teams. It wa ...

championship. As the league champions, the team represented Mexico in the

2002 Caribbean Series The forty-fourth edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') was held from February 2 through February 8 of with the champion baseball teams of the Dominican Republic, Tigres del Licey; Mexico, Tomateros de Culiacán; Puerto Rico, Vaque ...

. And Amezcua excelled in the tournament, guiding Culiacán to the Series title after hitting .455 with three

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 nine RBI, to claim

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

honors and an All-Star team selection. He returned to the Series in its 2004 edition with Culiacán and was named to the All-Star team for a second time. In 2005, with the Tomateros eliminated in the playoffs, Amezcua reinforced the

Venados de Mazatlán Venados de Mazatlán () are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Mazatlan, Sinaloa. History In February 1958, Venados participated in an international tournament, dubbed the Pan-American Series, against two other c ...

in the 2005 Caribbean Series. His contribution was creditable without being notable, as the Mexican representative team captured the title. At the end he received a high praise for his work with the pitching staff, which included Francisco Campos (2–0, 23

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, 1.13

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 ...

), Jorge Campillo (1–0, 0.00 ERA) and Pablo Ortega (1–0, 1.13 ERA). Having caught more than 1200 games in his career, Amezcua has collected a very solid .984

fielding average In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, di ...

and nailed 35 percent of potential base-stealers (319 of 582). An extremely productive hitter in terms of a catcher, he has amassed a slash line ( BA/ OBP/ SLG) of .284/.360/.424 in 1264 games. At 39, Amezcua joined the

Tigres de Quintana Roo The Tigres de Quintana Roo (English: Quintana Roo Tigers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The team is part of the Southern Division (). The team has won twelve championships to date: ...

in the 2013 Mexican League season. He posted a .294/.402/.511 line in 81 games, including 10 homers and 81 RBI. After that, he completed a streak of 21 straight seasons with the Tomateros de Culiacán, a record for most consecutive seasons played for the same club in Mexican baseball history.Un hombre récord : Adán Amezcua
(Spanish)

Sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amezcua, Adan 1974 births Living people Auburn Astros players Baseball players from Sinaloa Bowie Baysox players Broncos de Reynosa players Delfines de Ciudad del Carmen players Gulf Coast Astros players Jackson Generals (Texas League) players Kissimmee Cobras players Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican League baseball catchers Mobile BayBears players Sportspeople from Mazatlán Portland Beavers players Quad Cities River Bandits players Rieleros de Aguascalientes players Rochester Red Wings players Sultanes de Monterrey players Tigres de Quintana Roo players Tigres del México players Tomateros de Culiacán players Tuneros de San Luis Potosí players Leones de Yucatán players