César David Izturis (; born February 10, 1980) 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 professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 ...

. He played 13 seasons in

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 ...

(MLB) for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

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 ...

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

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 ...

, St. Louis Cardinals,

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 ...

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

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

, and

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

. He is the half-brother of shortstop Maicer Izturis.

Playing career

Toronto Blue Jays

Signed by the

as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, Izturis made his debut with Toronto in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

and had a .269

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 ...

Los Angeles Dodgers

During the Winter Meetings after the 2001 season, the Blue Jays traded Izturis and Paul Quantrill to the

for Luke Prokopec and Chad Ricketts. Izturis started at shortstop from Opening Day of the 2002 season, and he quickly established himself in the Dodgers' infield. But he showed no patience at the plate, resulting in a decline in average and very few walks. After two years of barely adequate hitting (though compensated by his stellar glovework), he improved markedly in 2004, when he hit .288 with 62 RBI and 25

stolen base 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 ...

s in 159 games. At the end of the season, he earned his first Gold Glove, the first by a Dodger shortstop since

Maury Wills Maurice Morning Wills (October 2, 1932 – September 19, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1959 to 1972, most prominently as an integral member of the Los Ange ...

' back-to-back honors in 1961 and

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

. In

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, Izturis hit .348 through June 1 and led the entire majors in hits. He was selected for the National League All-Star team, but his batting average later dipped all the way down into the .250 range. Curiously, his defense also seemed to suffer. After two trips to the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

, Izturis underwent Tommy John surgery in his right elbow, and returned in mid-June 2006. With the uncertainty around Izturis, the Dodgers acquired shortstop

Rafael Furcal Rafael Antoni Furcal (born October 24, 1977) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Miami Marlins. With St. Louis, h ...

in the off-season. That move seemed to have put Izturis' future with the Dodgers in doubt. With a $13 million annual salary, Furcal did not seem a likely candidate to be benched.

Chicago Cubs

On July 31, 2006, at the trade deadline, the Dodgers traded Izturis to the

in exchange for Greg Maddux and cash considerations. In 22 games for the Cubs down the stretch, he batted .233/.282/.260 with no home runs and six RBI. Izturis made 65 appearances for Chicago to begin the 2007 season, slashing .246/.298/.304 with no home runs, eight RBI, and three stolen bases.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On July 19, 2007, Izturis and cash were traded to the

in exchange for a player to be named later. In 45 appearances for Pittsburgh, he batted .276/.310/.333 with no home runs and eight RBI. On November 16, the Pirates declined an option on Izturis, and he became a free agent.

St. Louis Cardinals

On November 30, 2007, Izturis signed a one-year, $2.85 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. Izturis made 135 appearances for St. Louis during the 2008 campaign, hitting .263/.319/.309 with one home run, 24 RBI, and 24 stolen bases.

Baltimore Orioles

On December 16, 2008, Izturis signed a two-year, major league contract with the

. In

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, he led all starting shortstops in range factor, at 4.89. Izturis made 114 appearances for Baltimore during the year, slashing .256/.294/.328 with two home runs, 30 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. In 150 appearances for the Orioles during the 2010 season, Izturis batted .230/.277/.269 with one home run, 28 RBI, and 11 stolen bases. On December 10, 2010, Izturis re-signed with the Orioles on a one-year, $1.5 million contract. He played in 18 games for Baltimore in 2011, 6-for-30 (.200) with 1 RBI and 2 walks. Izturis missed a chunk of the season after undergoing surgery to repair an

ulnar nerve The ulnar nerve is a nerve that runs near the ulna, one of the two long bones in the forearm. The ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint is in relation with the ulnar nerve. The nerve is the largest in the human body unprotected by muscle or ...

injury. On August 11, 2011, he was placed on the disabled list with a left groin strain, and missed the remainder of the season.

Milwaukee Brewers

On December 21, 2011, Izturis signed a minor league contract with the

organization that included an invitation to spring training. On March 29, 2012, it was announced that Izturis had made Milwaukee's

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster, with his contract being formally selected on April 1. In 57 appearances for the Brewers, he slashed .235/.249/.333 with two home runs and 11 RBI.

Washington Nationals

On August 6, 2012, Izturis was claimed off waivers by the

. In 5 games for Washington, he went 2-for-4 (.500). Izturis was designated for assignment by the Nationals on August 17, only 11 days after arriving in Washington. He elected free agency on August 20.

Cincinnati Reds

On January 14, 2013, the

announced that they had signed Izturis to a minor league contract that included an invitation to spring training. On March 31, the Reds selected Izturis' contract after he made the team's Opening Day roster. In 63 appearances for Cincinnati, he batted .209/.259/.271 with no home runs and 11 RBI.

Houston Astros

On January 13, 2014, Izturis signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

. On March 24, after being informed he would not make the team, Izturis opted out of his contract and was released by the Astros organization. On April 19, it was reported that Izturis had turned down minor league offers in hopes of landing a major league contract.

Coaching career

On February 11, 2025, Izturis was announced as the bench coach for the Toros de Tijuana 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 ...

Personal life

Izturis resides in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, with his wife Liliana and their two children; his son Cesar Daniel (born November 11, 1999) and daughter Daniella (born July 17, 2006). In 2016, Cesar Daniel signed with the

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 ...

as an international free agent. Cesar Daniel is a

n professional

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

for the Lake Country DockHounds of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor ...

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Izturis, Cesar 1980 births Baltimore Orioles players Bowie Baysox players Cardenales de Lara players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Dunedin Blue Jays players Gold Glove Award winners Gulf Coast Orioles players Hagerstown Suns players Las Vegas 51s players Living people Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen Major League Baseball shortstops Milwaukee Brewers players Nashville Sounds players National League All-Stars Baseball players from Barquisimeto Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Catharines Stompers players St. Louis Cardinals players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Toronto Blue Jays players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Washington Nationals players World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela 2009 World Baseball Classic players