Erick Johan Aybar (born January 14, 1984) is a Dominican 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 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

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

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 ...

, 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. ...

Professional career

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Aybar was signed by the then

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

as an amateur free agent in 2002. He made his professional debut with the rookie ball Provo Angels. He spent the 2003 season with the Single-A

Cedar Rapids Kernels The Cedar Rapids Kernels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium (Cedar Rapids), Veter ...

, slashing .308/.346/.446 with 6 home runs and 57 RBI. In 2004, Aybar played for the High-A

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and play their home games at LoanMart Field. The franc ...

, batting .330/.370/.485 in 136 games with career-highs in home runs (14) and RBI (65). In 2005 he played for the Double-A

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play in the Texas League. Hi ...

, hitting .303/.350/.445 with 9 home runs and 45 RBI. He began the 2006 season in Triple-A with the

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...

. Aybar made his MLB debut on May 16, 2006, a

pinch runner In baseball or softball, a pinch runner is a player substituted into a game for the purpose of base running. Description A pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been s ...

against 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 ...

. He recorded his first major League hit, in his first start, on May 20, 2006, against 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 ...

, a single to right field in the fourth inning off of Brett Tomko. Aybar played in 34 major league games in 2006, notching 10 hits in 40 at-bats. Aybar hit his first career major league

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 ( ...

on September 25, 2007, in a game against the Texas Rangers. On the year, Aybar slashed .237/.279/.289 with 1 homer and 19 RBI. Aybar played in 98 games in 2008, with a batting line .277/.314/.384 with 3 home runs and 39 RBI. On September 5, 2009, Aybar tied a franchise record for most triples in a game with two against the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. On September 8, 2009, Aybar had his first career walk-off hit, against 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 ...

. In 2009, Aybar hit .312 (eighth in the AL) and posted the fourth-best OPS (.776) of all AL shortstops. Aybar played in 138 games in 2010, batting .253/.306/.330 with 5 home runs and 29 RBI. The next year, he batted .279/.322/.421 with career-highs in home runs (10) and RBI (59) in 143 contests. After the season on November 1, 2011, Aybar was awarded his first

Rawlings Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances. It is awarded at each fieldin ...

. In 141 games in 2012, Aybar batted .290/.324/.416 with 8 home runs and 45 RBI. In 2013, Aybar appeared in 138 contests, with a batting line of .271/.301/.382. On July 10, 2014, Aybar was named an All Star for the first time in his career, replacing injured

outfielder

Alex Gordon Alexander Jonathan Gordon (born February 10, 1984) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Prior to playing professional ...

. Aybar was hitting .283 with six home runs and 45 RBIs through 89 games at the time of his selection. He finished the season hitting .278 with seven home runs and 68 RBI in a career-high 156 games played. In 2015, Aybar slashed .270/.301/.338 in 156 games, along with 3 home runs and 44 RBI.

Atlanta Braves

On November 12, 2015, the Angels traded Aybar,

Sean Newcomb Sean William Newcomb (born June 12, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, and Boston Red Sox. ...

, Chris Ellis and cash to the

for

Andrelton Simmons Andrelton Alexander Simmons (born September 4, 1989) is a Curaçaoan professional baseball shortstop for the Dorados de Chihuahua of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles ...

and

José Briceño José Manuel Briceño (born September 19, 1992) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels. Career Briceño was born in Caracas, Venezuela ...

. In 97 games for Atlanta, Aybar hit 2 home runs and 26 RBI with a batting line of .242/.293/.313.

Detroit Tigers

On August 16, 2016, the Braves traded Aybar to the

in exchange for

Mike Avilés Michael Anthony Avilés '' h-vee-les'' (born March 13, 1981) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and ...

and Kade Scivique. At the time of the trade, Aybar was batting an average of .242 with two home runs and twenty-six RBI. Aybar mustered 20 hits in 80 at-bats in 29 games for Detroit. On November 3, 2016, Aybar elected free agency.

San Diego Padres

On February 17, 2017, Aybar signed a minor league contract with the

organization, receiving a non-roster invitation to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. Aybar made the Opening Day roster for the Padres in 2018, and was selected to the 40-man roster on March 28. On April 18, Aybar made a pitching appearance for the Padres in a blowout loss against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

, and got catcher Chris Herrmann to hit into the final out of the game. On July 24, Aybar suffered a fractured foot and missed a month and a half as a result. With the Padres in 2017 he batted .234/.300/.348 with 7 home runs and 22 RBI in 108 games.

Acereros de Monclova

On February 24, 2018, Aybar signed a minor league contract 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 ...

organization. He opted out of his contract and became a free agent on March 23. On July 13, 2018, Aybar signed with the

Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports l ...

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 ...

. In 43 games for Monclova, Aybar slashed .291/.354/.401. The next year, he batted .319/.412/.496 in 88 contests for Monclova. Aybar did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Mexican League season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2021, Aybar slashed .318/.384/.450 with three home runs and 29 RBI in 52 games. He was released by the team following the season on January 10, 2022.

Algodoneros de Unión Laguna

On February 9, 2022, Aybar signed with the

Algodoneros de Unión Laguna The Algodoneros de Unión Laguna (English: Laguna Union Cottoneers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB). Based in Torreón, Coahuila, they play in the North Division of LMB. History Early years The team was established ...

of the

. In 42 games, he batted .261/.324/.379 with 4 home runs and 17 RBI. Aybar was released by the Algodoneros on June 21.

Personal life

Aybar is the youngest brother (by 10 months) of former

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

Willy Aybar. His nephew,

Wander Franco Wander Samuel Franco Aybar (born March 1, 2001), nicknamed "El Patron", is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) and a convicted sex offender. He made his MLB debut in 2021 and was an M ...

, also played for the Rays.

References

External links

Finale lifts Venezuela to title
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aybar, Erick 1984 births Living people American League All-Stars Arkansas Travelers players Atlanta Braves players Cedar Rapids Kernels players Detroit Tigers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Gold Glove Award winners Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Major League Baseball shortstops Mexican League baseball second basemen Baseball players from Baní Provo Angels players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Salt Lake Bees players San Diego Padres players Tigres del Licey players World Baseball Classic players of the Dominican Republic 2013 World Baseball Classic players