Francisco Aguirre Matos Mancebo (born April 8, 1970) 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 ...

player and current professional baseball coach. Signed as a free agent from his home region of Azua, Matos entered the world of

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 ...

with appearances in 14 games for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

during the 1994 season, primarily as a

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

, though another area of tact to scouts included short-stop. Throughout his playing career, Matos earned his veteran status with his strong batting average and flexibility in playing positions, as he played second baseman, shortstop, and third baseman.

Career

He was originally signed as a free agent by the

in 1987 and made his professional debut in 1989 with the

Modesto A's Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the 19th-most populous city in California. Modesto is located ...

. Francisco Aguirre Matos Mancebo played actively for sixteen consecutive baseball seasons, seven of which were at the

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * AAA (video game industry) - a category of high budget video games *'' TripleA'', an open source wargame Mu ...

level with MLB organizations. His last active season as a player was in 2004 for the Brockton Rox of the

Northeast League The Northeast League was a professional independent baseball league that operated in the Northeastern United States from 1995 until 1998 and from 2003 until 2004. Between 1999 and 2002, the league was part of the Northern League after the two le ...

, which he concluded with a .359 BA. Following his career as an active player, Matos continued his career within the realm of Major League Baseball as a hitting coach with 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 ...

for 9 seasons- giving Matos opportunity to fine-tune utilizing his gift of relating to young athletes in his teachings and instruction. Coaching with the Angels involved incorporating work with farm teams in

Rancho Cucamonga Rancho Cucamonga was a Ranchos of California, Mexican land grant in present-day San Bernardino County, California, given in 1839 to the dedicated soldier, smuggler and politician Tiburcio Tapia by Mexican governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. The gra ...

and Salt Lake City, among others, and working closely with young starters such as

Mike Trout Michael Nelson Trout (born August 7, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). Trout is an 11-time Major League Baseball All-Star Game, All-Star, three-time American League (A ...

, Hank Cogner, and Mark Trumbo. He is currently coaching with the Texas Rangers major league baseball franchise. Matos is married with four adult children: Lee, Mary Alexandra, Natalie, and Yefry.

References

External links

1969 births Living people Allentown Ambassadors players Brockton Rox players Calgary Cannons players Columbus Clippers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Durham Bulls players Gary SouthShore RailCats players Huntsville Stars players Lincoln Saltdogs players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 20th-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Major League Baseball second basemen Mexican League baseball third basemen Modesto A's players Oakland Athletics players Olmecas de Tabasco players Ottawa Lynx players Rochester Red Wings players Tacoma Rainiers players Tacoma Tigers players {{DominicanRepublic-baseball-bio-stub