Gerardo Concepción Pérez (born February 29, 1992) is a

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. After competing in the 2010–11 Cuban National Series, winning the Rookie of the Year Award, he

defected In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

to Mexico in order to become an MLB free agent. He pitched in MLB for the

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 ...

in 2016.

Professional career

Cuba

Concepción debuted in the

Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, or SNB) is a domestic baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the National Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. For most ...

with the 2010–11

Industriales Industriales is a professional baseball team in the Cuban National Series. Located in Cerro, La Habana, it is known as the only team representing the country’s capital, Havana. Industriales is historically the most successful team in the Nat ...

. In his rookie season, Concepción finished with a 10–3

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

and a 3.36

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 21 games pitched, including 16 games started. He placed among the league leaders in wins (finishing tied for sixth with Yosvani Torres), winning percentage (finishing second, behind

Norberto González Norberto González Miranda (born 10 October 1979) is a former baseball player who was a left-handed pitcher for the Cuba national baseball team, Cuban national baseball team and Elefantes de Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos of the Cuban National Series, w ...

) and ERA (finishing ninth, between Miguel Alfredo González and Dalier Hinojosa). For his debut season, he was named the Cuban National Series Rookie of the Year. Concepción defected from Cuba while in

Rotterdam, Netherlands Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the New Meuse inland shi ...

, where the Cuban national baseball team was participating in the

World Port Tournament The World Port Tournament was an international baseball tournament held at the ''Neptunus Familiestadion'' in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The tournament was held every other year ( excluded) in odd-numbered years since , alternating with the Haarl ...

in June 2011, the same tournament where

Aroldis Chapman Albertín Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz (; born February 28, 1988) is a Cuban-born American professional baseball relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cincinnati Reds, New Y ...

defected from Cuba in 2009. Concepción established residency in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

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 ...

declared him a

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 ...

in January 2012.

Chicago Cubs

Minor leagues

Concepción agreed to sign with the

on February 2, 2012, pending a physical. The deal, worth $6 million over five years, became official on March 11. The Cubs removed Concepción from the 40-man roster and sent him outright to the

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are a professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois, and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their home games a ...

of the

Single-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams cl ...

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

on December 21. The Cubs assigned Concepción to the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

following the 2014 season. He began the 2015 season with the

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs of the National League in Major League Baseball. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games a ...

of the

High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. Concepción began the 2016 season with the

Tennessee Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

of the Double-A Southern League, and was promoted to the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

of the Triple-A

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 ...

Major leagues

Concepción was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on June 21, 2016. He struck out the first batter he faced in his debut that night. He made three appearances in 2016 with a 3.86 ERA. The Cubs eventually won the

2016 World Series The 2016 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2016 season. The 112th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Chicago Cubs and the American Leag ...

, ending their 108-year drought. Concepción was not present during the playoffs, but was still on the 40-man roster at the time and won his first World Series title. The Cubs non-tendered Concepción on December 2, making him a free agent. He was released by the Cubs organization on May 6, 2017.

Scouting report

During his career Concepción was tall and slender. He threw a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

, which registered in the low 90s (miles per hour), and he also featured a

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

and a

change-up A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball, but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

. In his pitching motion, he threw across his body, which created deception in his delivery, but would prevent him from being consistent.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Concepcion, Gerardo Living people 1992 births Baseball players from Havana Major League Baseball players from Cuba 21st-century Cuban sportsmen Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Defecting Cuban baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Chicago Cubs players Peoria Chiefs players Arizona League Cubs players Kane County Cougars players Daytona Cubs players Industriales de La Habana players Mesa Solar Sox players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Tennessee Smokies players Iowa Cubs players Navegantes del Magallanes players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Cañeros de Los Mochis players