Jorge "Popeye" Campillo Hidalgo (born August 10, 1978) is a Mexican former right-handed

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, ...

Career

Atlanta Braves

Campillo was signed as an undrafted

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 ...

by the Atlanta Braves on February 14, .

Seattle Mariners

Campillo was released by the Braves after the 1996 season and signed with a team in the

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 ...

. The Mariners acquired his rights and signed him on March 26, . He made his major league debut in 2005 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 ...

, playing in two games during the season. After leaving a game in 2005 with an injury, Campillo required

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

and subsequently missed most of the season. After rehabbing, Campillo made a rocky first post-surgery appearance with the Mariners in late 2006, after the team purchased his contract from Triple-A

Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...

. He became a free agent after the 2006 season, but was re-signed to a minor league contract by the Mariners. Campillo played Winter Ball prior to the season, when he very successfully headlined the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers' starting rotation. His recovery complete, Campillo led 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 ...

in ERA. After the end of the minor league season, he was recalled to Seattle, where Campillo made several successful appearances out of the Mariner bullpen.

Second stint with Braves

Campillo became a free agent after the season. On December 17, 2007, Campillo signed with the

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 ...

to a minor league contract with an 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 ...

. Campillo did not make the opening day roster but soon received a callup on April 10. He made his Braves debut on April 13 in a relief appearance against the

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 ...

. Campillo made his first start as an Atlanta Brave on May 20, 2008. He pitched 6 innings and was credited with a win. On October 12, 2009, the

outrighted him to the

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevi ...

and he elected free agency.

Kansas City Royals

On November 19, 2009, Campillo signed a minor-league contract with 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 ...

. He was released on June 27, 2010.

Tigres de Quintana Roo

On March 17, 2011, Campillo signed with 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: ...

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 20 games (17 starts) he threw 80.2 innings going 3-7 with a 5.58 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 1 save. He became a free agent following the 2012 season in which he made 21 starts throwing 108.1 innings going 10-6 with a 4.07 ERA and 63 strikeouts.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campillo, Jorge 1978 births Living people Arizona League Mariners players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Baseball players from Tijuana Gwinnett Braves players Inland Empire 66ers players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Mexico Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican League baseball pitchers Mississippi Braves players Omaha Royals players Pan American Games bronze medalists for Mexico Pan American Games bronze medalists in baseball Richmond Braves players San Antonio Missions players Seattle Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players Tigres del México players Tigres de la Angelopolis players Tigres de Quintana Roo players 2009 World Baseball Classic players Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games World Baseball Classic players of Mexico