José G. Constanza (born September 1, 1983) is a Dominican former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

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 c ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB) for 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 (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in B ...

Baseball career

Cleveland Indians

Constanza was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

on June 13, 2003. After two years and one 2004 League MVP in the

Dominican Summer League The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only ...

, he came to America in 2005 with the Single-A

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following ...

. After batting only .236 in 26 games, he was demoted to Short-Season

Mahoning Valley The Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH–PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, typically known as the Mahoning Valley (and historically the Steel Valley), is a metropolitan area in Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania the United States, with t ...

. He started the 2006 season with Lake County and with a .395

On-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

, earned a promotion to A-Advanced Kinston. He spent 2007 with Kinston, and 2008, as well as 2009, with the Double-A

Akron Aeros The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

. In what proved to be his last season in the Indians organization, he reached the highest level, Triple-A, with the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy merchant sailing vessels known as clipp ...

Atlanta Braves

On November 29, 2010, Constanza signed a minor league deal with the

. He made spring training with the club, batting .222 before being assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett. He was batting .312 and was an All-Star before his first call-up. On July 29, 2011, Constanza was called up to the majors when Nate McLouth was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a lower abdominal strain. Placed in the leadoff spot in the Braves' lineup in his debut game, he got his first career hit in the bottom of the eighth inning off

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fra ...

pitcher (and former Braves pitcher) Mike Dunn, an RBI single that extended the Braves' lead to 4–0. Two batters later, Braves first-baseman

Freddie Freeman Frederick Charles Freeman (born September 12, 1989) is an American-Canadian professional baseball first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, Freeman played for the Atlanta Braves for 12 seasons. He mad ...

hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Constanza, netting him his first career run scored. On Sunday, August 7, 2011, Constanza hit his first home run in the top of the 5th inning against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...

. He was subsequently recognized for his odd habit of licking the hot spot of the bat after foul-tipping the ball. Constanza was called up once again on July 13, 2013 due to many injuries to the Braves' regular outfielders. Constanza was designated for assignment on January 28, 2015.

Cincinnati Reds

He was signed by Cincinnati to a minor league contract on May 10, 2015 and was released on July 16, 2015.

Tampa Bay Rays

Constanza signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays on August 31, 2015.

Leones de Yucatán

Constanza signed with the

Leones de Yucatán The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The team play its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in , , , ...

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

on March 29, 2016. He was released on April 30, 2016.

Broncos de Reynosa

Constanza signed with the Broncos de Reynosa of the

on May 24, 2016. He was released on June 28, 2016.

York Revolution

Constanza signed with the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseball ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

for the 2017 season. This marks his second stint with the team as he played with them in 2015. He was released on May 27, 2017. In 25 games he slashed .235/.284/.255 with 0 home runs and 6 RBIs.

Minor League awards

* 2×

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

All-Star (2010, 2011) *

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

All-Star (2005) *

DSL Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric dig ...

MVP (2004)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Constanza, Jose 1983 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Akron Aeros players Atlanta Braves players Azucareros del Este players Broncos de Reynosa players Columbus Clippers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Durham Bulls players Gwinnett Braves players Kinston Indians players Lake County Captains players Leones de Yucatán players Louisville Bats players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mexican League baseball center fielders Mexican League baseball left fielders Baseball players from Santo Domingo Toros del Este players York Revolution players