Juan Carlos Acevedo (born May 5, 1970) is a Mexican 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, ...
who 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 eight teams, over eight seasons. He pitched in the Mexican League after his MLB retirement.
Biography
Acevedo attended
Dundee-Crown High School in
Carpentersville, Illinois, where as a senior he had an 8–0 record in baseball.
After high school, Acevedo attended
Parkland College in
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in ...
. He was drafted by the
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...
in 1992 as a 14th round amateur pick. Acevedo signed with them June 3, 1992, and debuted April 30, 1995.
[
During his career, Acevedo served primarily as a relief pitcher, starting only 34 of his 366 games played.] Known as a journeyman, Acevedo played for the Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...
, 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 ...
, 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 team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park.
The ...
, Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
, New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
, New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
, St. Louis Cardinals, and 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 ...
during an eight-year career. He was a part-time closer for the Cardinals in 1998, taking over in the second half of the season for struggling veteran Jeff Brantley. He finished his MLB career with a 4.33 ERA and a 28–40 win–loss record. His 28 saves in a season for Detroit in 2002 was a record for a Mexican-born pitcher. He retired after the 2003 season.
Rob Neyer and Bill James
George William James (born October 5, 1949) is an American baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books about baseball history and statistics. His a ...
credit Acevedo as having thrown a mid-90s four seam fastball and a cut fastball
Cut or CUT may refer to:
Common uses
* The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely directed force
** A type of wound
** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past
** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment
** ...
.
In early 2002, Acevedo married Sonja Ptach. They have three children together. Soon after their marriage, Acevedo retired as an MLB player and began pitching for Monterrey of the Mexican League. Ptach filed for divorce in 2005 for irreconcilable difference and mental cruelty. The divorce was settled with Acevedo being ordered to pay off their former home.
Throughout his MLB career Acevedo made upwards of $4.5 million, but a failed restaurant investment, credit card and cell phone debt, along with money owed to the Illinois Department of Revenue
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash and Ohio rivers to its south. Of the fifty U.S. states, Illinois has the fifth-la ...
caused Acevedo to not pay off his mortgage as ordered. In March 2010, Acevedo was sentenced to six months in jail for contempt of court
Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the co ...
. The charge was related to a violation of the financial terms of his divorce settlement.
See also
* Best pitching seasons by a Detroit Tiger
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acevedo, Juan
1970 births
Baseball players from Chihuahua
Major League Baseball pitchers
Major League Baseball players from Mexico
20th-century Mexican sportsmen
Mexican expatriate baseball players in Canada
Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States
Living people
Colorado Rockies players
New York Mets players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Milwaukee Brewers players
Florida Marlins players
Detroit Tigers players
New York Yankees players
Toronto Blue Jays players
Sportspeople from Ciudad Juárez
Visalia Oaks players
Bend Rockies players
Central Valley Rockies players
New Haven Ravens players
Colorado Springs Sky Sox players
Norfolk Tides players
Memphis Redbirds players
Mexican League baseball pitchers
Indianapolis Indians players
Nashville Sounds players
Sultanes de Monterrey players
Dorados de Chihuahua players
Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players
Rieleros de Aguascalientes players
Parkland Cobras baseball players