Juan Bautista Berenguer (born November 30, 1954) is a Panamanian former long relief pitcher 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) who played for eight teams from 1978 to 1992. Listed at 5'11 , 200 lb. , Berenguer batted and threw right-handed. He was born in

Aguadulce, Coclé Aguadulce is an agricultural city and Corregimientos of Panama, corregimiento in the Coclé province in Panama. It is the capital of Aguadulce District and it is located on the Pan-American Highway, near but not on the coast on the Bahia de Parita ...

, Panama.SABR BioProject
Article written by Jason Lenard. Retrieved on February 10, 2016.Baseball Reference Statistics and History
Retrieved on February 10, 2016. A mean-looking, husky pitcher with long hair and a mustache, Berenguer was nicknamed 'Pancho Villa' by his teammates, and Twins fans admiringly referred to him as 'Señor Smoke' or 'El Gasolino' due to his mid-90s mph fastball. Extremely wild as a youngster, Berenguer learned to harness his sneaky fastball which he liked to throw inside, and added a deceptive

forkball The forkball is a type of pitch in baseball. Related to the split-finger fastball, the forkball is held between the first two fingers and thrown hard, snapping the wrist. Due to its movement being similar to that of a spitball, the pitch is oft ...

. His effectiveness was aided by his intimidating appearance and disposition. Berenguer was signed by the

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 ...

as an amateur free agent in 1975. He made his MLB debut with the team in 1978. By April 1981, Berenguer had a 1–4 win–loss record and a 4.75

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 16 career appearances with the team, and he was still having problems controlling his fastball, so the Mets traded him to 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 ...

in exchange for outfielder Marvell Wynne and pitcher John Skinner. Berenguer pitched for seven organizations before joining the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

. His breakout season came in 1987, when he posted an 8–1 record with a 3.94 ERA and four saves for the American League champion Twins, en route to the 1987 World Championship over the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. During the 1987 playoffs, Juan recorded “The Berenguer Boogie,” a music video that featured Juan dancing and singing in a trench coat and briefcase. Berenguer previously won a World Series ring with the 1984 Champion Detroit Tigers, though he did not play in the Series. Following his MLB career, Berenguer continued to play in the minors. After spending 1993 and part of 1994 in 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 ...

, he returned to Minnesota and pitched for the independent Minneapolis Loons and Southern Minny Stars in the

Prairie League The Prairie League was an independent baseball league that existed from 1995 to 1997. It was based in the Canadian prairie provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba and the U.S. states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The eig ...

. He then signed to pitch for the

Duluth–Superior Dukes The Duluth–Superior Dukes were a professional baseball team based in Duluth, Minnesota. The Dukes were a charter member of the modern Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), Northern League, which started play in 1993. The Dukes played their ...

of the Northern League prior to the 1998 season, but never played for them. In between, he played winter ball in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. After baseball, Berenguer returned to

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, where he worked in marketing for a local television station. He also became a salesman for an automobile dealership in Bloomington, Minnesota. His son Chris was a hockey player with the

Sioux Falls Stampede The Sioux Falls Stampede are a Tier I junior ice hockey team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Stampede are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team plays home games at the Denny Sanford Premi ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

.This Week in the CHA: USCHO
Article written by Matt Mackinder. Retrieved on June 16, 2014.

Sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berenguer, Juan 1954 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Atlanta Braves players Cardenales de Lara players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Detroit Tigers players Evansville Triplets players Jackson Mets players Kansas City Royals players Lynchburg Mets players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Panama 20th-century Panamanian sportsmen Mexican League baseball pitchers Minneapolis Loons players Minnesota Twins players New York Mets players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Canada Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Mexico Panamanian expatriate baseball players in the United States People from Aguadulce District San Francisco Giants players Saraperos de Saltillo players Southern Minny Stars players Sultanes de Monterrey players Tacoma Tugs players Tiburones de La Guaira players Tidewater Tides players Toronto Blue Jays players Wausau Mets players