Juan Miguel Padilla (born February 17, 1977) is a former

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) ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

Amateur career

Despite being taught barely any English in high school, he enrolled at

Tallahassee Community College Tallahassee Community College (TCC) is a public community college in Tallahassee, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. As of fall 2017, TCC reported 24,639 st ...

to begin his

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

career. He later transferred to

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the c ...

Major league career

Padilla was a 24th round

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a ves ...

pick of 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) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

. He spent six seasons in the Twins'

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

system before breaking into the majors with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

in . Although not highly successful with either team, he was signed by 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 ...

and responded with a 1.49

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 numb ...

in the second half of . Padilla had

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), 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 ...

in March and had to miss the 2006 season. Padilla was not offered a new contract by the Mets and became a free agent on December 12, 2007. He was later signed to a minor-league contract and given a non-roster invitation to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

by the Mets. In July , Padilla was released by the Mets.

Independent ball

Padilla 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 independent

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 ...

on July 26, 2008. Padilla did not return for the 2009 season. Padilla has also played for the

Pittsfield Colonials The Pittsfield Colonials were a baseball team in the independent Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The team was previously known as the American Defenders of New Hampshire (often simply ref ...

in 2010. He last played professionally in 2011 for the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseb ...

and

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 , , , ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Padilla, Juan 1977 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Cincinnati Reds players Jacksonville Dolphins baseball players New York Mets players New York Yankees players Rochester Red Wings players Trenton Thunder players Columbus Clippers players Norfolk Tides players New Orleans Zephyrs players 2006 World Baseball Classic players York Revolution players Bridgeport Bluefish players Nashua Pride players Pittsfield Colonials players American Defenders of New Hampshire players People from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Tallahassee Eagles baseball players