Luis Felipe Urueta Romano (born January 9, 1981) is a Colombian 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 ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

for the Texas Rangers 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). He was formerly a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, coach, and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

, and also served as the interim manager for the

Miami 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

in 2024. He has also coached and managed the

Colombia national baseball team The Colombia national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Colombia'') is the national baseball team of Colombia. The team represents Colombia in international competitions. Colombia has won two international baseball championship ...

in the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized in World Baseball Clas ...

(WBC). As a player, Urueta was listed at and ; he threw right-handed and was a

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers, although there are some exceptions. Characteristics Right-han ...

Playing career

Urueta was primarily a first baseman in

for three seasons. He was the first Colombian player to sign with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

organization. In 2000, he played for the rookie-level

Arizona League Diamondbacks The Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Salt River Fields a ...

, compiling a .235

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 27 RBI in 54 games. In 2002, he played 41 games for the

Missoula Osprey The Missoula PaddleHeads are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Missoula, Montana, and play their home games at Ogren Pa ...

in the rookie-level Pioneer League and nine games for the Single–A

South Bend Silver Hawks South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

; between the two teams, he batted .163 with two home runs and nine RBI. In 2003, he played four games for the Low–A New Jersey Cardinals and eight games for the High–A

Palm Beach Cardinals The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roge ...

; overall, he batted .100 (3–for–30) with one RBI. In a career total of 116 minor league games, he batted .195 with five home runs and 37 RBI. Defensively in the minor leagues, Urueta appeared in 74 games as a first baseman, 12 games as an outfielder, and one game each as a third baseman and as a catcher. He had a .987

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

at first base. Also in 2003, Urueta played six games for the

Gary SouthShore RailCats The Gary SouthShore RailCats are a professional baseball team based in Gary, Indiana, in the United States. The RailCats are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The Ra ...

of the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Northern League. He batted .238 (5-for-21) in six games, with one home run and one RBI. He did not play professionally in the United States after 2003. From 2004 through 2006, Urueta played for

Fortitudo Bologna Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103, commonly known as Fortitudo Bologna and currently known as Fortitudo Flats Service Bologna for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball club based in Bologna, Italy and currently plays in the second division. H ...

in the

Italian Baseball League The Italian Baseball League (IBL, ), officially known as the Serie A (), is the top-level baseball league in Italy. Founded in 1948, it is governed by the Italian Baseball & Softball Federation (FIBS), which has its headquarters in Rome. Many o ...

. He

slashed Ash are a Northern Irish rock band formed in Downpatrick, County Down in 1992 by vocalist and guitarist Tim Wheeler, bassist Mark Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray. As a three-piece, they released mini-album '' Trailer'' in 1994 and full-lengt ...

.221/.345/.253 in 2004. In 2005, he batted only .187/.230/.239; he improved in the finals, going 7-for-23 to help his team win it all. After another meek campaign (.205/.317/.270, 1-for-26 in the playoffs) in 2006, he ended his playing career.

Coaching career

Minor leagues

Urueta has been a coach or coordinator in the Diamondbacks'

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

since 2007. He was field coordinator for the Dominican Summer League Diamondbacks in 2011 and a coach for the

in 2012. He managed the Arizona League Diamondbacks in 2013 and 2014, accruing an overall managerial win–loss record of 58–54 in those two seasons. Urueta was a coach for the Triple-A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, w ...

in 2015.

International

Urueta coached for Colombia in the

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike the tw ...

Qualifiers, then managed the team in the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts wer ...

Qualifiers. He guided the team past former WBC teams Panama and Spain to a spot in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, Colombia's first trip to the

. Following this historic qualification, Urueta's services were also retained to skipper the national team at the WBC. Urueta served as manager of the Liga Dominicana de Beisbol Profesional team Tigres de Licey.

Major leagues

Arizona Diamondbacks

In October 2017, Urueta was hired as a major league coach for the

. He became the

bench coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

for the Diamondbacks in the 2020 season. Urueta became acting manager in a game against the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

on July 26, 2020, after Arizona manager

Torey Lovullo Salvatore Anthony "Torey" Lovullo ( ; born July 25, 1965) is an American former professional baseball infielder and coach (baseball), coach who is the current manager (baseball), manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

was ejected in the fifth inning; it was the first time that a person from Colombia managed a team during a major league game.

Miami Marlins

On November 11, 2022, the

hired Urueta as their bench coach for the 2023 season. Marlins manager Skip Schumaker left the team with two games remaining in the 2024 season, ceding managerial duties to Urueta. On October 2, 2024, Urueta was fired alongside the entirety of the Marlins coaching staff.

Texas Rangers

On November 5, 2024, Urueta was hired by the Texas Rangers to serve as the team's bench coach, with the intention of having the incumbent bench coach Donnie Ecker transition to a focus on hitting.

Managerial record

Personal life

Urueta's nickname is "Pipe" (from Felipe). He is married and has two daughters. As a teenager, Urueta was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

(soccer) goalkeeper; he was inspired to pursue a baseball career after watching

Édgar Rentería Édgar Enrique Rentería Herazo (; born August 7, 1975), nicknamed "the Barranquilla Baby", is a Colombian former professional baseball shortstop. He threw and batted right-handed. He played for the Florida Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston ...

's game-winning hit in Game 7 of the

1997 World Series The 1997 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1997 season. The 93rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Cleveland Indians and the National ...

References

External links

*, o
The Baseball Cube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Urueta, Luis 1981 births Living people Sportspeople from Barranquilla Colombian expatriate baseball players in the United States Arizona Diamondbacks coaches Miami Marlins coaches Miami Marlins managers Texas Rangers coaches Major League Baseball bench coaches Arizona League Diamondbacks players Missoula Osprey players South Bend Silver Hawks players Gary SouthShore RailCats players Palm Beach Cardinals players New Jersey Cardinals players Fortitudo Baseball Bologna players Expatriate baseball players in Italy Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Colombian expatriate baseball people in the Dominican Republic 2005 Baseball World Cup players