Olmedo Sáenz Sánchez (born October 8, 1970) is a

Panamanian Panamanians (; feminine ) are people identified with Panama, a country in Central America (which is the central section of the American continent), and with residential, legal, historical, or cultural connections with North America. For most Pan ...

former

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 ...

player. Though primarily a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

, he occasionally played

first base 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 ...

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

Sáenz signed with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on May 11, . He started his pro baseball career in with the

South Bend White Sox 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' ...

of the Single-A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. His minor league career in the White Sox organization (1991-) also included stops with the Single-A

Sarasota White Sox Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Ba ...

, Double-A

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Baron ...

, Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

and the Triple-A

Calgary Cannons The Calgary Cannons were a minor league baseball team located in Calgary, Alberta, for 18 seasons, from 1985 until 2002. They were a member of the Triple-A (baseball), AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL) and played at Foothills Stadium. The Cannons ...

. He missed most of the season because of a torn

achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

suffered in

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. In , Saenz was called up the White Sox, making his major league debut at third base against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

on May 28, 1994, going 1-3 and collecting his first hit in the third inning against

Ben McDonald Larry Benard "Ben" McDonald (born November 24, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. The first overall pick in the 1989 MLB Draft, he played for the Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers from 1989 through 1997. Bas ...

. He had 2 hits in 14 at-bats during the five games he spent on the White Sox roster before being optioned back to Nashville.

Oakland Athletics

After being released by the White Sox following the 1998 season, Sáenz signed as a free agent with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

on November 13, 1998, and made the Athletics opening day roster. He was used primarily as a

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

during his four seasons with Oakland, getting occasional playing time at either 1st or 3rd. He suffered a ruptured right Achilles tendon in the

American League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ea ...

against

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 ...

and was sidelined for the remainder of the postseason and most of .

Los Angeles Dodgers

A question mark because of his injury history, Sáenz was not retained by the A's and wound up attending spring training with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

as a non-roster invitee, earning a spot on their roster as the primary

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

pinch hitter. He was part of Major League history when, on September 8, 2004, he hit a pinch-hit grand slam homer, marking the first time in MLB history that a team had a pinch-hit grand slam in back-to-back games, as

Robin Ventura Robin Mark Ventura (born July 14, 1967) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager. Ventura played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees and Los Angeles D ...

hit one on September 7. His best year came in 2005, when he set a career high in almost every offensive category including home runs (15) and RBI (63). He also had a solid 2006 season when he hit for a batting average of .296 with 11 home runs and 48 RBI. He was one of the Dodgers' most consistent players coming off the bench during his time in Los Angeles. Sáenz became well known as being a dead fastball hitter, a skill upon which

Vin Scully Vincent Edward Scully (November 29, 1927 – August 2, 2022) was an American sportscaster, best known for his broadcast work in Major League Baseball. Scully was the play-by-play announcer for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers for sixty-se ...

remarked at virtually every one of Saenz's plate appearances. He rarely played in the field, making only an occasional start at either first or third base. He earned the nickname "The Killer Tomato" from Dodger fans and commentators.

New York Mets

His tenure with the Dodgers ended when he filed for free agency on October 11, . On February 12, , Sáenz signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets and was invited to spring training. He failed to make the roster and retired.

International Career

World Baseball Classic

He played for

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

in the inaugural

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 ...

in , and had two hits and one RBI in three games.

Coaching career

He was previously the hitting coach for the

Great Falls Voyagers The Great Falls Voyagers 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 Great Falls, Montana, and play their home games at Cente ...

of the Pioneer League.

Personal life

Sáenz and his wife, Sylvia, have a son, Juan Carlos and daughter, Jaquelyn. He owns a ranch in his native

.Olmedo Sáenz:Biography and Career Highlights
mets.com

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saenz, Olmedo 1970 births Living people Arizona League Athletics players Birmingham Barons players Calgary Cannons players Caribes de Oriente players Chicago White Sox players Gulf Coast White Sox players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Panama 20th-century Panamanian sportsmen Major League Baseball third basemen Minor league baseball coaches Modesto A's players Nashville Sounds players Oakland Athletics players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Canada Panamanian expatriate baseball players in the United States Panamanian sports coaches Pastora de Occidente players People from Chitré Sportspeople from Herrera Province Sacramento River Cats players Sarasota White Sox players South Bend White Sox players Tiburones de La Guaira players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Vancouver Canadians players 2006 World Baseball Classic players