Omar Jesús Daal Cordero (born March 1, 1972) is a

Venezuelan Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...

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 11 seasons (–). He played for 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 ...

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

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 ...

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 ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

, and

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 ...

. Daal threw a deceptive

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

that rarely exceeded 85 MPH, a good

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball, but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced spee ...

, and a decent

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

. When he had both control and command of his pitches, he could be difficult to hit. Daal was somewhat of a two-career pitcher who began as a

reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

for the Dodgers, Expos, and Blue Jays, between 1993 and 1997, then became a starter with the Diamondbacks in 1998. He had perhaps his finest year in 1999, setting career highs with 16 wins and 148 strikeouts in innings. Daal amassed 228 appearances as a relief pitcher but only recorded one save. It occurred on April 13, 1997. The Expos defeated the Rockies 8-3 and Daal pitched the final 2 2/3 innings to pick up the save. He allowed 2 hits and 0 earned runs to save the game for starting pitcher Carlos Perez. In 2000, Daal led the big leagues in losses with 19. On August 15, 2001, Daal combined with fellow Venezuelan pitchers Giovanni Carrara,

Kelvim Escobar Kelvim José Escobar Bolívar (born April 11, 1976) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Toronto Blue Jays (1997–2003) and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2004–2007, 2009). He won 101 games, but his career ...

, and Freddy García for wins in their respective starts: Daal, in a Phillies victory over the Brewers, 8–6; Carrara, of the Dodgers, beating Montreal, 13–1; Escobar, of the Blue Jays, over

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

, 5–2, and García, of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, against the

Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ch ...

, 6–2. This marked the first time in MLB history that four Venezuelan starting pitchers recorded a win on the same day. Prior to the 2003 season, Daal signed a two-year contract with Baltimore; however, after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder in early 2004, he was out for that entire season — and would never appear in a major league game, again. Daal's career stat line includes a

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

of 68–78, with 806

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s, and a 4.55

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 1,198

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. Daal currently coaches two club baseball teams a 12u team and a 13u team, called the East Valley Scrapper's in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The population was 504,258 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, third-most populous city in Arizona, after Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, T ...

References

*''The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia'' – Gary Gillette, Peter Gammons, Pete Palmer. Publisher: Sterling Publishing, 2005. Format: Paperback, 1824pp. Language: English.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daal, Omar 1972 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players Arizona Diamondbacks players Baltimore Orioles players Bowie Baysox players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 20th-century Venezuelan sportsmen Montreal Expos players Ottawa Lynx players Baseball players from Chandler, Arizona Baseball players from Maracaibo Philadelphia Phillies players San Antonio Missions players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Toronto Blue Jays players Tucson Sidewinders players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States

See also

References

External links