Robert Lazaro Andino (born April 25, 1984) is a

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( or ) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the fourth largest Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States aft ...

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 ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

. He 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 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 ...

, Florida/Miami Marlins, and

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

Baseball career

Florida Marlins

Andino was selected in the second round (52nd overall) of the

2002 MLB draft The 2002 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 4 and 5. It is featured in Michael Lewis' 2003 book ''Moneyball''. First round selections Supplemental first round compensation selections * *Did Not Sign With Team Compensation ...

by the

Florida 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 (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

out of

Miami Southridge High School Miami Southridge Senior High School is a secondary school located in South Miami Heights, Florida (Miami postal address). Its current principal is Humberto J. Miret. The school serves ninth through twelfth grade students in a mostly unincorpor ...

.Rodriguez, Juan C
"Marlins Call Up Andino From Double-A"
''Sun Sentinel'' (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), Saturday, September 3, 2005 He was promoted to the Marlins for the first time on September 2, 2005. He made his major-league debut two days later, when he replaced Álex González at

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

in the eighth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

of a 7–1 loss to 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 ...

at Dolphins Stadium. His only

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

was a groundout to shortstop José Reyes to end the game. His first

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

in the majors was a ground-rule double off

Vicente Padilla Vicente de la Cruz Padilla (born September 27, 1977) is a Nicaraguan former professional baseball pitcher. Padilla played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers an ...

in the fourth inning of a 10–2 defeat at home to the

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 ...

on September 17. The Marlins initially saw him as their "shortstop of the future", but other players, including

Hanley Ramírez Hanley Ramírez (born December 23, 1983) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Florida / Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Cleveland Indians. Ram� ...

, knocked him out of that role. On April 1, , Andino hit a

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not have an opp ...

in the 10th inning off

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 ...

Matt Wise Matthew John Wise (born November 18, 1975) is an American former professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he played all or parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 2000 and 2008. He became the bullpen coach for t ...

for his first career

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 ( ...

Baltimore Orioles

In an exchange of players out of minor league options, Andino was traded to the

for

Hayden Penn Hayden Andrew Penn (born October 13, 1984) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) and in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Career Baltimore Orioles Born in S ...

on April 1, 2009. He made his first appearance for the Orioles on April 9, , pinch-hitting for

César Izturis César David Izturis (; born February 10, 1980) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. He played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. L ...

. He made a barehanded catch of a

Justin Morneau Justin Ernest George Morneau (born May 15, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, and Chicago White Sox. At and , ...

pop fly in foul territory during the sixth inning of a 6–1 win over 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 ...

Target Field Target Field is a baseball stadium in the North Loop, Minneapolis, historic warehouse district of downtown Minneapolis. Since its opening in 2010, the stadium has been the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins. It is named for Tar ...

on August 24, 2011. He had slightly overrun the ball while approaching the

tarpaulin A tarpaulin ( , ) or tarp is a large sheet of strong, flexible, water-resistant or waterproof material, often cloth such as canvas or polyester coated with polyurethane, or made of plastics such as polyethylene. Tarpaulins often have reinf ...

roll parked against the fence on the third-base side. During the last two weeks of the 2011 campaign, Andino had three clutch hits that helped prevent the

Boston 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

from clinching the American League Wild Card. The first was a two-

out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...

bases-clearing

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

down the right-field line off

Jonathan Papelbon Jonathan Robert Papelbon (; born November 23, 1980) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Boston Red Sox, with whom he was an Major League Baseball Al ...

in the eighth inning of a 7–5 win at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

on September 20. Six nights later, on September 26, he became the first Oriole to achieve an

inside-the-park home run In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a rare play in which a Batter (baseball), batter rounds all four bases for a home run without the baseball leaving the baseball field, field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-p ...

Camden Yards Oriole Park at Camden Yards, commonly known as Camden Yards, is a ballpark in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the Baseball park#Retro-classic ballparks, "retro" major le ...

with a three-

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

shot off

Josh Beckett Joshua Patrick Beckett (born May 15, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). A three-time MLB All-Star, he played for the Florida Marlins, the Boston Red Sox, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Afte ...

in the sixth inning of a 6–3 triumph. With runners on second and third and two outs, he sent the ball to deep straightaway center field where it initially landed in

Jacoby Ellsbury Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury ( ; born September 11, 1983) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox from 2007 through 2013 and then played for the New York Yankees from 2 ...

glove A glove is a garment covering the hand, with separate sheaths or openings for each finger including the thumb. Gloves protect and comfort hands against cold or heat, damage by friction, abrasion or chemicals, and disease; or in turn to provide a ...

. It was jarred loose when Ellsbury collided with the fence. Andino was able to score standing up when the relay throw skipped past Red Sox

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

Jarrod Saltalamacchia Jarrod Scott Saltalamacchia (; born May 2, 1985) is an American former professional baseball catcher. Between 2007 and 2018, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Boston Red So ...

. The feat was witnessed by his father, Robert Sr., who was attending a professional game involving his son for the first time. Andino struck against Papelbon again with a two-out game-winning

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

to left field in the ninth inning of the regular-season-ending 4–3 victory at home on September 28. This walk-off hit ultimately resulted in the Red Sox losing a spot in the playoffs, as mere minutes later the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

won on a walk-off home run by

Evan Longoria Evan Michael Longoria (born October 7, 1985), nicknamed "Longo", is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, San Francisco Giants, and Arizona Diamondbac ...

against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

, to clinch the playoff spot the Red Sox previously held. His clutch performances were dubbed by the Boston sports media as "The Curse of the Andino", an obvious

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

on the

Curse of the Bambino The Curse of the Bambino was a superstitious Sports-related curses, sports curse in Major League Baseball (MLB) derived from the List of Major League Baseball franchise postseason droughts#Longest World Series championship droughts through hist ...

. On September 7, 2012, Andino hit his career-high seventh home run of the season against

pitcher

Cody Eppley Cody Allen Eppley (born October 8, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees. Amateur career Eppley attended Northern High School in ...

Seattle Mariners

Andino was traded to the

for

Trayvon Robinson Trayvon Andrew Dwayne Robinson (born September 1, 1987) is an American former professional baseball left fielder and current hitting coach for the Lancaster Stormers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Ma ...

on November 20, 2012. On May 24, 2013, he was designated for assignment to make room for catcher

Jesús Sucre Jesús Marcelo Sucre Medina (born April 30, 1988) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, and Baltimore Orioles. Career Sea ...

. He was outrighted to the

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

on May 27.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On July 31, 2013, he was traded to the

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

for a player to be named later or cash. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

, where he finished the season. On January 7, 2014, the Pirates signed Andino to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training. He did not make the team and spent the season with the Triple–A

, becoming a free agent at the season's end.

Somerset Patriots

On March 31, 2015, Andino signed with the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American professional Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team based in Bridgewater, New Jersey. They are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League (EL), known as the Double-A Nort ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

, where he spent the 2015 season. In 123 games he hit .248/.302/.339 with 4 home runs, 56 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.

Miami Marlins

On December 28, 2015, Andino signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

. He had his contract selected by the Marlins on August 14, 2016. He appeared in 13 games for the Marlins, and amassed a .292 batting average with one RBI. Andino was designated for assignment by Miami following the acquisition of Odrisamer Despaigne on September 15.

Baltimore Orioles (second stint)

On February 6, 2017, Andino signed a minor league contract with the

organization. On May 31, Andino was suspended for 50 games for testing positive for

Adderall Adderall and Mydayis are trade names for a combination drug containing four salts of amphetamine. The mixture is composed of equal parts racemic amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, which produces a (3:1) ratio between dextroamphetamine and l ...

. In 49 games for the Triple–A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's loc ...

, Andino hit .234/.282/.375 with 6 home runs and 23 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 6.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andino, Robert 1984 births Living people Florida Marlins players Baltimore Orioles players Seattle Mariners players Miami Marlins players Baseball players from Miami Major League Baseball shortstops Gulf Coast Marlins players Jamestown Jammers players Greensboro Bats players Jupiter Hammerheads players Carolina Mudcats players Albuquerque Isotopes players 21st-century American sportsmen Norfolk Tides players Tacoma Rainiers players Indianapolis Indians players Grand Canyon Rafters players Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Somerset Patriots players New Orleans Zephyrs players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente infielders Miami Southridge Senior High School alumni