Ruben O. Niebla (born December 19, 1971), is an American 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, ...

and current

pitching 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

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. ...

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 formerly served as the assistant pitching coach for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

Career

Niebla attended Calexico High School in

Calexico, California Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexico–United States border, Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California ...

, and

Azusa Pacific University Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private evangelical research university in Azusa, California, United States. The university was founded in 1899 in Whittier, California, with classes first held on March 3, 1900, and degrees offered in 193 ...

. A pitcher, Niebla played in minor league baseball from 1995 to 2000 with teams in the

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 ...

and

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 ...

organizations and in independent baseball leagues. Niebla was with the Cleveland Indians Organization since 2001, as a coach at multiple levels of the organization. In 2010, he was a Major League Coaching Assistant for the Indians. On August 9, 2012, the

fired pitching coach

Scott Radinsky Scott David Radinsky (born March 3, 1968) is an American left-handed former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball, who had an 11-year career from – and –. Radinsky is also the lead singer of the punk rock band Pulley, former lead singer of ...

and named Niebla the interim pitching coach for the remainder of the 2012 season. Niebla served as the Indians minor league Pitching Coordinator from 2013 through the 2019 season. Niebla was named the Indians' assistant pitching coach on October 31, 2019. Niebla was hired as the

pitching coach on October 27, 2021. On August 5, 2023, Niebla was ejected for the first time in his MLB career by umpire

Gabe Morales Gabriel Morales (born June 21, 1984) is an American Major League Baseball (MLB) umpire. He wears uniform number 47. Career A native of Santa Clara, California, Morales began umpiring Minor League Baseball games in 2009. He made his debut in 2014 ...

for arguing a balk call issued to

Blake Snell Blake Ashton Snell (born December 4, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, and San Francisco Giants ...

in the top of the fourth inning against the

. San Diego defeated their arch-rivals at

Petco Park Petco Park is a ballpark in San Diego, California. It is the home of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). The ballpark is located in the East Village neighborhood of downtown San Diego, adjacent to the Gaslamp Quarter. Petco Par ...

, 8-3, later that night.

References

External links

* 1971 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players 20th-century American sportsmen American expatriate baseball players in Canada Azusa Pacific University alumni Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from Imperial County, California Baseball pitchers Chico Heat players Cleveland Indians coaches Corpus Christi Barracudas players Harrisburg Senators players Jupiter Hammerheads players Laredo Apaches players Major League Baseball pitching coaches Minor league baseball coaches Ottawa Lynx players Palm Springs Suns players People from Calexico, California Reno Blackjacks players San Antonio Missions players San Bernardino Stampede players Tri-City Posse players Vero Beach Dodgers players {{baseball-manager-stub