Santiago Alberto Pérez (born December 30, 1975) is a former

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, basketball, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water ...

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 ...

. Pérez 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 ...

and threw

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 ...

. He attended Liceo Victor Estrella High School in Santo Domingo.

Career

Originally signed by the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

in 1993 as an

undrafted 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 ...

free agent, Pérez never got higher than High-A ball in their organization, although he did display good speed,

stealing Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal short ...

17 or more bases three times in the five seasons he was in the Tigers' organization. On November 20, 1997, Pérez was traded by Detroit along with Rick Greene and

Mike Myers Michael John Myers, (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. His accolades include seven MTV Movie & TV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood W ...

to the

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

in exchange for

Bryce Florie Bryce Bettancourt Florie (born May 21, 1970) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. Florie pitched for four teams, the San Diego Padres (–), the Milwaukee Brewers (1996–), the Detroit Tigers (–), and the Boston Red Sox ...

. Pérez started off in Double-A baseball in 1998, but by the end of the season he had seen some time in Triple-A. He remained at the Triple-A level until June 3, 2000, which is when he made his big league debut at the age of 24. He went 0-for-2 in his first game, and he started his career off collecting only two hits in his first 11 at-bats. He collected his first hit off of

Valerio de los Santos Valerio Lorenzo de los Santos (born October 6, 1972) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. Milwaukee Brewers De los Santos was originally signed by the Milwaukee Brewers as an amateur free agent in 1993. He started his professio ...

. His season would not improve much after his poor start, in fact, it would basically stay the same. He ended up hitting .173 in the 52 at-bats that made up his first season. He was however 100% successful in the stolen base category, stealing four bases in four attempts. In the 2000–2001 offseason, the Brewers sent Pérez with a player to be named later to 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. ...

for Brandon Kolb and a player to be named later. The two players to be named would end up being Will Cunnane from the Padres and minor leaguer Chad Green from the Brewers. Although Pérez was with a new team, his luck did not improve much. He played 43 games with the Padres in 2001, coming to the plate 81 times. Overall, he collected 16 hits for a .198 batting average in 2001-a slight improvement over the previous season, but still a poor average. July 1, 2001, would end up being Pérez's last game in the majors. He collected a walk in his only plate appearance in that game. Although his big league career was over, his professional career was not. In fact, he was bouncing around the minor leagues as recently as 2005, and in 28 games with Double-A Frisco in 2004, he hit .387. His career batting statistics were not stellar, as he hit .188 with no home runs and six RBI in 133 career at-bats. Yet he was still a valuable asset due to his defensive versatility. Not only did he play in all three outfield spots in his career, he also spent time at shortstop and second base. His career fielding percentage was .926. He wore two numbers in his career, 1 and 57.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Santiago 1975 births Living people Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball shortstops Milwaukee Brewers players San Diego Padres players