Silvestre Diaz Campusano (born December 31, 1965) is a Dominican former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB) for the

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) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

and

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

, and in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 2 ...

(CPBL) for the

Wei Chuan Dragons The Wei Chuan Dragons () are a professional baseball team in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) that originally existed between 1990 and 1999. In 2019, negotiations regarding the franchise's revival and return to the CPBL took ...

. Campusano batted and threw right-handed.

Early life

Campusano grew up in the

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

suburb of

Manoguayabo Manoguayabo is a small sector of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. It is mainly populated by the lower class, and has a large Haitian migrant population. It is one of the poorest sectors around the Santo Domingo area. The sector is best kn ...

, along with Ramón Martínez and Juan Guzmán; together, they paved the pathway for MLB Hall of Famer

Pedro Martínez Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , for five teams—most notably the Boston Red Sox from to . At the time o ...

to play for the

Dominican Professional Baseball League Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Do ...

(LIDOM)

Tigres del Licey Tigres del Licey (English: Licey Tigers) is a professional baseball team in the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM). The team was founded in 1907 and based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It is one of two LIDOM franchises based in ...

Playing career

Major league baseball

Campusano was signed by the Dominican scout

Epy Guerrero Epifanio Obdulio "Epy" Guerrero (January 3, 1942 - May 23, 2013) was a Dominican baseball scout who signed more than 50 Major League Baseball (MLB) players for the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers. Epy ...

, as an international free agent, for the Toronto Blue Jays, in . He was ranked as one of

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form ...

's top prospects, from 1986 to 1988. Campusano‘s MLB debut was with the Blue Jays, in the season. He played 79

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (su ...

(G), with 142

at bats 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 during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

(AB), 31

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

(H), 14

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

(R), 2

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

(HR), and 12

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBI). Campusano was relegated to playing the entire season for the Blue Jays’ Triple-A Minor League Baseball (MiLB) affiliate in

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States * Syracuse, New York ** East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

. Then, on December 4, 1989, Campusano was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1989 Rule 5 draft. His entire season was spent with the Philadelphia MLB squad, where he posted 18 H, in 85 AB, 66 G, with 2 HR (again), and 9 RBI. Returning for a second year with the Phillies (), he played mostly for their AAA minor-league team, the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

. That season was to be Campusano’s last in the big leagues, with only 15 MLB game appearances. For Phillies fans, Campusano is perhaps best remembered as a light-hitting reserve player, who broke up Pittsburgh Pirate

Doug Drabek Douglas Dean Drabek (born July 25, 1962) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and current Pitching Coach for the Reno Aces, the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates ...

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher w ...

, on August 3, 1990. Campusano said of the event that he did not feel nervous or any pressure going into the at bat.

Dominican winter league

Campusano played for

, in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

, for 11 years, going undefeated in winning the

1991 Caribbean Series The thirty-third edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') was a baseball competition played in . It was held from February 2 through February 9 with the champion teams from the Dominican Republic, Tigres del Licey; Mexico, Potros de ...

title, while also capturing the

1994 Caribbean Series The thirty-sixth edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') was held from February 4 through February 9 of with the champion baseball teams of the Dominican Republic, Tigres del Licey; Mexico, Naranjeros de Hermosillo; Puerto Rico, Sen ...

championship. He led the

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in doubles (1991–1992) and runs (1992–1993). In 1993–1994, he was the league leader in runs, home runs, and walks, batted for the cycle (in the final series), and was named Most Valuable Player (MVP).

Taiwan leagues and aftermath

After leaving MLB, Campusano enjoyed a prosperous career in CPBL. While playing for the

(–), he won the 1994 HR championship. Campusano also played for the

Chiayi-Tainan Luka The Chiayi-Tainan Luka (嘉南勇士; literally "Chianan Braves") or abbreviated Chianan Luka was a professional baseball team in the Taiwan Major League (TML) that existed from 1997 to 2002. The team's home field included Chiayi County Baseball Sta ...

(–), winning the 1997

Taiwan Major League The Taiwan Major League Professional Baseball (TML; ) was a professional baseball league in Taiwan that operated from 1996 to 2003. It was established by TV tycoon Chiu Fu-sheng after a row over the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) b ...

title. Campusano ended his career in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

, acting as a player/manager, with the Langosteros de Cancún, in . From to , he served as batting coach for

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campusano, Sil 1965 births Chiayi-Tainan Luka players Diablos Rojos del México players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Florence Blue Jays players Gulf Coast Blue Jays players Knoxville Blue Jays players Langosteros de Cancún players Living people Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mexican League baseball left fielders Mexican League baseball right fielders People from Santo Domingo Philadelphia Phillies players Saraperos de Saltillo players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Blue Jays players Wei Chuan Dragons players