Teodoro Higuera Valenzuela (born November 9, 1957) is a Mexican 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, ...

. He played

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

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 ...

Early career

Higuera was named the rookie of the year with the

Indios de Ciudad Juárez Club de Fútbol Indios de Ciudad Juárez, commonly referred as Indios de Ciudad Juárez or simply Indios, was a Mexican football club. Founded in 2005 when CF Pachuca moved its Pachuca Juniors to Ciudad Juárez, it was promoted to the Primera Di ...

during the 1981 Mexican League season. In 1983, his contract was purchased by the Brewers. After one year in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

, Higuera earned a spot in the team's 1985 rotation after winning a competition with Japanese pitcher

Yutaka Enatsu is a former Japanese pitcher regarded as one of the best Japanese people, Japanese strikeout pitchers of all-time. In , he recorded 401 strikeouts, which is still the world record. Enatsu was a big player in the Black Mist Scandal (Japanese base ...

. In his first season with Milwaukee, he posted a 15–8 record with a 3.90

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

en route to winning

The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award ''The Sporting News'' Rookie of the Year Award is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award established in 1946 by ''The Sporting News''. For the first three years (1946–1948) and again in 1950, there was a single award. In 1949 and since ...

in 1985. was one of Higuera's best seasons. He had his only 20-win season, going 20–11 with 207

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 2.79 ERA. It was the first 20-win season by a Mexican-born pitcher in the American League. That season, he was also selected for his only

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

appearance. In the game,

Fernando Valenzuela Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea (; November 1, 1960 – October 22, 2024), nicknamed "El Toro", was a Mexican professional baseball pitcher. Valenzuela played 17 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons, from 1980 to 1997 (except for a one-year sabba ...

struck Higuera out in the fifth inning to tie

Carl Hubbell Carl Owen Hubbell (June 22, 1903 – November 21, 1988), nicknamed "the Meal Ticket" and "King Carl", was an American Major League Baseball player. He was a pitcher for the New York Giants of the National League from 1928 to 1943, and remained ...

's All-Star record with five consecutive strikeouts. He followed up his 1986 campaign by winning 18 games in 1987 and setting team marks for strikeouts (240) and consecutive scoreless innings (32). Over his first four years in the league, Higuera had a won loss record of 69–38, 766 strikeouts and a 3.25 ERA and was poised for greater success. However, he began to suffer injury problems that would limit his playing time.

Injuries and retirement

Back surgery and sprained ankles limited Higuera to 22 starts in 1989, although he came back to go 9–6. He was healthy for most of 1990 but had a record of 11–10 with 129 strikeouts. Nevertheless, the Brewers were convinced that he could return to form and signed him to a four-year, $13.1 million contract. Higuera tore his rotator cuff in 1991 and endured several surgeries. He missed the entire 1992 season and saw limited action in 1993 and 1994. The Brewers did not offer him a contract in and Higuera attempted a comeback with 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. ...

. He did not make the team and retired that season.

Post-retirement

Higuera has served as a pitching coach for his native Mexico in the 2006, 2009, and 2013

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized in World Baseball Clas ...

. In 2011, Higuera was inducted into the

Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame The Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Mexicano (in English, Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame), commonly called the Salón de la Fama (Hall of Fame) is a baseball hall of fame and museum located in Monterrey, Nuevo León, inaugurated on 10 ...

.http://baseballdeworld.com/2011/01/24/higuera-named-mexican-hall-fame/

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higuera, Teodoro 1957 births Living people American League All-Stars Beloit Brewers players Denver Zephyrs players El Paso Diablos players Indios de Ciudad Juárez (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Mexico 20th-century Mexican sportsmen Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Mexican expatriate baseball players in Canada Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican League baseball pitchers Mexican League Rookie of the Year Award winners Milwaukee Brewers players New Orleans Zephyrs players Baseball players from Los Mochis Piratas de Campeche managers Sultanes de Monterrey players Vancouver Canadians players