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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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, who attempts to e ...

. He played for nine years (– and –) for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

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).

Early career

Higuera was named the rookie of the year with the Indios de Ciudad Juárez during the

1981 Mexican League season The 1981 Mexican League season was the 57th season in the history of the Mexican League in baseball. It was contested by 16 teams, evenly divided in North and South zones. The season started on March and ended on 9 September with the last game of ...

. In 1983, his contract was purchased by the Brewers. After one year in the minor leagues, Higuera earned a spot in the team's 1985 rotation after winning a competition with Japanese pitcher Yutaka Enatsu. In his first season with Milwaukee, he posted a 15–8 record with a 3.90 ERA en route to winning The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award in 1985. was one of Higuera's best seasons. He had his only 20-win season, going 20–11 with 207 strikeouts 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 purports to showcase 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 d ...

appearance. In the game,

Fernando Valenzuela Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea (, born November 1, 1960) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. Valenzuela played 17 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons, from to and to . While he played for six MLB teams, he is best remembered f ...

struck Higuera out in the fifth inning to tie Carl Hubbell'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 (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. 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) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...

. In 2011, Higuera was inducted into the

Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame The Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Profesional de México (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. It ...

.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 Baseball players from Sinaloa 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 Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Mexican expatriate baseball players in Canada Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican League baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players New Orleans Zephyrs players Sportspeople from Los Mochis Sultanes de Monterrey players Vancouver Canadians players