Ugueth Urtaín Urbina Villarreal (; born February 15, 1974) is a

Venezuelan Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...

former

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

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 ...

. A two-time

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

, Urbina led the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

in saves with 41 in the 1999 season and helped the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

win the

2003 World Series The 2003 World Series (also known as the Centennial World Series) was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2003 Major League Baseball season, 2003 season. The 99th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-s ...

. He is the only player in major league history with the initials "UU" or "UUU". His baseball career was cut short after the 2005 season, as he was arrested by Venezuelan authorities for attempted murder, for which he served seven years in prison.

Playing career

In 11 major league seasons, Urbina compiled a 44–49 record with 237 saves, 814

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 3.45

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 ...

. He played with 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 ...

(1995–2001),

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

(2001–2002), Texas Rangers (2003),

(2003),

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 ...

(2004–2005), and

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

(2005).

Montreal Expos (1995–2001)

Urbina started his career as a middle reliever with the

, where he pitched for six seasons and was an All-Star once, in 1998. As a 21-year-old in 1995, Urbina made seven pitching appearances, starting four, and went 2–2 with a 6.17 ERA. In 1996 he established himself on Montreal's pitching staff, as he hurled 33 games, including 17 starts and a career-high 114

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

s, and posted a 10–5 record with a 3.71 ERA. His career as a closer began In 1997, when he collected 27 saves with a 3.71 ERA and a 5–8 record in 63 relief appearances. Urbina improved in 1998, going 6–3 with 34 saves and a 1.30 ERA in 64 games. In 1999, he topped the National League with 41 saves, while notching a 6–6 record and a 3.69 ERA in 71 contests. In 2000, Urbina was limited to 13 appearances and ended the year with an 0–1 mark, eight saves and a 4.05 ERA. Urbina started the 2001 season well, going 2–1 with a 4.24 ERA while notching 15 saves in 45 games before being traded to the

on July 31.

Boston Red Sox (2001–2002)

Urbina was headed to the Red Sox in the same transaction that sent Tomo Ohka and Rich Rundles to Montreal. Urbina appeared in 19 games with Boston, saving nine and compiling a 0–1 record with a 2.25 ERA. Overall, he went 2–2 with 24 saves and a 3.65 ERA in 64 relief opportunities. Urbina earned his second All-Star berth in 2002, when he went 1–6 with 40 saves and a 3.00 ERA in 61 games.

Texas Rangers (2003)

Urbina signed as a

free agent 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 ...

with the Texas Rangers on December 23, 2002. He went 0–4 with 26 saves and a 4.19 ERA in 39 games for the Rangers in 2003 before being traded during the midseason.

Florida Marlins (2003)

On July 11, 2003, Urbina was traded by Texas to the

in exchange for Adrián González, Ryan Snare, and a minor leaguer. For the remainder of the season, Urbina served as a setup man for Marlins closer Braden Looper, going 3–0 with six saves and a 1.41 ERA in 33 games. He posted a combined record of 3–4 with 32 saves and a 2.81 ERA in 54 appearances during the 2003 season. Urbina finished his short stint with the Marlins by helping them win the

title, while defeating the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

in six games. During his only postseason in the majors, he went 1-0 along with four saves and a 3.46 ERA in 10 games.

Detroit Tigers (2004–2005)

Urbina signed a two-year contract with the

on March 29, 2004. That marked his last year where he was closer for at least part of the season. In 54 games, he went 4–6 with 21 saves and a 4.50 ERA. He began the 2005 season in good form, collecting a 1–3 record with a 2.63 ERA while contributing with nine saves, but then found himself on the move again for the third time in his career.

Philadelphia Phillies (2005)

On June 8, 2005, the Tigers traded Urbina along with

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

Ramón Martínez to the

in exchange for

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

Plácido Polanco Plácido Enrique Polanco (; born October 10, 1975) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins. He was ...

. Urbina went 4–6 with a 4.13 ERA and just one save in 56 games. Overall, he posted a 5–6 record with 10 saves and a 3.62 ERA in a career-high 81 games. He made his last Major League appearance on October 2, 2005, during a 9–3 Phillies victory over the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

RFK Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. located on East Capitol Street near the Anacostia River. Opened in 1 ...

Pitching style

Urbina's pitches included a moving

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

and a slider that enabled him to hold left-handed hitters in check. He also threw a changeup which tailed away from right-handers and a splitter that broke sharply.

Mother's kidnapping

In September 2004, Urbina's 54-year-old mother, Maura Villarreal, was kidnapped and held for a $6 million ransom in southwest Venezuela. Urbina's family refused to pay the ransom and an anti-kidnapping unit rescued her in a military-style operation on February 18, 2005.

Attempted murder conviction

On November 7, 2005, Urbina was arrested in Venezuela for attempted murder, stemming from an incident on October 16. He assaulted five farm workers on his property, accusing them of stealing a gun. Urbina used a machete and tried to douse them with gasoline. On March 28, 2007, Urbina was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to fourteen years and seven months in prison. He was released on December 24, 2012, after serving just over seven years of his sentence.

Family

Urbina has a son Juan who pitched in the Mets organization, appearing in three seasons for the short season single-A Brooklyn Cyclones.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urbina, Ugueth 1974 births Living people Albany Polecats players American League All-Stars Boston Red Sox players Burlington Bees players Detroit Tigers players Florida Marlins players Gulf Coast Expos players Harrisburg Senators players Lakeland Tigers players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars National League (baseball) saves champions Ottawa Lynx players People convicted of attempted murder Philadelphia Phillies players Prisoners and detainees of Venezuela Baseball players from Caracas Ranchers Texas Rangers players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Venezuelan prisoners and detainees West Palm Beach Expos players Sportspeople convicted of crimes