Yadir Drake Dominguez (born April 12, 1990) is a

Cuban Cuban or Cubans may refer to: Related to Cuba * of or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban Americ ...

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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

for the

Leones de Yucatán The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The team plays its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in 1957 ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He has previously played in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō, in the Sapporo metropolitan area. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the major ...

Career

Amateur career

Drake played for the

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...

team in the

Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, or SNB) is a domestic baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the National Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. For most ...

. He defected to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in 2011. He then played with a couple of semi-professional minor league teams in Mexico before participating in a workout for

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 ...

scouts in August 2014.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On August 25, 2014, Drake was signed as an international free agent by the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. He hit .310 in seven games for the Single–A

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Hist ...

of the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

at the start of the 2015 season, and was promptly promoted to the High–A

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and play their home games at LoanMart Field. The franc ...

of the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

. After another seven games for the Quakes (where hit .407) Drake was again quickly promoted, this time to the Double–A

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. In 106 games for Tulsa, he hit .269. After the season, he was selected to the roster for the

Mexico national baseball team The Mexico national baseball team (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de México'') is the baseball team that represents Mexico in international tournaments. It is currently the 2nd-ranked baseball team in the world. Current rost ...

at the

2015 WBSC Premier12 The 2015 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the inaugural event of the WBSC Premier12. It was held from November 8 to 21 in Taiwan and Japan. The South Korea ...

. Drake returned to Tulsa to start the 2016 season. He hit only .109 in 19 games and was released on May 27, 2016.

Generales de Durango

Drake signed with the

Generales de Durango The Generales de Durango (English: Durango Generals) were a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB) that was established in November 2016. The team was based in Durango, the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Durango. ...

of the

for the 2017 season and hit .385 in 71 games for them with 14 homers and 61 RBI. His .385 average led the league in 2017.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

On June 29, 2017, the

announced that they had signed Drake for the remainder of the season.

Generales de Durango (second stint)

Drake re-signed with the

for the 2018 season.

Sultanes de Monterrey

On April 28, 2018, Drake was traded to the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey (English: Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball club in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Monterrey, Mexico. Established in 1939 as Carta Blanca, the Sultanes have won ten LMB titles, most recently in 2018. Fro ...

of the

Leones de Yucatán

On December 10, 2019, Drake was traded to the

of the

. Drake did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Mexican League season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He played in 54 games for the Leones in 2021, hitting .362/.412/.604 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI. In 2022, Drake played in 84 games for Yucatán, slashing .328/.379/.530 with 14 home runs and 61 RBI. Drake won the Mexican League Championship with the Leones in 2022.

Personal

Drake became a naturalized Mexico citizen.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Yadir 1990 births Living people Cañeros de Los Mochis players Charros de Jalisco players Defecting Cuban baseball players Delfines de Ciudad del Carmen players Generales de Durango players Great Lakes Loons players Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players Leones de Yucatán players Mexican baseball players Mexican expatriate baseball players in Japan Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican League baseball outfielders Mexican people of Cuban descent Naturalized citizens of Mexico Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Baseball players from Matanzas Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Sultanes de Monterrey players Tigres de Aragua players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tulsa Drillers players Yaquis de Obregón players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 2023 World Baseball Classic players