The Eastern Stars - Mark Kurlansky [112]
Armando Benítez
Armando Germán Benítez was born on November 3, 1972, in Ramón Santana, San Pedro de Macorís. A right-handed pitcher, he was signed by the Baltimore Orioles on April 1, 1990. He debuted in the major leagues on July 28, 1994, for the Orioles. On December 1, 1998, he was traded to the New York Mets; he was traded to the New York Yankees on July 16, 2003, and traded to the Seattle Mariners on August 6, 2003. On January 6, 2004, he started playing for the Florida Marlins as a free agent, and on December 2, 2004, he started playing with the San Francisco Giants as a free agent. On May 31, 2007, he was traded to the Florida Marlins. On March 11, 2008, he started playing for the Toronto Blue Jays as a free agent. A hard-throwing closer whose fastball has been clocked at faster than 100 miles per hour and whose sly splitter is difficult to find, as of 2008 he had an ERA of 3.12. In 2004 he led the National League in saves, with a total of 47. He would have been recognized as one of the best closers in the game were it not for a tendency to lose accuracy in big games at critical moments.
1995
Rudy Pemberton
Rudy Hector Perez Pemberton was born on December 17, 1969, in Placer Bonito. An outfielder, he was signed on June 7, 1987, by the Detroit Tigers. He debuted in the major leagues on April 26, 1995, for the Tigers. He played in the majors for three seasons, two for the Tigers and one for the Boston Red Sox. He played his final game on June 2, 1997, for the Boston Red Sox. In the 1996 season he had an amazing .512 batting average; his career average for the three seasons was .336. His .512 average is the highest in history for a player with more than thirty at-bats.
1996
Miguel Mejía
Miguel Mejía was born on March 25, 1975, in Quisqueya. The Baltimore Orioles signed him on January 22, 1992. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals, then was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals on December 4, 1995. He debuted in the major leagues on April 4, 1996, for the Cardinals and played his final game for them, on September 29, 1996. At age twenty-one he was the youngest player in the National League. In his only season in the majors, he played 21 games in all three outfield positions.
Manny Martínez
Manuel de Jesús Martínez was born on October 3, 1970, in Barrio México. He played all three outfield positions and was signed by the Oakland Athletics on March 10, 1988. He debuted in the major leagues for the Seattle Mariners on June 14, 1996, played a total of three seasons in the majors for the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates, and played his final game on October 3, 1999, for the Montreal Expos.
Luis Castillo
Luis Antonio Donato Castillo was born on September 12, 1975, in Barrio Restauración. A second baseman, he was signed by the Florida Marlins on August 19, 1992, and debuted in the major leagues on August 8, 1996, for the Marlins and then was signed by the Marlins as a free agent on December 7, 2003. He was traded to the Minnesota Twins in 2005 and then to the New York Mets in 2007. The Mets then signed him as a free agent that same year. As of 2008, he has played thirteen seasons in the major leagues and has hit 178 doubles, made 386 RBIs, and stolen 342 bases. His batting average exceeded .300 multiple times: it was .302 in 1999, .334 in 2000, .305 in 2002, .314 in 2003, and .301 in 2005 and 2007. He received Gold Gloves in 2003, 2004, and 2005, and was the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 2003.
1997
Julio Santana
Julio Franklin Santana was born on January 20, 1973, in Consuelo. A nephew of Rico Carty, this right-handed pitcher was signed