Angel Echevarria

Angel Santos Echevarria (born May 25, 1971) is an American former professional baseball player who played outfield in the Major Leagues from 1996 to 2002. He also played in the Japanese Pacific League, from 2003 to 2004.

Biography

Echevarria was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 1992. He spent four years in the minors before making his major league debut in June, 1996. He went back and forth between the majors and the minors from 1997 to 1998, but played in 102 games in 1999, hitting 11 home runs with a .293 batting average.

Echevarria was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in July, 2000, and he played a full season with the Brewers in 2001. Most of his appearances came as a pinch hitter, and he occasionally started in the outfield or at first base.

He signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs in 2002, and continued his role as a pinch hitter, playing in 50 games with 3 home runs and a .306 batting average. The Cubs released Echevarria at the end of the season, and he signed with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Japanese Professional Leagues.

Echevarria's height and batting stance made it difficult for him to hit pitches in the Japanese Professional Leagues, and he was often seen flailing wildly at low breaking pitches during preseason games. However, he managed to make adjustments, and ended 2003 with 31 home runs, 81 RBIs, with a .275 batting average. He was also hit by 12 pitches in 2003; the most in the league. Echevarria's 31 home runs were the most on the team, (tied with Michihiro Ogasawara) prompting the Fighters to sign him for the next season.

In 2004, the Fighters signed two more non-Japanese position players; Fernando Seguignol and Sherman Obando, and Echevarria was dropped lower in the batting order as Seguignol became the team's leading power hitter, and Obando re-emerged as a reliable hitter. Echevarria was unable to hit left-handed pitching in 2004, and was cut at the end of the season when it was clear opposing teams had already figured him out. Echevarria returned to the Chicago Cubs in 2005, but was released in May of the same year.

Hitting stats

Major Leagues

• 328 Games
• 152 Hits
• 21 Home Runs
• 90 RBIs
• .280 Batting Average

Japanese Professional Leagues

• 204 Games
• 47 Home Runs
• 138 RBIs
• .268 Batting Average

Sources

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube