Jhonny Peralta

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For the Peruvian politician, see Jhony Peralta.

**Jhonny Peralta**

Cleveland Indians — No. 2
Shortstop
Born: May 28, 1982 (1982-05-28) (age 26) Santiago, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
June 12, 2003 for the Cleveland Indians
Selected MLB statistics (through May 19, 2008)
Batting average	.263
Home runs	70
Runs batted in	256
Teams
Cleveland Indians (2003–present)

Jhonny Antonio Peralta (b. May 28, 1982, in Santiago, Dominican Republic) is a baseball player who is currently the starting shortstop for the Cleveland Indians. He signed with the Indians in 1999 as an undrafted free agent.

[edit] Biography

Peralta made his major league debut with Cleveland on June 12, 2003 filling in for the injured Omar Vizquel. He would go on to hit .227 with 4 home runs and 21 RBI in 2003. In 2004, despite great triple-A numbers, Peralta only saw 25 at-bats in 8 games with the Indians due to the presence of perennial Gold Glover and fan favorite Vizquel. Vizquel left the Indians as a free agent after the 2004 season.

By this time, Peralta had established himself as one of the minor league's best hitters in his time with the Akron Aeros and Buffalo Bisons. He was the 2004 Player of the Year in the International League, helping Buffalo win the International League championship.

Peralta became Cleveland's full time starting shortstop early in the 2005 season.

Peralta is establishing himself as one of the best young hitters in baseball. In the 2005 season, Peralta batted .292; his 24 HR and 78 RBI were Indians records for a shortstop. Peralta entrenched himself in the third slot in the batting order in the potent Indians lineup and showed a knack for clutch late-inning hits.

In an interview with the Santo Domingo Times on March 11, 2007, he claims that he is the only person named "Jhonny" with the name spelled correctly; all other "Johnnies" are misspelled. ^[1] He has refused to have it changed. The letter combinations "Jh" or "Gh" are sometimes used in the Spanish language to represent the English "J" sound, as the "J" in Spanish is normally pronounced as an English "H".

On March 10, 2006, Peralta agreed to a five-year contract with an option for a sixth year to stay with the Indians until the 2011 season. The base of the contract is worth approximately $13 million, while the option will bring Jhonny $7 million.

His 2006 season saw a decline both offensively and defensively from 2005. At the start of spring training in the 2007 season, it was revealed that Peralta suffered from vision problems in 2006 and had corrective LASIK eye surgery to deal with it.^[2]