Juan Uribe

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Juan Uribe

Chicago White Sox — No. 5
Shortstop
Born: March 22, 1979 (1979-03-22) (age 29) Baní, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
April 8, 2001 for the Colorado Rockies
Selected MLB statistics (through April 28, 2008)
Batting average	.252
Home runs	106
Runs batted in	428
Teams
Colorado Rockies (2001-2003) Chicago White Sox (2004-present)

Juan C. Uribe (born March 22, 1979 in Baní, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball shortstop and second baseman for the Chicago White Sox.

[edit] Minor League Career

Uribe was drafted and signed by the Colorado Rockies in 1997. He started playing in the Dominican Summer League for the DSL Rockies.^[1] In 1998 and 1999, he played in the Rookie Class Arizona Rookie League and the Single-A Ashville in the South Atlantic League. While in single-A, he batted .392 with 28 doubles and a 15 game hitting streak.^[2][3] He remained in Single-A until 2001, when he was called up by the Rockies.^[4]

[edit] Colorado Rockies

[edit] Rookie season

Juan played 72 games for the Rockies in his rookie season of 2001. He batted .300, had 8 home runs, and 53 RBI. He also had 11 triples, tying a club record held by Neifi Perez and Juan Pierre. He was called back to AAA Colorado Springs three times over the season, but played most of the end of the season in the majors. He tied 3 other franchise records, with two hits, two extra base hits, and six total bases in a single inning during an October 7 game against the San Diego Padres.^[5]

[edit] 2002-2003

Uribe played his first full season in the majors for the Rockies in 2002. He started 150 games at shortstop, with a .240 average, 6 home runs, 49 RBI, and 25 doubles. He had a 17 game hitting streak over the months of April and May, a career high. Juan also tied a career high in hits in a game with 4 on September 17 in a game against the Los Angeles Angels, and missed hitting for the cycle by a home run.^[6] In 2003, Juan was limited in playing time due to an injury suffered when he was rounding the bases during a spring training game on March 1. He rehabbed in the minors, playing for both Class A and AA before playing in the majors again on June 3. He also began to fill in in the outfield for the Rockies, starting at center field on June 15.^[7] Uribe was traded to the White Sox by the Colorado Rockies on December 2, 2003 for Aaron Miles. A former top prospect in Colorado, he played shortstop, second base and even some third base for the Sox in his first season. He eventually replaced José Valentín at shortstop because of Valentin's erratic defense, allowing Valentin to depart as a free agent. The free-swinging Uribe has been the starting shortstop until 2008.

[edit] Chicago White Sox

[edit] 2004

Uribe Celebrates with the White Sox after winning the World Series in 2005.

In the 2004 season, he started in 134 games for the White Sox. He set many career highs in almost all of the batting categories, having a career high in bases loaded average, RISP average, batting average, home runs, RBI, fielding percentage, hits, and runs. He played much better at home, batting .315 compared to .248 on the road. On December 16, he agreed to a contract extension through 2008 with the White Sox.^[8]

[edit] 2005: World Series

In the 2005 season, Uribe spent the entire season playing shortstop for the White Sox, after making starts at second base, shortstop, third base, and center field in the last two seasons. Uribe made two memorable defensive plays for the final two outs of the 2005 World Series, first catching a ball while crashing into the third base stands and then making an off-balance throw on a slow grounder to beat Astro Orlando Palmeiro to give the White Sox their first title in 88 years.^[9]

[edit] 2006

Juan had an average season in 2006, batting .235 with 21 home runs and 71 RBI playing 132 games with the White Sox. He led the White Sox in sacrifice hits, and ranked fourth in the American League with a .977 fielding percentage.^[10]

[edit] 2006 shooting allegations

In October 2006, Uribe was alleged to have been involved in a shooting in his native Dominican Republic. Despite claims from a district attorney that there was no firm evidence that Uribe was involved in the incident, a judge decided to press forward with the case. Although a defense motion to bar him from leaving the country was rejected, it was ruled on January 5, 2007 that Uribe must appear before a court on the 15th and the 30th of every month until the case is resolved. Uribe, who has denied any involvement in the case, has suggested that he may not play baseball until the legal proceedings are concluded. He is confident that he will win in court and will be free for spring training. ^[11] It was reported on February 22, 2007 on SportsCenter that Uribe will no longer have to appear in court on those dates. The following day his name was cleared of any involvement with the shooting.

[edit] 2007

On November 7, 2007, Uribe agreed to a one year extension with the White Sox, keeping him in the organization until 2009, but other teams have already expressed interest in a trade, such as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, after the White Sox acquired all-star shortstop Orlando Cabrera from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.^[12] Uribe is now the starting 2nd baseman.

[edit] Personal life

Uribe has a wife, Ana, and three children: Juan Luis, Juanny, and Janny. Uribe plays winter baseball in is home country of Dominican Republic every year and has also done work for many different charity organizations affiliated with Major League Baseball. On Mother's Day 2007, he used a pink bat along with 200 other players in Major League Baseball to help Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Uribe was second-cousins with the late former major league shortstop José Uribe.

[edit] See also

• Chicago White Sox all-time roster
• Colorado Rockies all-time roster

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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