| Izzy Alcántara | |
|---|---|
| Outfielder | |
| Born: May 6, 1971 Baní, Dominican Republic |
|
| Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| June 25, 2000 for the Boston Red Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 22, 2002 for the Milwaukee Brewers | |
| Career statistics | |
| Batting average | .270 |
| Home runs | 6 |
| Runs batted in | 15 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Israel Cristostomo "Izzy" Alcántara (born May 6, 1971 in Baní, Dominican Republic) is a former Major League Baseball player for the Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers.
Contents |
Alcántara was signed as an amateur free agent by the Montreal Expos in 1990. In the minor leagues, Alcantara was very successful, with at least 27 home runs and an OPS of .940 or higher in each of his seasons from 1997 to 2001. He led the International League in home runs twice, with 36 in 2001 and 27 in 2002. His OPS of 1.023 in 2000 was the best in the International League.
Alcántara's minor league success did not carry over to the little time he spent in the Major Leagues, as he played parts of two seasons for the Boston Red Sox, debuting in the major leagues on June 25, 2000. That season, he hit .289 with four home runs in 45 at bats. Despite some success at the plate, Alcántara quickly found himself deep on the Red Sox bench after irking Boston manager Jimy Williams by a perceived lack of hustle during a game against the Chicago White Sox. For a time, Williams refused to play Alcántara despite general manager Dan Duquette's insistence the outfielder be put in the lineup of a team that suffered from low power numbers. In 2001, Alcántara's average declined to .263 with no home runs in 38 at bats in Boston although he continued to smash AAA pitching.
Alcántara is remembered for an incident while he was playing with the Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston's AAA affiliate of the International League. On July 3, 2001, after being brushed back a second time by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons pitcher Blas Cedeño, Alcántara turned around, kicking catcher Jeremy Salazar, karate-style, in the mask before charging the mound, throwing an unsuccessful punch at Cedeño before turning around as other players joined the fight until he was tackled by Kevin Orie. The incident cost Alcántara a six-game suspension and his spot on the International League's All Star squad.[1] In Izzy's defense, the Providence Journal offered this explanation: "What happened may have been simmering for some time. By his actions, it appears Alcantara knew something might occur that night. After the game Alcantara insisted Cedeño was throwing at him. Early in May, Alcantara slammed two home runs off Red Barons pitcher Pete Zamora, who later hit Alcantara with a pitch and was suspended and fined by the league. On July 2 Alcantara belted another home run off Zamora and may have, in Zamora's view, hot-dogged it a little around the bases. In Alcantara's mind, the July 3 eighth inning eruption was no innocent development and may have been planned as retaliation by Red Barons pitchers."
Before the 2002 season, he was signed as a free agent by the Milwaukee Brewers, where he hit .250 with 2 home runs in 32 at bats. His final Major League game was on August 22, 2002 and he was released by the team after that season.
He briefly played for Uni-President Lions of Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League in 2005, but was released for reasons never fully explained by the management.
In 2005, Alcántara also played four games for the New Jersey Jackals of the independent Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball.[2]