José Lobatón
| José Lobatón | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tampa Bay Rays – No. 59 | |
| Catcher | |
|
Born: October 21, 1984 Acarigua, Venezuela | |
| Bats: Switch | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| July 5, 2009 for the San Diego Padres | |
| Career statistics (through 2013 season) | |
| Batting average | .228 |
| Home runs | 9 |
| Runs batted in | 52 |
| Walks | 58 |
| Teams | |
| |
José Manuel Lobatón (born October 21, 1984) is a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He is currently a catcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. Signed by the San Diego Padres as an amateur free agent, he made his major league with the team before he was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2009.
Minor league career
Lobatón made his Minor League debut in 2003, and spent 2004 and 2005 with the Idaho Falls Padres, Eugene Emeralds, and the Fort Wayne Wizards. He spent the 2007 season with the Lake Elsinore Storm and played the 2008 season with the San Antonio Missions.
He played his entire 2010 season in the Rays minor league system.
Major league career
San Diego Padres
Tampa Bay Rays
Two days after being designated for assignment, Lobatón was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays and reported to Double A Montgomery.
His 2011 season ended with him going .118 with only 4 hits in 34 at-bats.
Lobaton hit his first Major League home run against the Baltimore Orioles on July 25, 2012.[1] During a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays from August 16–18, 2013, Lobaton hit a walk-off triple[2] and walk-off home run,[3] becoming the first catcher to do so since Wally Schang in 1917 and only the fourth player overall since 2002.[4]
Lobatón hit a 9th inning walk-off home run off of Red Sox closer Koji Uehara to defeat the Boston Red Sox in game three of the 2013 American League Division Series. Lobaton is the only Rays player to hit a walk-off home run in the postseason, and the first Ray to hit a home run into the Rays Touch Tank (the others being Luis Gonzalez and Miguel Cabrera). It was the only walk-off home run of the 2013 postseason.[5]
Personal life
Lobaton married his wife, Nina, at Tropicana Field on July 3, 2012.[6]
References
- ↑ Ghiroli, Brittany (July 25, 2012). "Gonzalez struggles in O's loss to Rays". Retrieved August 20, 2013.
- ↑ Strong, Sam (August 17, 2013). "Rays walk off on Lobaton's ninth-inning triple". Retrieved August 20, 2013.
- ↑ Strong, Sam (August 18, 2013). "Lobaton caps series with second walk-off". Retrieved August 20, 2013.
- ↑ Chastain, Bill (August 19, 2013). "Lobaton's walk-offs have historic twist". Retrieved August 20, 2013.
- ↑ Goodall, Fred (October 8, 2013). "Lobaton's HR in 9th lifts Rays over Red Sox 5-4". Retrieved October 8, 2013.
- ↑ Greg Zeck, Bill Chastain (July 3, 2012). "Lobaton gets married at Trop". Retrieved November 17, 2013.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
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