José Lobatón | |||
---|---|---|---|
Lobatón with the Washington Nationals
|
|||
Washington Nationals – No. 59 | |||
Catcher | |||
Born: Acarigua, Venezuela |
October 21, 1984 |||
|
|||
MLB debut | |||
July 5, 2009, for the San Diego Padres | |||
MLB statistics (through 2016 season) |
|||
Batting average | .226 | ||
Home runs | 17 | ||
Runs batted in | 92 | ||
Teams | |||
|
José Manuel Lobatón (born October 21, 1984) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Signed by the San Diego Padres as an amateur free agent, he made his major league debut with the team in 2009. He has also played for the Tampa Bay Rays.
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.
Lobatón made his Major League debut on July 5, 2009, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He only played in 7 games with the Padres going .176 in 17 at-bats with 3 hits and 0 RBI's. He was designated for assignment on July 28.
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. During a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays from August 16–18, 2013, Lobaton hit a walk-off triple and walk-off home run, becoming the first catcher to do so since Wally Schang in 1917 and only the fourth player overall since 2002.