Luis Polonia
| Luis Polonia | |||
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| Left fielder | |||
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Born: October 12, 1963 Santiago, Dominican Republic |
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 24, 1987, for the Oakland Athletics | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| October 1, 2000, for the New York Yankees | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .293 | ||
| Home runs | 36 | ||
| Runs batted in | 405 | ||
| Stolen bases | 321 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Luis Andrew Polonia Almonte (born October 12, 1963) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He currently resides in Santiago, in the Dominican Republic, his hometown.
Signed by the Oakland Athletics as an amateur free agent in 1984, Polonia would make his Major League Baseball debut with the Oakland Athletics on April 24, 1987, and appear in his final game on October 1, 2000. He played for two World Series Championship teams, winning with Atlanta in 1995 and the New York Yankees in 2000.
Polonia was born on October 12, 1963 in the Dominican Republic. He joined the Dominican League at an early age and was known as a strong contact hitter, as well as a below-average defensive outfielder. Though he had good speed, he was not a wise baserunner and led his league in caught stealing a total of five times between the minors and majors. He was also known for his tremendous performance during winter ball. He is one of the top 10 contact hitters in Dominican League history and is the all-time Caribbean series leader in hits, doubles, and runs scored as of 2008.
Throughout his career, Polonia was known as a quick runner and stolen base threat.
Polonia began his career in 1987 with the Oakland Athletics. He played in 125 games that year hitting .287 with 10 triples and 29 stolen bases. The following year, Polonia played in only 84 games, hitting .292 with 29 steals in 36 attempts. Polonia's strong play helped the Oakland A's reach the postseason and advance to the World Series in 1988. However, Polonia was 1 for 9 in the series as Oakland lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 1989, he was hitting .286 with 13 steals in 17 attempts before being traded to the Yankees.
Polonia was traded to the Yankees in 1989 in the deal that sent Rickey Henderson to Oakland. During the remainder of the season, he hit .313 with 9 steals. In October, he was sentenced to 60 days in prison after pleading guilty to having sex with a minor that August.
Polonia began the 1990 season with seven hits in his first 22 at-bats. After only 11 games, he was traded to the California Angels for Claudell Washington and Rich Monteleone.
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