Tony Eusebio | |||
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Catcher | |||
Born: San José de los Llanos, Dominican Republic |
April 27, 1967 |||
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MLB debut | |||
August 8, 1991, for the Houston Astros | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
October 7, 2001, for the Houston Astros | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .275 | ||
Hits | 479 | ||
Home runs | 30 | ||
Teams | |||
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Career highlights and awards | |||
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Raul Antonio Bare Eusebio (born April 27, 1967 in San José de los Llanos, Dominican Republic) is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played for the Houston Astros.
In 2000, Eusebio set a Houston Astros franchise record for consecutive games with a hit with 24, although the mark has since been surpassed by Jeff Kent and Willy Taveras. Because Eusebio was a catcher and did not play in every game, his 24-game hitting streak came over a span of 51 days in which time the Astros played 45 games. This was the longest time ever for a 24-game single season streak. The streak tied for longest in the National League in 2000. During and after his streak, Eusebio was often referred to affectionately as "The Astro Clipper" in a sort of mock homage to Joe DiMaggio, "The Yankee Clipper" and holder of the MLB record hit streak.
Tony Eusebio signed with the Astros on May 30, 1985 as an undrafted free agent. He started his professional career at age 18 with the Gulf Coast League Astros that same year, although he only played in one game and had one at bat. In 1986, Eusebio played in the Dominican Summer League. Eusebio rejoined the Rookie League team in 1987 and steadily rose through the Astros' minor league ranks. In 1988, he played for the High-A Osceola Astros and stole a career high 20 bases. Eusebio also appeared on the 40-man winter roster in 1988, and joined the Astros' big-league camp during spring training in 1989. After spring training, he started the year at the AA Columbus Mudcats before being sent back down to the Osceola Astros after hitting .187. In 1990, Eusebio again played for the Columbus Mudcats. He led all Southern League catchers with a .994 fielding percentage before suffering a broken thumb on August 4, 1990. Eusebio also appeared in the Southern League All-Star game in 1990. At the start of the 1991 season, he played for the AA Jackson Generals.