Wilton Guerrero
| Wilton Guerrero | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Second baseman / Outfielder | |||
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Born: October 24, 1974 Don Gregorio, Dominican Republic |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 3, 1996, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| October 1, 2004, for the Kansas City Royals | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .282 | ||
| Home runs | 11 | ||
| Runs batted in | 127 | ||
| Teams | |||
Wilton Álvaro Guerrero (born October 24, 1974) is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1996–1998), Montreal Expos (1998–2000, 2002), Cincinnati Reds (2001–2002), and Kansas City Royals (2004). He is the older brother of Vladimir Guerrero and cousin of Cristian Guerrero.
He was a utility player and played strong defense at any position he played. Although he had the ability to hit for average, he had limited power. A switch hitter, most of his power came while batting right handed. He hit only 3 of his 11 career home runs while batting left handed despite many more career at bats from that side.
On October 8, 1991, Guerrero was signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After several seasons in the minor leagues, punctuated by hitting a combined .346 at Double A and Triple A in 1995, and .344 in Triple A in 1996, Guerrero was called up to the Dodgers at 21 years old late in the 1996 seasons. He made his major league debut on September 3, 1996, against the New York Mets. He recorded his first hit on Opening Day 1997 (April 1) against the Philadelphia Phillies, with a first inning single off Curt Schilling. His first home run came two weeks later, on April 16, against the Mets' Rick Reed.
However, on June 1, 1997, the Dodgers rookie led off against the St. Louis Cardinals by breaking his bat on a grounder to second. Rather than try to run it out, Guerrero scrambled to pick up the pieces of his shattered bat, making the umpires suspicious. Plate umpire Steve Ripley noticed cork in one of the shattered pieces, and showed it to crew chief and third-base umpire Bruce Froemming, who immediately ejected Guerrero. He was suspended eight games and fined $1,000. Additionally, his tenure in Los Angeles was plagued by numerous mental mistakes that kept him from becoming a regular starter. Despite these issues, however, Guerrero proved a solid contact hitter with an ability to hit for average, posting a .291 average in 1997. However, he did not hit for power, with only 4 home runs, and despite being known as a speedy runner, he only stole 6 bases in 1997 while being caught 5 times.
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