José Lobatón
| José Lobatón | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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Lobatón with the Washington Nationals | |||
| Washington Nationals – No. 59 | |||
| Catcher | |||
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Born: October 21, 1984 Acarigua, Venezuela | |||
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| MLB debut | |||
| July 5, 2009, for the San Diego Padres | |||
| MLB statistics (through April 29, 2016) | |||
| Batting average | .224 | ||
| Home runs | 14 | ||
| Runs batted in | 87 | ||
| Teams | |||
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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.
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
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.
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]
Washington Nationals
On February 13, 2014, he was traded to the Washington Nationals (along with Felipe Rivero and Drew Vettleson) in exchange for Nathan Karns.[6]
Personal life
Lobaton married his wife, Nina, at Tropicana Field on July 3, 2012.[7]
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.
- ↑ "Nationals trade Karns for Lobaton". Associated Press. ESPN.com. February 13, 2014. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
- ↑ Greg Zeck, Bill Chastain (July 3, 2012). "Lobaton gets married at Trop". Retrieved November 17, 2013.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to José Lobatón. |
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Retrosheet
- Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
- Jose Lobaton on Twitter
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