Mario Guerrero

Mario Guerrero
Mario Guerrero
	Guerrero in 1974
	Shortstop
	Born: September 28, 1949; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
	Died: July 2, 2023 (aged 73); Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
	Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
	April 8, 1973, for the Boston Red Sox
Last MLB appearance
	October 1, 1980, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average	.257
Home runs	7
Runs batted in	170
	Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
	Boston Red Sox (1973–1974); St. Louis Cardinals (1975); California Angels (1976–1977); Oakland Athletics (1978–1980);

Mario Miguel Guerrero Abud (September 28, 1949 – July 2, 2023) was a Dominican professional baseball player who was a shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams in an eight-year career from 1973 to 1980.

Career

Guerrero signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1968. After four plus seasons in their farm system, he was sent to the Boston Red Sox on June 30, 1972, as the player to be named later in the deal that brought future Cy Young Award winner Sparky Lyle to the Yankees in exchange for Danny Cater.^[1] Guerrero made the Red Sox out of spring training 1973, and won the starting shortstop job over Rick Burleson following Luis Aparicio's release.

During the off season, the Red Sox traded Guerrero to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Jim Willoughby. He split 1975 between the Cardinals and their triple A affiliate, the Tulsa Oilers, batting .239 in 64 games at the major league level. He was assigned to Tulsa in 1976 when he was traded to the California Angels for two minor leaguers.

Guerrero signed as a free agent with the San Francisco Giants after the 1977 season, only to be sent to Oakland Athletics on April 7, 1978, to complete a trade in which the Athletics also acquired Gary Thomasson, Gary Alexander, Dave Heaverlo, John Henry Johnson, Phil Huffman, Alan Wirth and $300,000 for Vida Blue just over three weeks earlier on March 15. He played three seasons in Oakland before his contract was purchased by the Seattle Mariners. He retired following his release from the Mariners in spring training 1981. In 1989, Guerrero played for the Winter Haven Super Sox of the Senior Professional Baseball Association. He batted .315 in 15 games.

Personal life and death

His brother Epy Guerrero was a coach for the Toronto Blue Jays.^[2] While working as a buscón (headhunter) in the Dominican Republic, Guerrero sued Raúl Mondesí for 1% of his salary. He ended up winning a $640,000 judgment.^[3]

Mario Guerrero died on July 2, 2023, at the age of 73.^[4]

References

^ "Player in '70s trade when Yankees fleeced Red Sox dies". July 9, 2023.
^ William Plummer (April 10, 1989). "Baseball Scout Epy Guerrero Looks for Rough Diamonds Amid Hunger and Poverty". People Magazine.
^ Gordon Edes, Globe Staff (May 4, 2004). "Youth is swerved on island: Ortiz deeply troubled by Dominican report". The Boston Globe.
^ "Former Major League Baseball player Mario Guerrero passes away". Nation World News. July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.

External links

Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
Mario Guerrero at Baseball Almanac

[1] "Player in '70s trade when Yankees fleeced Red Sox dies". July 9, 2023.

[2] William Plummer (April 10, 1989). "Baseball Scout Epy Guerrero Looks for Rough Diamonds Amid Hunger and Poverty". People Magazine.

[3] Gordon Edes, Globe Staff (May 4, 2004). "Youth is swerved on island: Ortiz deeply troubled by Dominican report". The Boston Globe.

[4] "Former Major League Baseball player Mario Guerrero passes away". Nation World News. July 2, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.

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