Player Profile: Juan Acevedo

I have two cards of Juan Acevedo. This one is from 2003 Topps.

Playing Career: Juan Acevedo was a reliever for several teams in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Much like Jeremy Accardo, his career epitomizes the up-and-down life of the average reliever.
1995: 6.44 ERA, 0 saves
1996: did not pitch in MLB
1997: 3.59 ERA, 0 saves
1998: 2.56 ERA, 15 saves
1999: 5.89 ERA, 4 saves
2000: 3.81 ERA, 0 saves
2001: 4.18 ERA, 0 saves
2002: 2.65 ERA, 28 saves
2003: 6.57 ERA, 6 saves
One or two seasons of low ERA and high saves totals do not a "proven closer" make.

My Memories: I remember him filling in for an injured Mariano Rivera in 2003 with the Yankees and doing a nice job in his absence. Apparently my memory is a bit faulty because he was released in June with a 7.71 ERA. Guess I blocked the bad appearances out of my memory.

Interesting stories: This 2010 article from the Quad Cities Online reveals that Acevedo was jailed for six months for violating the terms of his divorce settlement. Apparently he was supposed to sell his house and pay his mortgage to his ex-wife, but instead he invested the money in business ventures that went bad. Not sure how jailing him helps the ex-wife but I guess it sends a message to others in the same situation not to defy the courts.

Where he is now: According to Paul's Random Stuff Acevedo is pitching in the Mexican League, for the Rojos del Aguila de Veracruz. In addition to this, he's trying to dig out of his financial hole by doing lots of baseball instruction in the US. He is listed on the instructional staff of the McHenry County Hurricanes Travel Baseball Association, the Woodstock Lightning Travel team, and the Sports City Academy.

Google Autocomplete Results: He is fourth when you type in Juan Ac, between Latin American art critic Juan Acha and Juan Acuna, a Spanish soccer player from the 1930s and 1940s. Another prominent Juan Acevedo is an MMA fighter.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Jim Acker.