Sunday, March 23, 2014

Player Profile: Angel Berroa



Playing career: Angel Berroa was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2003, hitting .273 with 17 HR and 73 RBI. He never was anywhere near as good again. After four more disappointing seasons for the Royals, he played for the Dodgers in 2008, and both the Yankees and Mets briefly in 2009. Since then he has played in the American minor leagues and in the Mexican League.

My memories: I remember him as a controversial Rookie-of-the-Year choice. In a clear case of anti-Yankee bias, many voters chose him instead of Hideki Matsui despite Matsui’s superior numbers. These writers claimed that they didn’t want to vote for a veteran of the Japanese leagues as a rookie, although most of them had had no problem voting for Ichiro Suzuki just two years earlier.

Where he is now: In 2013, he played for Yucatan in the Mexican League. In 105 games he hit .293 with 12 HR and 62 RBI. He was looking for a minor league invite to spring training in 2014 but found no takers.

Google Autocomplete results: He is first when you type Angel Ber, ahead of Angel Bermudez, a teenager from Freeport, Long Island who was charged with attempted murder in 2012. There do not appear to be any other prominent Angel Berroas.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Geronimo Berroa.

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