Defensively in the minor leagues,Urueta appeared in 74 games as a first baseman,12 games as an outfielder,and one game each as a third baseman and as a catcher.[1] He had a .987 fielding percentage at first base.[1]
Also in 2003,Urueta played six games for the Gary SouthShore RailCats of the independentNorthern League.[1] He batted .238 (5-for-21) in six games,with one home run and one RBI.[1] He did not play professionally in the United States after 2003.[1]
From 2004 through 2006,Urueta played for Fortitudo Bologna in the Italian Baseball League.[1] He slashed .221/.345/.253 in 2004.[citation needed] In 2005,he batted only .187/.230/.239;he improved in the finals,going 7-for-23 to help his team win it all.[citation needed] After another meek campaign (.205/.317/.270,1-for-26 in the playoffs) in 2006,[citation needed] he ended his playing career.
Urueta has been a coach or coordinator in the Diamondbacks' farm system since 2007. He was field coordinator for the Dominican Summer League Diamondbacks in 2011 and a coach for the South Bend Silver Hawks in 2012. He managed the Arizona League Diamondbacks in 2013 and 2014, accruing an overall managerial win–loss record of 58–54 in those two seasons.[1] Urueta was a coach for the Triple-AReno Aces in 2015.
International
Urueta coached for Colombia in the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, then managed the team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers. He guided the team past former WBC teams Panama and Spain to a spot in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, Colombia's first trip to the World Baseball Classic. Following this historic qualification, Urueta's services were also retained to skipper the national team at the WBC.
In October 2017, Urueta was hired as a major league coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks.[3] He became the bench coach for the Diamondbacks in the 2020 season.[4] Urueta became acting manager in a game against the San Diego Padres on July 26, 2020, after Arizona manager Torey Lovullo was ejected in the fifth inning; it was the first time that a person from Colombia managed a team during a major league game.[5][6]
Miami Marlins
On November 11, 2022, the Miami Marlins hired Urueta as their bench coach for the 2023 season.[7] Marlins manager Skip Schumaker left the team with two games remaining in the 2024 season, ceding managerial duties to Urueta. On October 2, 2024, Urueta was fired alongside the entirety of the Marlins coaching staff.[8]
Texas Rangers
On November 5, 2024, Urueta was hired by the Texas Rangers to serve as the team's bench coach, with the intention of having the incumbent bench coach Donnie Ecker transition to a focus on hitting.[9]
Urueta's nickname is "Pipe" (from Felipe).[10] He is married and has two daughters.[4] As a teenager, Urueta was a football (soccer) goalkeeper; he was inspired to pursue a baseball career after watching Édgar Rentería's game-winning hit in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series.[10]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
