Rafael Furcal | |
---|---|
Shortstop | |
Born: Loma de Cabrera, Dominican Republic | October 24, 1977|
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 4, 2000, for the Atlanta Braves | |
Last MLB appearance | |
June 21, 2014, for the Miami Marlins | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .281 |
Home runs | 113 |
Runs batted in | 587 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
Rafael Antoni Furcal (born October 24,1977) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves,Los Angeles Dodgers,St. Louis Cardinals,and Miami Marlins. With St. Louis,he won the 2011 World Series over the Texas Rangers.
Furcal grew up in Loma de Cabrera,a small village in the Dominican Republic near the Dajabón River and the border with Haiti. His father,Silvino,drove a taxi,and his mother,Aura,was a schoolteacher. Furcal had three older brothers,José,Manuel,and Lorenzo,and a sister. [1]
Silvino Furcal was a standout outfielder during an era when Dominican ballplayers did not get much recognition from Major League scouts. [2] Silvino introduced his sons to baseball and Rafael credited his father with teaching him how to enjoy the game. Until his death in 2010,Silvino would often call Rafael to give him advice after games. [3] Manuel Furcal pitched in the Seattle Mariners organization and Lorenzo played in the Oakland Athletics system before suffering career-ending injuries. [2] JoséFurcal committed suicide in 1999 and Manuel died that same year in an accident. [2] [3]
Furcal attended Jose Cabrera High School and was prepared to enroll in engineering school before being spotted by a scout at a tryout in Santo Domingo. He was subsequently signed as an amateur free agent by the Atlanta Braves on November 9,1996,for $5,000. [2]
He began his professional career as a second baseman with the Gulf Coast Braves in 1997. The following season,with the Danville Braves he hit .328 and stole a league record 60 bases in only 66 games. He was named Danville's Player of the Year and Appalachian League All-Star Second Baseman.
In 1999,he switched to shortstop and joined the Macon Braves in "A" ball and hit .337 with 73 stolen bases in 83 games. He was transferred to the advanced "A" team in Myrtle Beach and hit .293 for them with 23 steals in 43 games. He led all of minor league baseball with 96 steals total. He was named to Baseball America's first team All-Star team and the South Atlantic League All-Star team. In addition,he was the Braves Minor League Player of the Year,the South Atlantic League Most Outstanding Prospect and a Class A All-Star.
An injury to Braves shortstop Walt Weiss prior to the 2000 season led to Furcal improbably making the jump from "A" ball to the Major League roster. He made his Major League debut on April 4,2000,against the Colorado Rockies,getting 2 hits in 4 at-bats. His first hit was against Rockies pitcher Rolando Arrojo.
Furcal went on to hit .295 with 40 stolen bases for the Braves and won the National League Rookie of the Year Award that year.
He missed most of the 2001 season because of a dislocated left shoulder,suffered while stealing second base in a July 6 game at Boston.
The Braves learned Furcal's true age,then 23,at the start of the 2002 season. Before then,he had claimed he was only 21. [4] [5] He returned to the starting lineup that season and tied a modern Major League record with three triples in a game on April 21 against Florida.
Furcal completed an unassisted triple play for the Braves against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 10,2003. It was the 12th in baseball history. In the fifth inning,the shortstop caught pitcher Woody Williams' liner with the runners moving in a hit and run attempt,stepped on second base to retire catcher Mike Matheny (who later became Furcal's manager in St. Louis) and tagged Orlando Palmeiro before he could return to first. [6]
He was selected to the National League All-Star Team as a reserve in 2003.
In September 2004,during his final season with the Braves,he was arrested for drunk driving,violating his probation dating from an earlier drunk driving arrest in June 2000. Furcal was ordered to serve 21 days in jail. In an unusual arrangement,the beginning of the jail term was contingent upon the Braves' situation on the playoffs. His DUI attorney arranged that resolution so that the baseball team had its full contingency of players for the playoffs. [7] Once the Braves were eliminated from post-season action,Furcal served his time. [8]
On December 7,2005,Furcal signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers for three years and $39 million. In September 2006 Furcal was selected as the inaugural winner of the Roy Campanella Award,given to the Dodgers player who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership of the late Hall of Fame catcher. The award was voted on by only his teammates.
In May 2007,he became one of only six Major League players to get 4 hits in each of 3 consecutive games.
Early in 2008,he suffered a back injury that kept him sidelined for most of the season,not returning until right before the playoffs started.
In the fifth inning of Game Five the 2008 National League Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies,Furcal made three errors to set records for most errors in one NLCS inning and game. He was just the second player to make three errors in one postseason inning. No shortstop had made three errors in one playoff game since Buck Weaver in the 1917 World Series. Two of the errors came on the same play as Furcal booted a routine groundball hit by Pat Burrell and then airmailed his throw behind home plate in a failed attempt to prevent Chase Utley from scoring. [9]
On December 19,2008,after speculation that he would re-sign with the Braves as a free agent,Furcal signed a 3-year $30 million contract to stay with the Dodgers. [10]
Furcal struggled in the first year of his new contract,hitting only .269 for the Dodgers in 2009. His on-base plus slugging of .711 was also below his career average of .757. [11]
Furcal was added to the 2010 National League All-Star team as a reserve after New York Mets shortstop JoséReyes suffered an injury and was forced to withdraw. Furcal walked in his only plate appearance in the game. Due to injuries he only appeared in 97 games for the Dodgers in 2010,but finished with a .300 batting average and stole 22 bases.
In 2011,he spent more time on the disabled list than the active roster for the Dodgers,appearing in just 37 games,during which he hit only .197.
Furcal was traded along with cash considerations to the St. Louis Cardinals on July 30,2011 for Double-A outfielder Alex Castellanos. In 50 games with the Cardinals,he hit .255 with 7 home runs. In the 2011 World Series,he only hit .179 but picked up his only World Series ring when the Cards won the series by beating the Texas Rangers in seven games. [12] [13]
On October 31,2011,the St. Louis Cardinals declined his $12 million option for 2012. The club signed Furcal to a 2-year,$14 million deal on December 10,2011. During the 2012 season Furcal was batting .264 with five home runs and 49 RBIs until being sidelined with an elbow injury on August 30. [14] An MRI of the elbow revealed damage to a ligament in his throwing arm. Furcal would be placed on the disabled list for the remainder of the season in order to undergo four to six weeks of physical rehabilitation in the hopes of forestalling surgical repair. [15] As a replacement for Furcal,the Cardinals called up Pete Kozma from the Triple-A affiliate Memphis Redbirds. [16]
On March 7,2013 the Cardinals announced that Furcal would undergo Tommy John surgery and would almost certainly miss all of the 2013 baseball season. [17] An off-season program of rest and rehabilitation for his damaged right elbow at first appeared to be successful,as Furcal reported for Cardinals spring training. However a bone spur began to cause discomfort prompting an MRI and examination by Cardinals team radiologist Greg Cizek on March 4,2013,who recommended surgery. A second opinion from noted surgeon Dr. James Andrews confirmed the diagnosis on March 6,2013. [17] He became a free agent after the 2013 World Series on October 31,2013. [18]
On December 6,2013,Furcal signed a one-year deal with the Miami Marlins. [19] [20] With the younger Adeiny Hechavarria at shortstop,Furcal was projected to play second base with the Marlins. [21] He made his Marlins debut on June 13,2014,against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
On March 17,2015,Furcal signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals. He was released on March 31 [22] and then re-signed the following day to another minor league contract. [23] He played just seven games in the minors for the Wilmington Blue Rocks and Northwest Arkansas Naturals,hitting .240. On May 19,he announced his retirement. [24]
During the offseason,Furcal played for the Aguilas Cibaeñas. He resides in Santiago,Dominican Republic with his family. Furcal met his wife,Glenny,during his final spring training with the Braves and the couple has two sons together,Rafael Jr. (born in 2006) and Anthony (born in 2008). [2] [25] Furcal also has a daughter named Ashley (born in 2004) from a previous relationship. [1]
Furcal has used his baseball earnings to give back to his hometown. When Furcal re-signed with the Dodgers in 2008,he arranged to have the Los Angeles Fire Department donate a fire truck to Loma de Cabrera which,until then,did not have a fire department. [26] He has also arranged to pay the hospital bills of Loma de Cabrera residents. [1] [27]
Furcal's father,Silvino,died on Father's Day in 2010 after being kicked by a horse on the family's farm. [3]
Furcal was considered for election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time in 2020. [28]
César David Izturis is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. He played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers, Washington Nationals, and Cincinnati Reds. He is the half-brother of shortstop Maicer Izturis.
Édgar Enrique Rentería Herazo, nicknamed "the Barranquilla Baby", is a Colombian former professional baseball shortstop. He threw and batted right-handed. He played for the Florida Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants, and Cincinnati Reds.
José Bernabe Reyes is a Dominican-American former professional baseball infielder. He played, most notably at shortstop, in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Miami Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, and Colorado Rockies.
Plácido Enrique Polanco is a Dominican-American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins. He was a second baseman, third baseman, and shortstop. He was twice voted to start in Major League Baseball All-Star Games: in 2007, and again in 2011. Polanco retired with the highest all-time career fielding percentage for second basemen at 99.27% and the highest all-time career fielding percentage for third basemen at 98.34% which still appear to be records.
Wilson Antonio Valdez is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He played for the Chicago White Sox, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, and Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball, the Kia Tigers of the KBO League, and the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball from 2004 to 2012.
Wilson Betemit is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles.
Juan Cespedes Uribe Tena is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He played shortstop, third base and second base during his career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets and Cleveland Indians. He bats and throws right-handed.
Jared Michael "Skip" Schumaker is an American former professional baseball outfielder and second baseman, former coach, and manager, most recently of the Miami Marlins from 2023 to 2024. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Cincinnati Reds throughout his career. He previously served as a bench coach for the Cardinals and San Diego Padres.
Jason Edward Repko is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox.
Hanley Ramírez is a Dominican-American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Florida / Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Cleveland Indians. Ramírez is a three-time MLB All-Star and received the 2006 National League Rookie of the Year Award. While he played the majority of his career at shortstop, he also played first base, third base and left field.
Fernando Gabriel Tatís Medina Sr. is a Dominican former professional baseball third baseman. Over his 11-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Tatís played for the Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Montreal Expos, Baltimore Orioles, and New York Mets. He holds the major league record for runs batted in (RBI) in an inning, a feat that he achieved by hitting two grand slams in one inning during a game on April 23, 1999, becoming the only player in MLB history to do so. His son, Fernando Jr., plays for the San Diego Padres.
Walter William Weiss is an American former professional baseball shortstop and manager and current bench coach for the Atlanta Braves. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1987 through 2000 for the Oakland Athletics, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies, and Atlanta Braves. He managed the Rockies from 2013 through 2016. Weiss won the 1988 Rookie of the Year award. He was also a member of the 1998 National League All-Star Team.
Jason Alias Heyward, nicknamed "J-Hey", is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Dodgers.
John Mozeliak is an American baseball executive who is the president of baseball operations of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Never a professional baseball player, Mozeliak came to the Cardinals as Walt Jocketty's assistant in 1995 and became the organization's twelfth General Manager after the 2007 season.
Donovan Solano Preciado is a Colombian professional baseball infielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Miami Marlins, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, and Minnesota Twins. Solano signed as an international free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2005. He made his MLB debut with the Marlins in 2012.
Devaris "Dee" Strange-Gordon, formerly known as Dee Gordon, is an American former professional baseball second baseman, shortstop, and center fielder. He played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, Seattle Mariners, and Washington Nationals.
Peter Michael Kozma is an American professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, and Oakland Athletics. The Cardinals selected him in the first round of the 2007 MLB draft from Owasso High School in Oklahoma, and he made his MLB debut for them on May 18, 2011. He is 6 feet 0 inches (1.83 m), weighs 190 lb (86 kg), and bats and throws right-handed.
Rafael Ángel Ortega García is a Venezuelan professional baseball outfielder in the Chicago White Sox organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets.
The 2013 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 132nd for the baseball team in St. Louis, Missouri, the 122nd season in the National League (NL), and the eighth at Busch Stadium III. On Opening Day, April 1, the St. Louis Cardinals played the 20,000th game in franchise history against the Arizona Diamondbacks, dating back to the start of their American Association (AA) play in 1882. Heading into the 2013 season, St. Louis had an all-time winning percentage of .518.
Marcell Ozuna Idelfonso, nicknamed "the Big Bear", is a Dominican professional baseball designated hitter and outfielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals. He made his MLB debut in 2013 with the Marlins.