| Rich Amaral | |
|---|---|
| Utility player | |
| Born: (1962-04-01)April 1, 1962 (age 62) Visalia, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 27, 1991, for the Seattle Mariners | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 14, 2000, for the Baltimore Orioles | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .276 |
| Home runs | 11 |
| Runs batted in | 159 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Richard Louis Amaral (born April 1, 1962) is an American formerutility player inMajor League Baseball who played with theSeattle Mariners (1991-1998), andBaltimore Orioles (1999-2000). He batted and threwright-handed. He has been ascout with the Orioles since the middle of the2018 season.[1]
Drafted by theChicago Cubs in 1983, Amaral was claimed by theChicago White Sox in the 1988Rule 5 Draft. After becoming afree agent after the 1990 season, he signed with the Seattle Mariners and made his major league debut on May 27, 1991. Amaral played with the Mariners through 1998, and signed as a free agent with theOrioles on December 21, 1998. Released by the Orioles on July 28,2000, he signed with theAtlanta Braves on August 25, 2000. Amaral played seven games for theirTriple-A affiliate, theRichmond Braves and became a free agent after the season.
In his 10-year career, Amaral was a .276 hitter with 493 careerhits. He was a college standout atUCLA earning nod assecond baseman on the collegeAll-American team. After being drafted in the second round by the Chicago Cubs, he spent his next nine years inMinor league baseball, and it appeared that he might be a career minor leaguer. After hitting .346 at Triple-ACalgary in 1991 (PCL batting champion) and .318 in 1992, Amaral got his chance to become a full-time Major League player at age 31 under new managerLou Piniella in1993.[2] A versatile player, Amaral played at least forty games in the majors at every position exceptcatcher andpitcher.
Amaral was a baserunning guest instructor for the Mariners inspring training of2008[3] as part of MarinersmanagerJohn McLaren's offseason emphasis on baserunning.[4]
Amaral's son Beau played outfield for theUCLA team that went all the way to the2010 College World Series Championship games. Beau was named to theAll Tournament Team. Beau was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds and in 2014 played with High Class-A affiliate in the California League, the Bakersfield Blaze.