| Carlos Baerga | ||||||||||||||||||
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_(cropped).jpg) Baerga in 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Second baseman | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born: (1968-11-04)November 4, 1968 (age 56) Santurce, Puerto Rico | ||||||||||||||||||
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | ||||||||||||||||||
| Professional debut | ||||||||||||||||||
| MLB: April 14, 1990, for the Cleveland Indians | ||||||||||||||||||
| KBO: July 28, 2001, for the Samsung Lions | ||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | ||||||||||||||||||
| MLB: September 30, 2005, for the Washington Nationals | ||||||||||||||||||
| KBO: October 28, 2001, for the Samsung Lions | ||||||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | ||||||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .291 | |||||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 134 | |||||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 774 | |||||||||||||||||
| KBO statistics | ||||||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .275 | |||||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 17 | |||||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | ||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Carlos Obed Ortiz Baerga[1] (/baɪˈɛərɡə/;Spanish:[baˈeɾɣa]; born November 4, 1968) is a Puerto Rican formerMajor League Baseball player. Baerga was known for his superb hitting abilities during his first stint with theCleveland Indians in the early-to-mid-1990s, accumulating impressive batting statistics, earning threeAll-Star appearances (1992, 1993, 1995), twoSilver Slugger Awards (1993, 1994), and making key contributions to the Indians'1995 postseason run.[2] He was considered one ofMajor League Baseball's hardest-hittingmiddle infielders by 1995 with his superb bat speed andswitch-hitting power.[3] After spending most of his career as asecond baseman, he was used at various positions late in his career. Baerga was elected into the Indians Hall of Fame in 2013.
On November 4,1985, at the age of sixteen, Baerga was signed by theSan Diego Padres. As a 17-year-old he debuted for their Class A affiliateCharleston Rainbows. He played with the team for two seasons. On December 6,1989, San Diego traded him to the Cleveland Indians along withSandy Alomar Jr. andChris James in exchange for established power-hitterJoe Carter. Baerga debuted as a major league baseball player with the Indians, on April 14,1990. That year, he played mostly as a third baseman and shortstop and would hit 17doubles and sevenhome runs, whileaveraging .260 at the plate.
Over the next four years, his home run and batting averages numbers rose steadily, hitting 11 home runs, and batting .288 in1991 while playing mostly as a third baseman and second baseman, hitting 20 home runs and averaging .312 in1992 while becoming a full-time second baseman, and with 21 home runs and an average of .321 in1993. In 1992, he reached 200hits in one season for the first time, getting 205 hits that year. In 1993, he duplicated the mark of 200 hits, with exactly 200.
Baerga became the first second baseman sinceRogers Hornsby in1922 to have back-to-back 200+ hit, 20+ home run, 100+RBI, and .300+ average seasons when he accomplished the feat in 1992–93.[2] He was a 3-time All Star in the 1992, 1993, and 1994 seasons.
Theswitch-hitting Baerga was the first of three players to have ever hit one home run from both sides of the plate in the same inning. He did so on April 8, 1993, atCleveland Municipal Stadium againstNew York Yankees pitchersSteve Howe andSteve Farr in the game's 7th inning. On August 29,2002, he was joined byChicago Cubsutility playerMark Bellhorn, who completed the feat against theMilwaukee Brewers, and on July 30, 2012, Kendrys Morales became the third player to accomplish this rare feat against the Texas Rangers.
During the strike-shortened1994 season, Baerga hit 19 home runs and maintained an average of .314 at the plate. In the 144-game1995 season, Baerga had 175 hits and 15 home runs in 139 games, with a .314 average. The Indians made it to theWorld Series, where they fell to theAtlanta Braves in six games (Baerga flew out toMarquis Grissom for the final out).
Baerga played 100 games with the Indians in1996, before being traded to theNew York Mets on July 29, 1996, withÁlvaro Espinoza, forJeff Kent andJosé Vizcaíno. He collected 129 hits with twelve home runs that year, hitting only .193 after being traded to the Mets. He ended that year with an average of .254. Over the next two seasons with the Mets, Baerga had below average seasons, hitting nine home runs and batting .281 in1997, and seven home runs and .266 in1998. He was grantedfree agency on October 26, 1998.
Baerga began to develop problems with his knees. On January 27,1999, Baerga was signed by theSt. Louis Cardinals and released before the season began. TheCincinnati Reds signed him, but after he hit .290 in the minors, released him midseason. The San Diego Padres put him in the minors for 21 games where he hit .286, and brought him up for 33 games where he hit .250. Bought by Cleveland in August, he hit .228 in 31 games with them.[4]
Signed briefly by theTampa Bay Devil Rays in2000, Baerga did not appear in the majors that year. He felt that he could no longer perform as a major leaguer. In 2001, he signed with theSeattle Mariners but was released during spring training. In2001, he played for theLong Island Ducks and in theKorea Baseball Organization,Samsung Lions(삼성 라이온즈 야구단)).[5] Then he retired, and bought theSanturce Crabbers, becoming player-manager and realizing his childhood dream.[6]
In 2013, Baerga was elected into the Indians Hall of Fame.[7]
In 2002, Baerga returned to the majors. That year, he got 52 hits with theBoston Red Sox, primarily serving as apinch-hitter anddesignated hitter. In2003, he was traded to theArizona Diamondbacks, where he collected 71 hits for the team. The Diamondbacks re-signed him for2004, but the aging Baerga, now prone to injury, was hurt again and was only able to play in 20 games that season. He was signed by theWashington Nationals to a minor league contract before the2005 season and played 93 games for them. He also played for Puerto Rico in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.
Baerga collected 1,543 hits in his MLB career, with 134 home runs, 774 RBI and a .291 batting average.
As abroadcaster, Baerga has enjoyed prominence as acolor commentator forMonday Night Baseball retransmissions in Spanish onESPN Dos for the Mexico-Caribbean-Venezuela region. He is an analyst onBeisbol Esta Noche (the Spanish version ofBaseball Tonight) onESPN Deportes andESPN Latin America. He is recognized by fans and co-workers as "Carlos Obed".[8]
During the2013 World Baseball Classic, Baerga served as one of the assistant coaches underEdwin Rodríguez.[9]
In 2013, Baerga became the manager of theIndios de Mayagüez in Puerto Rico'sRoberto Clemente Professional Baseball League.
In 2020, he was named thebench coach ofRA12.[10]
In 2024, Baerga became the analyst for the Cleveland Guardians Spanish-language radio broadcasts onWARF 1350 AM in Cleveland.
Baerga's son, Carlos Jr., is also a professional baseball player.[11]
