| Magglio Ordóñez | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ordóñez with the Tigers in 2011 | |
| Right fielder | |
| Born: (1974-01-28)January 28, 1974 (age 51) Caracas,Venezuela | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 29, 1997, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 27, 2011, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .309 |
| Hits | 2,156 |
| Home runs | 294 |
| Runs batted in | 1,236 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the Venezuelan | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2025 |
| Vote | 76% |
| Election method | Contemporary Committee |
Magglio José Ordóñez Delgado (/ɔːrˈdoʊnjɛz/; born January 28, 1974) is a Venezuelan former professional baseballright fielder. He played for theChicago White Sox (1997–2004) andDetroit Tigers (2005–2011). Ordóñez is 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighs 215 lb (98 kg). Having posted a career .309 batting average over 15 seasons, Ordóñez retired from the major leagues as a Tiger on June 3, 2012, in a ceremony at Comerica Park prior to the afternoon game.
In 2013, he announced that he would be running for public office in his native country of Venezuela and was elected mayor of theJuan Antonio Sotillo Municipality on December 8, 2013.
In a 15-year major league career (through the end of the 2011 season), Ordóñez was a .309 hitter with 294 home runs and 1,236 RBIs in 1,848 games. Other career totals include 1,076 runs scored, 426 doubles, .369 on-base percentage and .502 slugging percentage. He was selected for theAll-Star Game six times (1999–2001, 2003, and 2006–07) and won threeSilver Slugger awards (2000, 2002, and 2007).[1] In 2007, he won the American League batting title with an average of .363. He also established a career high with 139 runs batted in, and finished runner-up toAlex Rodriguez in the AL Most Valuable Player award voting.
Ordóñez spent the first eight years of his major league career playing with theChicago White Sox. In the five seasons prior to 2004, Ordóñez hit at least .300 with 29home runs and 99RBI, and reached the 30-home run, 100-RBI plateau in four of those seasons. He also collected over 70extra-base hits from 2001 to 2003, but a collision withsecond basemanWillie Harris onOmar Vizquel's popup to right field during a May 19, 2004, game against theCleveland Indians, cost him two trips to the disabled list and two surgeries on his left knee. He finished with .292, 9 home runs, and 37 RBI in 52 games. During the 2001 season when Ordóñez was teammates withJose Canseco, Canseco claims he injected Ordóñez withsteroids.[2]
During the 2003 off-season, Ordonez was almost traded to theBoston Red Sox. The Red Sox andTexas Rangers had been in discussions for weeks about Boston acquiring the reigningAmerican League MVP, SS Alex Rodriguez for outfielderManny Ramirez. The Red Sox then agreed in principle to trade its incumbent SSNomar Garciaparra to the White Sox for Ordonez. When the Rodriguez-for-Ramirez trade fell through, the Red Sox decided to not trade Garciaparra and the Ordonez trade was called off as well.[3]
Ordóñez signed with theDetroit Tigers as afree agent on February 7, 2005.[4] His five-year, $85 million contract was the second largest the Tigers had ever paid a player. Because of Ordóñez's knee injury from the 2004 season, the contract included a clause stating that if he were to spend more than 25 days on thedisabled list due to the same injury, the contract could be bought out for $3 million at the discretion of the Tigers' management.
After he signed with Detroit, Ordóñez had a public dispute withOzzie Guillén, his former manager and teammate in Chicago.[5] Their apparent mutual dislike for each other was a contributing factor to Ordóñez's departure from the White Sox. However, the rivalry appears to have cooled, as Guillén actually requested Ordóñez for the2006 All-Star Game.
In 2005, Ordóñez's first season for Detroit, he strained an abdominal muscle during the first week of the season and spent the next three months on thedisabled list, as the strain turned out to be ahernia. This caused him to rest after corrective surgery for two months following the injury, after which he began a rehabilitation assignment at the Tigers' AAA minor league team inToledo. He returned to the Tigers' lineup in early July, and once again became a star by hitting consistently over .300 while batting clean-up.
In 2006, Ordóñez returned to All-Star form. He was selected to the 2006 All-Star Game as an injury replacement forRed Sox left fielderManny Ramírez.[6][7] At the All-Star break, Ordóñez was hitting .312 with 16 home runs and 62 RBI, and was a mainstay for a Tigers team that was a major-league best 59–29 at the break.
On October 14, 2006, Ordóñez completed the Tigers' sweep of theALCS with a three-run homer againstHuston Street of theOakland Athletics, with two outs on a 1–0 count in the bottom of the 9th, the 8th time in MLB history that a post-season series has ended with a home run.[8][9] The win sent the Tigers to their firstWorld Series appearance since 1984. Coincidentally, it also happened 22 years to the day from when the Tigers won the World Series in that year.
Ordóñez had the best season of his career in 2007, finishing second in theAmerican League MVP race behindAlex Rodriguez.[10] His .363 batting average, 28 home runs and 139 RBIs could be considered one of the best seasons ever by a Detroit Tigers outfielder. Magglio's records and accomplishments in 2007 include:
On April 29, 2010, Ordóñez got his 2000th career hit against theMinnesota Twins'Carl Pavano.[14] On July 24 Ordóñez hurt his ankle sliding into home. X-rays revealed a fracture that was expected to heal in six to eight weeks, but some weeks after the injury it was reported Magglio would miss the rest of the season.[15] Following the season, the Tigers declined Ordóñez's $15 million option for 2011.[16]
On December 16, 2010, the Tigers re-signed Ordóñez to a 1-year, $10 million contract.[17]
On October 8, 2011, during a playoff game with the Texas Rangers, Ordóñez re-fractured the ankle that he had fractured in 2010, he was then ruled out for the rest of the 2011 postseason.[18]
On November 1, 2011, Tigers general managerDavid Dombrowski announced that the Tigers would "most likely" not offer Ordóñez a contract for the 2012 season, which makes Ordóñez a free agent.[19] On May 29, 2012, it was reported that Ordonez would announce his retirement within the week.[20]
On June 3, 2012, Ordóñez officially retired from Major League Baseball in aceremony at Comerica Park.[21]
In 2013, Ordóñez became co-owner of the Venezuelan professional baseball teamCaribes de Anzoátegui, a team he briefly played for before coming to the United States.[22]
In Detroit'sComerica Park some Tiger fans sported curly black wigs underneath their baseball caps until mid-2009, when Ordóñez cut his hair short. He is also sometimes referred to affectionately as "Maggs". In mid-2006, a group of bloggers began referring to Magglio as "The Big Tilde". This nickname has been referenced on Deadspin, MLB.com, and during a Fox Sports broadcast.[23]
Ordóñez has three children with his wife Dagly, a son named Magglio Jr. and two daughters, Maggliana and Sophia.[24][25]
Ordóñez' son, Magglio Ordóñez Jr. was drafted by theDetroit Tigers in the2014 Major League Baseball draft.[26]
Ordóñez was a supporter of the late Venezuelan PresidentHugo Chávez, and in early 2009 appeared in a televised political ad which assured the Venezuelan people that "the best of therevolution and socialism is yet to come."[27] He also joined Chávez on the campaign trail.[28] As a result, during the2009 World Baseball Classic, Ordóñez was booed by anti-Chávez Venezuelan fans, during his at bats, and while he was on the field.[29][30]
In August 2013, Ordóñez announced that he would run for the office ofmayor in theJuan Antonio Sotillo Municipality in Venezuela,[31] on the ticket of the late Chavez'sUnited Socialist Party of Venezuela.[32] It was announced on December 9, 2013, that he had been elected Mayor.[33]
· Baseball Almanac, orRetrosheet| Awards and achievements | ||
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| Preceded by | American League Player of the Month July 2003 August 2007 | Succeeded by |
