Erubiel Durazo Cárdenas (born January 23, 1974) is a Mexican former professional baseball player. Durazo played for the Arizona Diamondbacks (19992002) and the Oakland Athletics (20032005) in Major League Baseball.

Erubiel Durazo
First baseman / Designated hitter
Born: (1974-01-23) January 23, 1974 (age 50)
Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
July 26, 1999, for the Arizona Diamondbacks
Last MLB appearance
May 24, 2005, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average.281
Home runs94
Runs batted in330
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Major league career edit

He helped the Diamondbacks by hitting a 2-out, 2-run home run off Tom Glavine in Game 5 of the 2001 National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves, which proved to be the series-winner, and the Diamondbacks went on to win the 2001 World Series.

On May 17, 2002, in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Durazo went 4-for-5, with three home runs (all of them 2-run shots), including a 3-run double in his final at-bat in the bottom of the 8th inning to give him a total of nine RBI's for the game, and extending Arizona's lead to 12–7.[1] Those three runs Durazo batted in turned out to be more than enough, as the Diamondbacks ended up winning 12–9.[2]

Durazo enjoyed his best season in 2004 when he hit .321 with 22 home runs and 88 RBI with Oakland. However, his career was derailed by injuries. In 2006, the Texas Rangers invited him to spring training, but he did not make the major league club. He split the 2006 season between the Triple A Oklahoma Redhawks of the Rangers organization, the Triple A Columbus Clippers of the New York Yankees organization, and the Triple A Rochester Red Wings of the Minnesota Twins organization.

Durazo was invited to 2007 spring training by the Oakland Athletics, where he played well, but was released before the start of the season. He joined Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League. On July 17, 2007, Durazo signed a minor league contract with the Yankees, playing in 29 games for their Triple-A team. Durazo became a free agent at the end of the season. He currently resides in Chandler, Arizona with his wife Martha and their daughter Mariana Durazo.

In 624 games over seven seasons, Durazo posted a .281 batting average (547-for-1948) with 333 runs, 108 doubles, 6 triples, 94 home runs, 330 RBI, 307 bases on balls, .381 on-base percentage and .487 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .988 fielding percentage playing at first base and several games at right field. In 16 postseason games, he hit .234 (11-for-47) with 5 runs, 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 7 RBI and 8 walks.

Career in Mexican Pacific League edit

Durazo has been playing in Mexico for the Naranjeros de Hermosillo since the 19971998 season in which he was the rookie of the year. For the 2009–2010 Mexican Pacific League season he was sent to Águilas de Mexicali, but later that same season he was sent on loan to Yaquis de Obregón.

On December 2, 2018, the Naranjeros retired Durazo's 44 number.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ "PHI@ARI: Durazo hits three homers, collects nine RBIs". youtube.com. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  2. ^ "Philadelphia Phillies vs Arizona Diamondbacks Box Score: May 17, 2002". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  3. ^ Soria, Oscar (3 December 2018). "Naranjeros honor Durazo by retiring No. 44". MLB.com. Retrieved 6 June 2023.

External links edit