Fernando Seguignol
Encyclopedia
Fernando Alfredo Seguignol (born January 19, 1975 in Bocas Del Toro
, Panama
) is a Major League Baseball
first baseman
and outfielder
who is currently a free agent. In 2010 he played for the Orix Buffaloes
in the Japanese Pacific League
, where he had previously played in 2002, After playing for the Newark Bears
. He has also played in Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
in the same league. Seguignol is a switch hitter
.
at the age of 18. He spent several years in the minors before making his major league debut in with the Montreal Expos
after being traded by the Yankees on April 5, 1995 along with cash, for John Wetteland
. He played a career high 76 games in with the Expos, hitting
.278 with 10 home run
s and 22 RBI
playing in the outfield
. He was released by the Expos in , and signed with the Orix BlueWave
of the Japanese Pacific League in . He made appearances as a first baseman and designated hitter with the BlueWave, and hit home runs from both sides of the plate two games in a row, from June 5 to June 6 (first player in Japanese baseball history). However, he was inconsistent overall, ending the season with a .204 batting average. He was released at the end of the season, and returned to the major leagues after signing with the New York Yankees.
He spent most of with the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate Columbus Clippers
, and led the league in home runs and RBI (he played in 5 major league games that year with the Yankees). He was scouted by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
, and traveled to Japan
for the second time in . He hit well over .400 in his first month, and ended the year hitting .306 with 44 home runs and 108 RBI, tying Nobuhiko Matsunaka
for the most home runs in the league to win the Best Nine Award
at designated hitter. He remained with the Fighters until , and had continued success, leading the league in doubles
in to win a second Best Nine Award. He is regarded as the best switch-hitter ever to play in Japan, along with Orestes Destrade
. The coach who recommended Seguignol try switch-hitting was former Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters manager Trey Hillman
, who managed Seguignol in the Yankees minor league organization.
Seguignol currently holds the Japanese season record for home runs among switch-hitters (44), and has homered from both sides of the plate in 8 games in Japan (the Japanese all-time record). He has also homered against 13 different Japanese teams; the only other player to have done this is Julio Zuleta
.
In , he played for Olmecas de Tabasco
in Liga Mexicana de Beisbol
before signing with the Detroit Tigers
on June 12, 2008; he was released by the Tigers on July 21. But about a week after his release, he was acquired by the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
. He hit 13 home runs in 39 games (157 at-bats), with a .324 batting average and 40 RBI in that season. He was chosen on the 1st round roster for Panama team playing in 2009 World Baseball Classic.
Seguignol is married and has two children, Kendall and Jabarri. He lives in Wellington, Florida
.
Bocas del Toro Province
Bocas del Toro is a province of Panama. Its extension is 4,643.9 square kilometers comprising the mainland and nine main islands. The province consists of the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Bahía Almirante , Laguna de Chiriquí , and adjacent mainland. The capital is the city of Bocas del Toro on Isla...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
) is a Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
and outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
who is currently a free agent. In 2010 he played for the Orix Buffaloes
Orix Buffaloes
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Osaka and Kobe, Japan. They play in the Pacific League. The team is owned by the Orix Group, a leading diversified financial services company based in Tokyo....
in the Japanese Pacific League
Pacific League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series...
, where he had previously played in 2002, After playing for the Newark Bears
Newark Bears
The Newark Bears are an American professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are a member of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Since the 1999 season, the Bears have played their home games at Bears &...
. He has also played in Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Sapporo, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at the Sapporo Dome. The Fighters also host a select number of regional home games in cities across Hokkaidō,...
and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
The is a baseball team founded in 2004; it played its first season in the Japanese Pacific League in 2005. It is simply called Rakuten . The team was created to fill the void left by the merger of the Orix Blue Wave and the Kintetsu Buffaloes, after the 2004 season due to financial difficulties,...
in the same league. Seguignol is a switch hitter
Switch hitter
In baseball, a switch-hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed.-Baseball:Usually, right-handed batters hit better against left-handed pitchers and vice-versa. Most curveballs break away from batters hitting from the same side as the opposing pitcher. Such pitches are often...
.
Biography
Seguignol was signed as an amateur free agent in by the New York YankeesNew York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
at the age of 18. He spent several years in the minors before making his major league debut in with the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
after being traded by the Yankees on April 5, 1995 along with cash, for John Wetteland
John Wetteland
John Karl Wetteland is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who specialized as a closer. During a 12-year career , he pitched for four different teams: the Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers.-Playing career:Wetteland was signed by the Dodgers as their second...
. He played a career high 76 games in with the Expos, hitting
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.278 with 10 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s and 22 RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
playing in the outfield
Outfield
The outfield is a sporting term used in cricket and baseball to refer to the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield...
. He was released by the Expos in , and signed with the Orix BlueWave
Orix Buffaloes
The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Osaka and Kobe, Japan. They play in the Pacific League. The team is owned by the Orix Group, a leading diversified financial services company based in Tokyo....
of the Japanese Pacific League in . He made appearances as a first baseman and designated hitter with the BlueWave, and hit home runs from both sides of the plate two games in a row, from June 5 to June 6 (first player in Japanese baseball history). However, he was inconsistent overall, ending the season with a .204 batting average. He was released at the end of the season, and returned to the major leagues after signing with the New York Yankees.
He spent most of with the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate Columbus Clippers
Columbus Clippers
The Columbus Clippers are a minor league baseball team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The team is owned by the government of Franklin County, Ohio....
, and led the league in home runs and RBI (he played in 5 major league games that year with the Yankees). He was scouted by the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Sapporo, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at the Sapporo Dome. The Fighters also host a select number of regional home games in cities across Hokkaidō,...
, and traveled to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
for the second time in . He hit well over .400 in his first month, and ended the year hitting .306 with 44 home runs and 108 RBI, tying Nobuhiko Matsunaka
Nobuhiko Matsunaka
is a left fielder and designated hitter for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.Matsunaka is the only active hitter in Japanese professional baseball to have ever led the league in all three Triple Crown categories in the same season...
for the most home runs in the league to win the Best Nine Award
Best Nine Award
The Best Nine Award is awarded annually to the best player at each position in both the Central League and Pacific League of Japanese professional baseball as determined by a pool of journalists.-History:...
at designated hitter. He remained with the Fighters until , and had continued success, leading the league in doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
in to win a second Best Nine Award. He is regarded as the best switch-hitter ever to play in Japan, along with Orestes Destrade
Orestes Destrade
Orestes Cucuas Destrade , is a former Major League Baseball infielder.-Biography:Destrade was born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, but emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of six. During his youth, he played Khoury League at Flagami Park in Miami. He graduated from Christopher...
. The coach who recommended Seguignol try switch-hitting was former Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters manager Trey Hillman
Trey Hillman
Thomas Brad "Trey" Hillman is the current bench coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has previously been the manager of both the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan's Pacific League and the Kansas City Royals in the American League.-Playing career:Hillman signed with the Cleveland Indians in...
, who managed Seguignol in the Yankees minor league organization.
Seguignol currently holds the Japanese season record for home runs among switch-hitters (44), and has homered from both sides of the plate in 8 games in Japan (the Japanese all-time record). He has also homered against 13 different Japanese teams; the only other player to have done this is Julio Zuleta
Julio Zuleta
Julio Zuleta Tapia is a professional baseball player, most recently for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan's Pacific League. He graduated from the Colegio Javier in Panama City and speaks five languages: Spanish, Portuguese, French, English and Japanese...
.
In , he played for Olmecas de Tabasco
Olmecas de Tabasco
The Olmecas de Tabasco are a AAA-level baseball team based in Tabasco playing in the Mexican League. Their homefield is the Estadio Centenario 27 de Febrero in Villahermosa.-External links:*...
in Liga Mexicana de Beisbol
Liga Mexicana de Beisbol
The Mexican League is a summer minor league baseball league with teams based across Mexico. Along with the International League and the Pacific Coast League, it is one of three leagues playing at the triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It is the only Minor League...
before signing with the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
on June 12, 2008; he was released by the Tigers on July 21. But about a week after his release, he was acquired by the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
The is a baseball team founded in 2004; it played its first season in the Japanese Pacific League in 2005. It is simply called Rakuten . The team was created to fill the void left by the merger of the Orix Blue Wave and the Kintetsu Buffaloes, after the 2004 season due to financial difficulties,...
. He hit 13 home runs in 39 games (157 at-bats), with a .324 batting average and 40 RBI in that season. He was chosen on the 1st round roster for Panama team playing in 2009 World Baseball Classic.
Seguignol is married and has two children, Kendall and Jabarri. He lives in Wellington, Florida
Wellington, Florida
Wellington is a village in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. As of 2006, the village had a population of 55,584 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Wellington is part of the South Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
.