José Núñez Jiménez is a former 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...

 pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

. He was signed by the Kansas City Royals

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...

 as a free agent

Free agent

In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

 in and pitched in Major League Baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

 (-) and Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

 . Núñez is currently a pitching coach

Coach (baseball)

In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...

 in the Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 minor league system.

After leaving the major leagues, Núñez enjoyed a long and prosperous career in Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, playing for the Uni-President Lions

Uni-President Lions

The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions are a professional baseball team based in Tainan City, Taiwan. The organization is named after the Uni-President Corporation, one of Taiwan's largest conglomerate whose sub-company Uni-President Baseball Team Company oversees operations of the team...

 (-), Fukuoka Daiei Hawks

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

The are a Japanese baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. The team was bought on January 28, 2005 by the SoftBank Corporation.The team was formerly known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. In 1988, Daiei bought the team from Osaka's Nankai Electric Railway Co., and its headquarters were...

 (-), Taichung Agan

Taichung Agan

The Taichung Agan , literally the Taichung Robots was a Taiwanese professional baseball team belonging to the Taiwan Major League . It was based in Taichung and took the Taichung Baseball Field as its home throughout its history...

  and Hanwha Eagles . He shares the Taiwanese professional baseball record of winning

Win (baseball)

In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...

 the most games in a single season (22 wins in 1993), along with Chen Yi-Hsin.

1988 Spring Training At-Bat

Núñez recorded one of his first at-bats during a 1988 spring training game against the Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

. Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

 recounted the at bat as follows:

Jose Nunez, a righthanded pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays who had never batted in the pros before, stepped in against the Phillies' Kevin Gross

Kevin Gross

Kevin Frank Gross , is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1983 through 1997.Gross played for five different teams during his career: the Philadelphia Phillies , Montreal Expos , Los Angeles Dodgers , Texas Rangers , and Anaheim Angels...

 in an exhibition game in Clearwater, Fla. Before Gross could throw a pitch, the third base ump motioned for Nunez to take off his warmup jacket. Then Nunez returned to the lefthanded-batter's box and was told by plate ump Dave Pallone

Dave Pallone

David Michael Pallone is a former Major League Baseball umpire who worked in the National League from to . During Pallone's career, he wore uniform number 26.-Umpiring career:...

 that he was wearing a righty's helmet—the earflap covered his left ear rather than his right, which faced the pitcher. So Nunez turned the helmet around on his head and wore it catcher-style. No, no, said Pallone, get a lefty's helmet. No, no, said Nunez, who moved across the plate to bat righthanded.
When Gross began his delivery he saw Nunez bent over the plate, looking back into catcher Lance Parrish

Lance Parrish

Lance Michael Parrish, aka "Big Wheel", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Detroit Tigers , Philadelphia Phillies , California Angels , Seattle Mariners , Cleveland Indians , Pittsburgh Pirates , and the Toronto Blue Jays...

's glove.
"What are you doing?" asked Parrish.
"I want to see the signs," said Nunez.
"O.K., what pitch do you want?"
"Fastball."
A fastball it was, and Nunez lined it foul. He turned to Parrish and said, "Could you make that a changeup instead?"
At that, Pallone doubled over in laughter, and Gross needed a few minutes to compose himself. Finally, on a 2-2 count, Nunez grounded out to short.

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