Miguel Fuentes
Encyclopedia
Miguel Fuentes (footballer)
Miguel de Jesús Fuentes Razo is a retired professional footballer from Mexico, who played as a goalkeeper during his career. He was a member of the Mexico national football team competing at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.He is currently the head coach of Celaya in the Liga de...
Miguel Fuentes Pinet (May 10, 1946 – January 29, 1970) was a Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
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...
. Fuentes was signed to his first professional contract in 1969 with the Seattle Pilots
Seattle Pilots
The Seattle Pilots were an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington for one season, . The Pilots played home games at Sick's Stadium and were a member of the West Division of Major League Baseball's American League...
. He went on to pitch in eight games for the club at the Major League level after strong performances in the minor leagues
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
. During the off-season, he was murdered in a bar fight at the age of 23.
Early life and early career
Fuentes was born in Loíza, Puerto RicoLoíza, Puerto Rico
Loíza is a small town and municipality in the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico, north of Canóvanas; east of Carolina; and west of Río Grande. Loíza is spread over 5 wards and Loíza Pueblo...
in the barrio
Barrio
Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...
of Loíza Aldea. He starred as an amateur baseball player and, in 1968, helped lead his amateur team to a Puerto Rican championship. He was discovered by scout
Scout (sport)
In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...
Felix Delgado, who went on to sign Fuentes to his first professional contract.
Career with the Pilots organization
Fuentes was initially assigned to the Clinton Pilots, a Class A team in the Midwest LeagueMidwest League
The Midwest League is a Class-A minor league baseball league which operates in the Midwestern United States.-History:Six teams – the Belleville Stags, the Centralia Cubs, the Marion Indians, the Mattoon Indians or East Frankfort White Sox, the Mount Vernon Braves, and the West Frankfort...
. He recorded an 8-2 record in 26 appearances and his earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
of 1.46 was the lowest in the league for pitchers with 40 or more innings pitched. For his efforts, Fuentes was called to the Seattle Pilots' Major League roster in September 1969.
He made his Major League debut on the first of September, striking out two in an inning of work against the New York Yankees
New 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...
. After a second relief appearance, Fuentes was given his first Major League start; he responded by throwing a complete game against the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
, giving up one run on seven hits.
He made three other starts with the Pilots, with a relief appearance in between his second and third starts; in those other three starts he was credited with the loss. Fuentes ended his Major League year with a relief appearance in Seattle's final game, where he threw the team's last pitches of the season.
During his lone year in baseball, Fuentes compiled 1 win
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...
, 14 strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
s, and a 5.19 earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
.
End of baseball career and death
During the Major League Baseball off-season in the winter of 1969 and 1970, Fuentes played in the Puerto Rican Winter League with the Caguas Criollos.A few days after the Criollos' season ended in the league's playoffs, on January 29, Fuentes was shot three times at a bar in Loíza Aldea. Fuentes was sent to a hospital in a state of shock and died of his wounds shortly thereafter.
Fuentes was regarded as a top prospect in the Pilots organization at the time of his death. Because of the Pilots' move to Milwaukee in 1970 to become the Brewers, Fuentes holds the distinction of throwing the final pitches in the history of the Seattle Pilots.
He appears in the 1970 set of Topps baseball cards as a Seattle Pilot, as the Topps cards were already in production (and the Seattle franchise had not yet announced their move to Milwaukee) at the time of Fuentes' death.