Robert Lazaro Andino (born April 25, 1984) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Florida/Miami Marlins, and Seattle Mariners.
| Robert Andino | |
|---|---|
 Andino with the New Orleans Zephyrs in 2016 | |
| Infielder | |
| Born: April 25, 1984 Miami, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 4, 2005, for the Florida Marlins | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 10, 2016, for the Miami Marlins | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .233 |
| Home runs | 18 |
| Runs batted in | 97 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
Baseball career
editFlorida Marlins
editAndino was selected in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2002 MLB draft by the Florida Marlins out of Miami Southridge High School.[1][2]
He was promoted to the Marlins for the first time on September 2, 2005.[3] He made his major-league debut two days later, when he replaced Álex González at shortstop in the eighth inning of a 7–1 loss to the New York Mets at Dolphins Stadium. His only at bat was a groundout to shortstop José Reyes to end the game.[4] His first hit in the majors was a ground-rule double off Vicente Padilla in the fourth inning of a 10–2 defeat at home to the Philadelphia Phillies on September 17.[5] The Marlins initially saw him as their "shortstop of the future", but other players, including Hanley Ramírez, knocked him out of that role.
On April 1, 2008, Andino hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning off New York Mets reliever Matt Wise for his first career home run.[6]
Baltimore Orioles
edit
In an exchange of players out of minor league options, Andino was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Hayden Penn on April 1, 2009.[7] He made his first appearance for the Orioles on April 9, 2009, pinch-hitting for César Izturis.
He made a barehanded catch of a Justin Morneau pop fly in foul territory during the sixth inning of a 6–1 win over the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on August 24, 2011. He had slightly overrun the ball while approaching the tarpaulin roll parked against the fence on the third-base side.[8]
During the last two weeks of the 2011 campaign, Andino had three clutch hits that helped prevent the Boston Red Sox from clinching the American League Wild Card. The first was a two-out bases-clearing double down the right-field line off Jonathan Papelbon in the eighth inning of a 7–5 win at Fenway Park on September 20.[9] Six nights later, on September 26, he became the first Oriole to achieve an inside-the-park home run at Camden Yards with a three-run shot off Josh Beckett in the sixth inning of a 6–3 triumph. With runners on second and third and two outs, he sent the ball to deep straightaway center field where it initially landed in Jacoby Ellsbury's glove. It was jarred loose when Ellsbury collided with the fence. Andino was able to score standing up when the relay throw skipped past Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.[10] The feat was witnessed by his father, Robert Sr., who was attending a professional game involving his son for the first time.[11] Andino struck against Papelbon again with a two-out game-winning single to left field in the ninth inning of the regular-season-ending 4–3 victory at home on September 28.[12] This walk-off hit ultimately resulted in the Red Sox losing a spot in the playoffs, as mere minutes later the Tampa Bay Rays won on a walk-off home run by Evan Longoria against the New York Yankees, to clinch the playoff spot the Red Sox previously held. His clutch performances were dubbed by the Boston sports media as "The Curse of the Andino", an obvious pun on the Curse of the Bambino.[13]
On September 7, 2012, Andino hit his career-high seventh home run of the season against New York Yankees pitcher Cody Eppley.
Seattle Mariners
editAndino was traded to the Seattle Mariners for Trayvon Robinson on November 20, 2012.[14] On May 24, 2013, he was designated for assignment to make room for catcher Jesús Sucre. He was outrighted to the Tacoma Rainiers on May 27.[15]
Pittsburgh Pirates
editOn July 31, 2013, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later or cash.[15] He was assigned to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, where he finished the season.
On January 7, 2014, the Pirates signed Andino to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training.[16] He did not make the team and spent the season with the Triple–A Indianapolis Indians, becoming a free agent at the season's end.
Somerset Patriots
editOn March 31, 2015, Andino signed with the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, where he spent the 2015 season.[17] In 123 games he hit .248/.302/.339 with 4 home runs, 56 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.
Miami Marlins
editOn December 28, 2015, Andino signed a minor league contract with the Miami Marlins.[18] He had his contract selected by the Marlins on August 14, 2016.[19] He appeared in 13 games for the Marlins, and amassed a .292 batting average with one RBI. Andino was designated for assignment by Miami following the acquisition of Odrisamer Despaigne on September 15.[20]
Baltimore Orioles (second stint)
editOn February 6, 2017, Andino signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles organization. On May 31, Andino was suspended for 50 games for testing positive for Adderall.[21] In 49 games for the Triple–A Norfolk Tides, Andino hit .234/.282/.375 with 6 home runs and 23 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 6.[22]
References
edit- ^ 2002 Major League Baseball draft, Rounds 1–10 – Pro Sports Transactions.
- ^ Rodriguez, Juan C. "Marlins Call Up Andino From Double-A", Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), Saturday, September 3, 2005
- ^ "Marlins reinstate Josh Willingham from DL; Select Robert Andino"[dead link], Florida Marlins press release, Friday, September 2, 2005
- ^ Mack, Charlie. "Marlins fall short of sweep"[dead link], MLB.com, Sunday, September 4, 2005
- ^ Robert Andino (2005 batting gamelogs) Baseball-Reference.com
- ^ Andino delivers walk-off win
- ^ Manuel, John. "Marlins, Orioles Swap Option-less Players," Baseball America, Wednesday, April 1, 2009.
- ^ Schelling, Jordan. "Andino's hands-on grab highlights victory", MLB.com, Thursday, August 25, 2011
- ^ Connolly, Dan. "Andino lifts Orioles to 7-5 win over Red Sox," The Baltimore Sun, Wednesday, September 21, 2011.
- ^ Kubatko, Roch. "Andino with inside-the-park home run," School of Roch (Mid-Atlantic Sports Network Orioles blog), Monday, September 26, 2011.
- ^ Palmer, Matt. "Showalter is a manager's manager", CSNBaltimore.com, Tuesday, September 27, 2011
- ^ Connolly, Dan. "Orioles complete Red Sox's collapse with walk-off win in season finale," The Baltimore Sun, Thursday, September 29, 2011.
- ^ Ghiroli, Brittany. "Talent helps Andino rise past tough history", MLB.com, Tuesday, April 3, 2012
- ^ Encina, Eduardo A. "Orioles trade second baseman Robert Andino to Mariners for outfielder Trayvon Robinson," The Baltimore Sun, Tuesday, November 20, 2012.
- ^ a b "Mariners trade Triple-A infielder Robert Andino to Pittsburgh Pirates organization for a player to be named later". Seattle Mariners. July 31, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
- ^ Adams, Steve (January 7, 2014). "Pirates Sign Robert Andino". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
- ^ "Somerset Patriots Add MLB Infielders Mat Gamel And Robert Andino". franklinreporter.com. March 31, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ "Minor MLB Transactions: 12/28/15". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
- ^ "Marlins' Robert Andino: Called up by the Marlins". CBS Sports. August 14, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
- ^ "Marlins Designate Robert Andino For Assignment". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ Adams, Steve (February 6, 2017). "Minor MLB Transactions: 2/6/17". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
- ^ "Minor League Free Agents 2017". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
External links
edit
- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)