Ugueth Urbina - Definition and Overview

Ugueth Urtaín Urbina Villarreal (born February 15, 1974 in Caracas, Venezuela), best known as Ugueth Urbina (oo-GET oor-BE-nah), is a Major League Baseball right-handed closer who plays for the Detroit Tigers (2004-present). Previously, he played with the Montreal Expos (1995-2001), Boston Red Sox (2001-02), Texas Rangers (2003) and Florida Marlins (2003).

Urbina comes straight at the hitter with a moving 93 MPH fastball and a wicked slider that enables him to hold left-handed hitters in check. He also throws a changeup which tails away from righthanders and a splitter that break sharply. Sometimes he is spending too much energy on intimidating the batters and overthrowing his fastball. After him works the count, a hitter's chance fade. When he misses the plate, Urbina tends to miss low.

In the 2003 post-season against the Giants (NLDS), Cubs (NLCS) and Yankees (WS), Urbina went 1-0 with 14 strikeouts, four saves, and a 3.46 ERA in 13 innings. A twice All-Star, he led the National League in saves (41) in the 1999 season.

In a 10-year career, Urbina has compiled a 39-43 record with 717 strikeouts, 227 saves, and a 3.42 ERA in 617 innings.

Fact

• Urbina was forced to leave his closer duties with the Detroit Tigers when his mother was kidnapped in his native Venezuela. He did not play the rest of the 2004 season, but nevertheless, the Tigers picked up his contract extension for the 2005 season.

See also

• Players from Venezuela in MLB

External links

• Ugueth Urbina at:
  • Baseball Reference (career statistics and analysis) (http://www.baseball-reference.com/u/urbinug01.shtml)
  • ESPN (profile and daily update) (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5385)