MLB Chicago Cubs #12 Alfonso Soriano | Great Jersey

MLB Chicago Cubs #12 Alfonso Soriano Profile Alfonso Guilleard Alfonso Soriano (born January 7, 1976 in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Chicago Cubs. He previously played for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers and Washington Nationals. He played primarily as a second baseman for the Yankees and Rangers. He bats right-handed, and has batted as a lead-off hitter for most of his career. Professional career 1997: Japan Alfonso Soriano began his professional baseball career in Japan with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, training at their Carp Academy for Dominican players. In 1997, he was promoted to the varsity team, and, wearing uniform number 74, he appeared in nine games, batting .118 (2 for 17) with two walks. 1998–2003: New York Yankees Alfonso Soriano signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees in 1998,starting his career as an infield player, and played in New York for five seasons. His first hit in the MLB came in 1999 when he hit a game-winning home run against Norm Charlton of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He finished in third place for Rookie of the Year honors in 2001. In the World Series that year, he hit the would-be game and series winning home run <a href="http://www.hockeynhljersey.com/nfl-jerseys-c-256.html"><strong>nfl wholesale jerseys</strong></a> off of Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Curt Schilling, but was denied the series winning run when Luis Gonzalez hit his famous series-winning bloop single on a cut fastball by closer Mariano Rivera. 2004–05: Texas Rangers In 2004, the Yankees traded Alfonso Soriano to the Texas Rangers along with minor leaguer Joaquin árias for Alex Rodriguez and cash amounting to 67 million of the 179 million remaining on RodrÃ*guez’s contract. 2006: Washington Nationals On December 7, 2005, Alfonso Soriano was traded to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Brad Wilkerson, Terrmel Sledge, and minor league pitcher Armando Galarraga. On February 10, 2006, Alfonso Soriano set a record for the highest salary ever awarded in arbitration, receiving 10 million, even though he lost his request of 12 million. The previous high had been set in 2001 by Andruw Jones of the Atlanta Braves when he earned 8.2 million. The Nationals offered Alfonso Soriano a five-year, 50-million extension, but Alfonso Soriano rejected the offer. Possible trade As the trading deadline of July 31 approached, <a href="http://www.hockeynhljersey.com/jerseys-barcelona-jerseys-c-486_508.html"><strong>cheap barca jersey</strong></a> the Nationals were in a dilemma. On one hand, Alfonso Soriano had initially expressed his distaste for playing left field, and he was in the last year of his contract, which would grant him free agency at the end of the season. If the Nationals lost Alfonso Soriano at the end of the season, they would receive a first or second round draft pick and a “sandwich” pick in between the first and second round as compensation. Further, Alfonso Soriano did not want to engage in contract negotiations during the season. On the other hand, as the deadline approached, Alfonso Soriano expressed his enjoyment with left field, and his strong desire to stay with the team. Chicago Cubs 2007 The Chicago Cubs signed Alfonso Soriano to an eight-year contract worth nearly 136 million. The contract marked the most expensive deal in the Cubs’ franchise history and goes through 2014.It contains a no-trade clause, meaning Alfonso Soriano cannot be traded without his consent. The Cubs’ manager, Lou Piniella, assigned Alfonso Soriano to play center field,but later moved him to left field after he sustained a hamstring injury. He struggled during the first month of the season, during which he posted a .270 batting average, with no home runs. He managed to hit his first home run during the Cubs’ first game in May, and gradually increased his batting average throughout the month. 2008 During the first few weeks of the 2008 season with the Cubs, Alfonso <a href="http://www.hockeynhljersey.com/nfl-jerseys-tennessee-titans-c-256_336.html"><strong>tennessee titans jerseys</strong></a> Soriano struggled. He was only hitting .190 at the time he was put on the DL with a bad leg. After being activated, Alfonso Soriano got off to a quick start, raising his average to .280 and increasing his home run total. In a one week stretch in May, he hit 7 home runs in just 6 games, hitting nearly <a href="http://jamianhudson.com/displayimage.php?pos=-144"><strong>Cheap Boston Red Sox Women's Navy Tri-Blend Tunic Length T-Shirt ...</strong></a> .500 during that stretch. At the end of May he had 12 home runs and 33 RBIs. However, his defense was extremely poor, and after being placed on the DL early in the season, Alfonso Soriano was encouraged to stop hopping as he caught fly balls.[citation needed]This seemed to affect his play in the field as he misjudged two balls in St. Louis on May 2, shortly after being activated. After being severely booed by Cub fans who had traveled to St. Louis in that particular game,[citation needed] he homered in the ninth to send the game to extra innings. Later that month, he lost a ball in the sun and dropped what would have been the game’s final out in the 9th inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates, allowing Jason Bay to reach safely and eventually costing the Cubs a win. 2010 After a poor season in 2009, Alfonso Soriano was placed permanently in the 6th spot in the Cubs lineup, where he rebounded nicely, by playing in the most games in a season for the Cubs at 147 games, he also collected 40 doubles, and 79 RBIs. On June 11, 2010, Alfonso Soriano hit his 300th home run off of Jake Peavy. Related posts:MLB Chicago Cubs #12 Alfonso Soriano MLB Chicago Cubs #24 Marlon Byrd MLB Chicago Cubs #22 Carlos Pena MLB Chicago Cubs #1 Kosuke Fukudome MLB Chicago Cubs #1 Kosuke Fukudome