Odúbel Herrera
Odúbel Herrera | |
---|---|
Zulia, Venezuela | |
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 6, 2015, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
MLB statistics (through July 3, 2022) | |
Batting average | .272 |
Home runs | 78 |
Runs batted in | 302 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
Odúbel David Herrera Jr. (/oʊˈduːbʌl ɛərˈɛərə/ oh-DOO-bull air-RAIR-uh;[1] born December 29, 1991) is a Venezuelan professional baseball center fielder who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Herrera grew up in
Herrera's first three seasons with the Phillies were marked by a strong offensive performance, including an
Early life
Herrera was born in San José de
Professional career
Texas Rangers
The
In 2011, at the age of 19, Herrera served as the second baseman for the
Throughout the 2013 and 2014 seasons, Herrera played predominantly with the Pelicans and with the
Philadelphia Phillies
2015–16
The
During
Despite his breakout rookie season, Herrera was disappointed with his offensive performance, particularly with his impatience at the plate and high strikeout rate. He spent the offseason practicing with his father, and he returned to the Phillies in 2016 with a more measured approach. As a result, Herrera swung at fewer pitches outside the strike zone and began to draw more walks, including a seven-game walk streak in April.[26] Despite Herrera's offensive success, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin was often frustrated with Herrera's lack of defensive speed, culminating in a mid-game benching on May 23, when he failed to run for a ground ball in a game against the Detroit Tigers.[27] After batting .294 for the first half of the season, with 10 home runs and 12 stolen bases, Herrera received his first All-Star Game selection in 2016. He entered as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning, flying out to Ian Desmond of the Rangers.[28] He finished the season batting .286 with 15 home runs, 49 RBIs, 87 runs scored, and 25 stolen bases.[29] In addition to his All-Star selection, Herrera was a finalist for the 2016 National League Gold Glove Award after registering 11 outfield assists and leading the team with 4.2 Wins Above Replacement (WAR).[30] On December 15, 2016, the Phillies signed Herrera to a five-year, $30.5 million contract extension. He was the first player on the Phillies core roster to receive a contract extension beyond the 2017 season.[31]
2017–18
The Phillies struggled in the first stretch of the
Herrera began the
2019–22
During 2019 spring training, Herrera was in competition for an overcrowded outfield. Andrew McCutchen was guaranteed to start in left field, leaving Herrera, Quinn, Nick Williams, and Aaron Altherr to battle for the remaining two positions.[40] Herrera was ultimately named the Phillies' starting center fielder, with Quinn on the injured list, Williams and Altherr on the bench, and new acquisition Bryce Harper in right field.[41] His season was cut short when he was placed on administrative leave on May 28 following a domestic violence arrest in Atlantic City, New Jersey.[42] On July 5, MLB announced that Herrera had violated the MLB Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy, and that he would be suspended for the remainder of the season, retroactive to June 24. His suspension was thus for 85 regular season games, also including any potential postseason games. In the 39 games that Herrera played for the Phillies before his suspension, he batted .222 with one home run and 16 RBIs.[43] With McCutchen recovering from knee surgery, Scott Kingery took over from Herrera as the Phillies' starting center fielder for the remainder of the season.[44]
On January 14, 2020, Herrera was
The Phillies invited Herrera to spring training in 2021, but he was ultimately optioned to an alternate site in Lehigh Valley, allowing Adam Haseley the starting center field job.[50] After Haseley went on personal leave and Mickey Moniak struggled in the major leagues, the Phillies selected Herrera's major league contract on April 26, 2021.[51] He played his first game since the suspension that same day, batting seventh and going 0-for-3 in a 2–1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.[52] He served as the Phillies' leadoff hitter upon his return, but was benched at the start of July for a combination of unproductive batting and tendinitis in his left ankle, the latter of which placed Herrera on the 10-day injured list on July 9.[53] He finished the 2021 season batting .260/.310/.416 with 13 home runs and 51 RBIs in 124 games. At the end of the season, the Phillies bought out the remaining $11.5 million of Herrera's contract, giving him $2.5 million instead. However, Philadelphia still retained arbitration control of Herrera.[54] He was outrighted off the 40-man roster two days later and elected free agency.[55]
On March 16, 2022, the Phillies re-signed Herrera to a one-year contract.[56] He suffered an oblique strain during the Phillies' abbreviated spring training that caused him to miss the beginning of the 2022 MLB season.[57] On August 2, 2022, Herrera was designated for assignment after batting .238/.279/.378 with 5 home runs in 62 games, and having the slowest sprint speed of all major league center fielders, at 26.9 feet/second.[58] He cleared waivers and was released outright on August 6.[59]
Kansas City Monarchs
On June 21, 2023, Herrera signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Association of Professional Baseball.[60] After the 2023 season, he became a free agent.
Player profile
Herrera captured the Phillies' attention early in his major league career for his plate discipline, selectively swinging at pitches both early and late in an appearance and displaying solid judgment. Pete Mackanin called Herrera a "perennial .300" batter in 2016, praising his pitch selection abilities.[61] Herrera developed his plate discipline during the 2015–16 MLB offseason, as he was disappointed at his high strikeout numbers as a rookie. Herrera, a left-handed batter, takes a wide stance at the plate and angles his right leg towards first base, a technique that he developed when Venezuelan pitchers would pitch inside.[62] That discipline in batting has not consistently translated to baserunning, and Herrera has been criticized by Phillies management for ignoring coaches' signals and not hustling to beat out throws.[34]
Herrera is known for his extensive bat flipping, doing so every time he gets a hit, takes a walk, or grounds out to second base. In 2017, a Twitter account called "Odubel's Bat Flips" began counting every instance in which he flipped his bat after a plate appearance.[63] The practice has been mocked by members of opposing teams, such as one instance in which Herrera flipped his bat for what ended up being a fly out to center field against the Astros.[64] In addition to bat flipping, after making what he considers to be an impressive hit, Herrera will tap his hands against his helmet while making a gesture that mimics a pair of bull horns, a reference to his "El Torito" nickname. He developed these celebratory gestures while playing in Venezuela, where the practice is much more common.[65]
Personal life
Herrera has two daughters, Ana Paula and Danna Victoria.[66]
When he first joined the Phillies, Herrera, a native Spanish speaker, had limited experience with English, and he learned the language by listening to and practicing conversations with teammates. As the Phillies lacked a full-time Spanish-English interpreter in 2015, Herrera would use bilingual teammates like
Domestic Violence Suspension
On May 27, 2019, following reports of a domestic violence incident at the
The Phillies' decision to allow Herrera to play with the team again during the 2021 season was met with a mixed response from Phillies fans and players. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski consulted with domestic violence organizations before agreeing to select Herrera's contract. Although the Phillies were not explicitly permitted to impose additional penalties on Herrera beyond the 85-game suspension placed by MLB, concerns with his performance and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic both kept Herrera from playing with the Phillies organization until spring training in 2021.[73] Speaking to reporters in March 2021, Herrera apologized for the incident and acknowledged that he may not be universally forgiven. He also planned on speaking to every member of the Phillies clubhouse individually to address their concerns over the incident.[74] First baseman and Phillies union representative Rhys Hoskins told reporters that "it's on [Herrera] to try to gain the trust of the organization back",[75] while pitcher Aaron Nola said that he "believe[s] in second chances" and that he believed his teammates would be just as accepting.[76]
See also
References
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External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Odúbel Herrera at Baseball Almanac
- Odúbel Herrera at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League)
- Odúbel Herrera on Instagram