Hiram Bocachica
Encyclopedia
Hiram Gabriel Bocachica Colon (born March 4, 1976 in Ponce, Puerto Rico
) is a former Major League Baseball
outfielder
. He is 5'11" and weighs around 195 pounds.
in the 1st round (21st overall) of the 1994 Major League Baseball Draft
and played for the Detroit Tigers
, Los Angeles Dodgers
, and Seattle Mariners
before being released in and scooped up by Oakland
from free agency
.
Bocachica impressed scouts with his amazing spring training
performance of , and would have been on the MLB roster for that season, had he not suffered from a bone growth in his right hand. He was claimed off waivers by the San Diego Padres
on May 31, . He became a free agent at the end of the season.
, which the team won.
Immediately upon arriving in New York Hiram was called by a friend who was coaching in Mexico. He briefly played with the Broncos de Reynosa in Mexico, but he is now back with Bridgeport.
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
) is a former 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...
outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
. He is 5'11" and weighs around 195 pounds.
Major league career
He was drafted by the Montreal ExposMontreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
in the 1st round (21st overall) of the 1994 Major League Baseball Draft
1994 Major League Baseball Draft
-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft.-Compensation picks:-Other notable players:*A.J. Pierzynski , Minnesota Twins, 3rd round*Bobby Howry , San Francisco Giants, 5th round...
and played for the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
, Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
, and Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
before being released in and scooped up by Oakland
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
from free agency
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
.
Bocachica impressed scouts with his amazing spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
performance of , and would have been on the MLB roster for that season, had he not suffered from a bone growth in his right hand. He was claimed off waivers by the San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
on May 31, . He became a free agent at the end of the season.
Nippon Professional Baseball
Bocachica signed with the Saitama Seibu Lions on December 3, 2007. Despite playing only 78 games during the season, he hit 20 home runs, including one in the seventh game of the Japan SeriesJapan Series
, or is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a seven-game series between the winning clubs of the league's two circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League....
, which the team won.
Atlantic League
On April 12, 2010, Bocachica, along with fellow MLB alums Brian Barton and Tike Redman, was signed by the Bridgeport Bluefish for the 2010 season.Immediately upon arriving in New York Hiram was called by a friend who was coaching in Mexico. He briefly played with the Broncos de Reynosa in Mexico, but he is now back with Bridgeport.