Julio Segundo Machado Rondón (December 1, 1965 in San Carlos del Zulia

San Carlos del Zulia

San Carlos del Zulia is the capital of Colón Municipality, located in Zulia State, Venezuela. Founded on March 14, 1778, by Captain Nicolás José Antúnez Pacheco y de la Cruz y Velasco, alderman of the city of Maracaibo, accompanied by lieutenant Ramón Hernández de la Calle, in charge of the...

, Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

) 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...

 right-handed relief pitcher

Relief pitcher

A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...

 who played for the New York Mets

New York Mets

The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

 (1989–90) and Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 (1990–91).

Machado started his career with the Mets. In the season, he went to the Brewers in a four-player deal, along with pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 Kevin Brown, in exchange for catcher

Catcher

Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...

 Charlie O'Brien

Charlie O'Brien

Charles Hugh O'Brien is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played for the Oakland Athletics , Milwaukee Brewers , New York Mets , Atlanta Braves , Toronto Blue Jays , Chicago White Sox , Anaheim Angels and Montreal Expos .While growing up in Tulsa, O'Brien attended and graduated...

 and a minor league

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 player.

Machado had a decent fastball

Fastball

The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–106 mph and up to 108.1 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...

, good control and willingness to challenge hitters. He also pitched a better-than-average curveball

Curveball

The curveball is a type of pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball causing it to dive in a downward path as it approaches the plate. Its close relatives are the slider and the slurve. The "curve" of the ball varies from pitcher to...

 and a slider

Slider

In baseball, a slider is a pitch that breaks laterally and down, with a speed between that of a curveball and that of a fastball....

. Machado was certainly good enough to pitch for a few more years. However, he is a footnote in the ledger of baseball history. Spending the 1991 off-season in his homeland, Machado was arrested for murder being accused of shooting a woman following an auto accident. He was convicted and, following appeals, Machado was sentenced to 12 years in 1996.

In a three-year career, Machado posted a 7-5 record with 151 strikeout

Strikeout

In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

s and a 3.12 ERA

Earned run average

In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

 in 147 innings

Innings pitched

In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...

.

Machado went on to play in the Venezuelan winter league and currently coaches in that league.

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