Ugueth Urbina

Ugueth Urtaín Urbina Villarreal (/uːˈɡɛt ʊərˈbiːnə/; born February 15, 1974) is a Venezuelan former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. A two-time All-Star, Urbina led the National League in saves with 41 in the 1999 season and helped the Florida Marlins win the 2003 World Series. He is the only player in major league history with the initials "UU" or "UUU".^[1]

Playing career

In 11 major league seasons, Urbina compiled a 44–49 record with 237 saves, 814 strikeouts, and a 3.45 ERA. He played with the Montreal Expos (1995–2001), Boston Red Sox (2001–2002), Texas Rangers (2003), Florida Marlins (2003), Detroit Tigers (2004–2005), and Philadelphia Phillies (2005).

Montreal Expos (1995–2001)

Urbina started his career as a middle reliever with the Montreal Expos, where he pitched for six seasons and was an All-Star once, in 1998.

As a 21-year-old in 1995, Urbina made seven pitching appearances, starting four, and went 2–2 with a 6.17 ERA. In 1996 he established himself on Montreal's pitching staff, as he hurled 33 games, including 17 starts and a career-high 114 innings, and posted a 10–5 record with a 3.71 ERA. His career as a closer began In 1997, when he collected 27 saves with a 3.71 ERA and a 5-8 record in 63 relief appearances.

Urbina improved in 1998, going 6-3 with 34 saves and a 1.30 ERA in 64 games. In 1999 he topped the National League with 41 saves, while notching a 6-6 record and a 3.69 ERA in 71 contests.

On April 4, 2000, Urbina struck out three batters on nine pitches to tie a Major League record.^[2] Nevertheless, he was limited to 13 appearances and ended the year with a 0-1 mark, eight saves and a huge 4.05 ERA.

Urbina started the 2001 season well, going 2-1 with a 4.24 ERA while notching 15 saves in 45 games before being traded to the Boston Red Sox on July 31.

Boston Red Sox (2001–2002)

Urbina was headed to the Red Sox in the same transaction that sent Tomo Ohka and Rich Rundles to Montreal. Urbina appeared in 19 games with Boston, saving nine and compiling a 0-1 record with a 2.25 ERA. Overall, he went 2-2 with 24 saves and a 3.65 ERA in 64 relief opportunities.

Urbina earned his second All-Star berth in 2002, when he went 1-6 with 40 saves and a 3.00 ERA in 61 games.

Texas Rangers (2003)

Urbina signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers on December 23, 2002. He went 0-4 with 26 saves and a 4.19 ERA in 39 games for the Rangers in 2003 before being traded during the midseason.

Florida Marlins (2003)

On July 11, 2003, Urbina was traded by Texas to the Florida Marlins in exchange for Adrian Gonzalez, Ryan Snare, and a minor leaguer. For the remainder of the season, Urbina served as a setup man for Marlins closer Braden Looper, going 3-0 with six saves and a 1.41 ERA in 33 games. He posted a combined record of 3-4 with 32 saves and a 2.81 ERA in 54 appearances during the 2003 season.

Urbina finished his short stint with the Marlins by helping them win the 2003 World Series title, while defeating the New York Yankees in six games. During his only postseason in the majors, he went 1-0 along with four saves and a 3.46 ERA in 10 games.

Detroit Tigers (2004–2005)

Urbina signed a two-year contract with the Detroit Tigers on March 29, 2004. That marked his last year where he was closer for at least part of the season. In 54 games, he went 4-6 with 21 saves and a 4.50 ERA. He began the 2005 season in good form, collecting a 1-3 record with a 2.63 ERA while contributing with nine saves, but then found himself on the move again for the third time in his career.

Philadelphia Phillies (2005)

On June 8, 2005, the Tigers traded Urbina along with infielder Ramón Martínez to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for second baseman Plácido Polanco.

Urbina went 4-6 a 4.13 ERA and just one save in 56 games. Overall, he posted a 5-6 record with 10 saves and a 3.62 ERA in a career-high 81 games.

He made his last Major League appearance on October 2, 2005, during a 9–3 Phillies victory over the Washington Nationals at RFK Stadium.^[3]

Pitching attributes

Urbina's pitches included a moving fastball and a slider that enabled him to hold left-handed hitters in check. He also threw a changeup which tailed away from right-handers and a splitter that broke sharply.^[4]

Mother's kidnapping

In September 2004, Urbina's 54-year-old mother, Maura Villarreal, was kidnapped and held for a $6 million ransom in southwest Venezuela. Urbina's family refused to pay the ransom and an anti-kidnapping unit rescued her in a military-style operation on February 18, 2005.^[5]

Attempted murder conviction

On November 7, 2005, Urbina was arrested by Venezuelan authorities on a charge of attempted murder for an incident that occurred a few weeks previous, on October 16.^[6] Urbina attacked five farm workers on his property whom he had accused of stealing a gun. The pitcher tried to injure the men with a machete and also attempted to pour gasoline on them.^[7] On March 28, 2007, Urbina was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to fourteen years and seven months in prison.^[8] He was released, however, on December 24, 2012, after serving just over seven years of his sentence.^[9]

Family

Urbina has a son Juan who pitched in the Mets organization never making it past single A short season for the Brooklyn Cyclones.^[10]

See also

• List of Major League Baseball annual saves leaders
• List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Chronology Baseball Library
• Retrosheet
• The Baseball Gauge
• Venezuela Winter League