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Rafael Soriano
Rafael Soriano (born December 19, 1979) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, and Chicago Cubs.
Soriano was an All-Star in 2010. That year, he also led the American League (AL) in saves, and was named the winner of the Delivery Man of the Month Award for May, July, and August, and the AL Rolaids Relief Man Award in the postseason.
Soriano was born in San José de los Llanos, Dominican Republic. He lived in Boca Chica. By age 8, he played in weekly baseball tournaments in Santo Domingo. However, his mother, Magali, who worked as a housekeeper, often could not afford the twenty dominican pesos it cost for him to make the trip. Soriano would sometimes perform chores for the team's manager, who would then pay for the trip.
Soriano was not well connected to Dominican trainers, who fed information to the most prominent Major League Baseball scouts. Instead, he learned to play baseball through his uncles and his own determination. Soriano attended the Dominican baseball academy of the St. Louis Cardinals at the age of 16, but they opted not to sign him.
Soriano stopped training full-time and dropped out of school at 16 to work full-time in a carpentry shop. A friend told Soriano that he had signed a contract with the Hiroshima Carp, a team in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball, which had a Dominican academy in San Pedro de Macorís. After training with the Carp for three months, the team found out that at 16, Soriano was too young to sign. Soriano refused to falsify his documents, and he left the Carp training facility, returning to work.
Ramón de los Santos, a scout for the Seattle Mariners, received a tip from an acquaintance about Soriano. After watching Soriano play for 12 minutes, de los Santos signed Soriano for a $5,000 signing bonus as an outfielder, figuring that with his strong throwing arm, Soriano could be converted into a pitcher. After a year and a half in Seattle's organization, playing for the Arizona Mariners of the Rookie-level Arizona League, Soriano struggled as an outfielder, batting .167 in 1998, his second year in Arizona. Heading into spring training in 1999, Soriano prepared himself for the possibility that Seattle would release him, at which point he planned to return to the Dominican Republic to work.
However, Soriano was able to throw as fast as 95 miles per hour (153 km/h) in Arizona. Rafael Chaves, who worked with Soriano in Arizona, suggested that the Mariners convert Soriano into a pitcher. Throwing in the bullpen, Soriano was able to throw between 87 and 90 miles per hour (140–145 km/h), which they figured would improve when he learned proper pitching mechanics. The Mariners assigned Soriano to the Everett AquaSox of the Low-A Northwest League in 1999. Chaves, working as Everett's pitching coach, helped Soriano with his development. For Everett, Soriano recorded 83 strikeouts and a team-leading 3.11 earned run average (ERA) in 75+1⁄3 innings pitched.
Soriano pitched for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Single-A Midwest League in 2000. With Wisconsin, Soriano had an 8-4 win–loss record and a 2.87 ERA. The Mariners optioned him to the San Bernardino Stampede of the High-A California League the next year. He was promoted to the San Antonio Missions of the Double-A Texas League later in the season. Between San Bernardino and San Antonio, Soriano pitched to a 2.82 ERA with 151 strikeouts in 137+1⁄3 innings in 2001.
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Rafael Soriano
Rafael Soriano (born December 19, 1979) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, and Chicago Cubs.
Soriano was an All-Star in 2010. That year, he also led the American League (AL) in saves, and was named the winner of the Delivery Man of the Month Award for May, July, and August, and the AL Rolaids Relief Man Award in the postseason.
Soriano was born in San José de los Llanos, Dominican Republic. He lived in Boca Chica. By age 8, he played in weekly baseball tournaments in Santo Domingo. However, his mother, Magali, who worked as a housekeeper, often could not afford the twenty dominican pesos it cost for him to make the trip. Soriano would sometimes perform chores for the team's manager, who would then pay for the trip.
Soriano was not well connected to Dominican trainers, who fed information to the most prominent Major League Baseball scouts. Instead, he learned to play baseball through his uncles and his own determination. Soriano attended the Dominican baseball academy of the St. Louis Cardinals at the age of 16, but they opted not to sign him.
Soriano stopped training full-time and dropped out of school at 16 to work full-time in a carpentry shop. A friend told Soriano that he had signed a contract with the Hiroshima Carp, a team in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball, which had a Dominican academy in San Pedro de Macorís. After training with the Carp for three months, the team found out that at 16, Soriano was too young to sign. Soriano refused to falsify his documents, and he left the Carp training facility, returning to work.
Ramón de los Santos, a scout for the Seattle Mariners, received a tip from an acquaintance about Soriano. After watching Soriano play for 12 minutes, de los Santos signed Soriano for a $5,000 signing bonus as an outfielder, figuring that with his strong throwing arm, Soriano could be converted into a pitcher. After a year and a half in Seattle's organization, playing for the Arizona Mariners of the Rookie-level Arizona League, Soriano struggled as an outfielder, batting .167 in 1998, his second year in Arizona. Heading into spring training in 1999, Soriano prepared himself for the possibility that Seattle would release him, at which point he planned to return to the Dominican Republic to work.
However, Soriano was able to throw as fast as 95 miles per hour (153 km/h) in Arizona. Rafael Chaves, who worked with Soriano in Arizona, suggested that the Mariners convert Soriano into a pitcher. Throwing in the bullpen, Soriano was able to throw between 87 and 90 miles per hour (140–145 km/h), which they figured would improve when he learned proper pitching mechanics. The Mariners assigned Soriano to the Everett AquaSox of the Low-A Northwest League in 1999. Chaves, working as Everett's pitching coach, helped Soriano with his development. For Everett, Soriano recorded 83 strikeouts and a team-leading 3.11 earned run average (ERA) in 75+1⁄3 innings pitched.
Soriano pitched for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Single-A Midwest League in 2000. With Wisconsin, Soriano had an 8-4 win–loss record and a 2.87 ERA. The Mariners optioned him to the San Bernardino Stampede of the High-A California League the next year. He was promoted to the San Antonio Missions of the Double-A Texas League later in the season. Between San Bernardino and San Antonio, Soriano pitched to a 2.82 ERA with 151 strikeouts in 137+1⁄3 innings in 2001.
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