Rubén Sierra facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rubén Sierra |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||
| Right fielder / Designated hitter | |||
| Born: October 6, 1965 Río Piedras, Puerto Rico |
|||
|
|||
| debut | |||
| June 1, 1986, for the Texas Rangers | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| July 9, 2006, for the Minnesota Twins | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .268 | ||
| Hits | 2,152 | ||
| Home runs | 306 | ||
| Runs batted in | 1,322 | ||
| Teams | |||
|
|||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
|
|||
Rubén Angel Sierra García, born on October 6, 1965, is a famous former baseball player from Puerto Rico. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 20 seasons. During his career, he played for many teams, including the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, and New York Yankees. Fans often called him 'El Indio' or 'El Caballo', which means 'The Horse'.
Contents
Early Life and Sports
Rubén Sierra grew up in Puerto Rico. He went to Liceo Interamericano Castro High School. While in school, he was a talented athlete. He played not only baseball but also basketball and volleyball. He finished high school in 1983.
Rubén Sierra's MLB Career
Starting with the Texas Rangers
In November 1982, when Rubén was just 17 years old, the Texas Rangers signed him. He made his first appearance in a major league game on June 1, 1986. In just his second time at bat, he hit a home run! In his first year, he had a batting average of .264, hit 16 home runs, and brought in 55 runs batted in (RBIs).
Highlight Seasons and Awards
The year 1989 was a great one for Sierra. He hit 29 home runs and led the league in several important stats. He had the most RBIs (119), triples (14), and total bases (344). He also had the best slugging percentage (.543) and extra base hits (78). He finished second in the voting for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award that year. Sierra had three seasons where he brought in over 100 RBIs while playing for the Rangers.
Moving Between Teams
Rubén Sierra was part of several big trades during his career.
- In August 1992, the Rangers traded him, along with Jeff Russell and Bobby Witt, to the Oakland Athletics. In return, the Rangers received José Canseco.
- In 1995, the Athletics traded Sierra and Jason Beverlin to the New York Yankees. The Yankees sent Danny Tartabull to the Athletics.
- After helping the Yankees reach the playoffs in 1995, Sierra was traded again. He went to the Detroit Tigers with Matt Drews for Cecil Fielder.
- After the 1997 season, the Tigers traded Sierra to the Cincinnati Reds.
Later Career and Big Moments
In 2001, Sierra returned to the Texas Rangers and won the AL Comeback Player of the Year Award. He played for the Seattle Mariners in 2002. In 2003, he started the season with the Rangers again before being traded back to the New York Yankees.
Sierra was a key player for the Yankees in 2004. He hit 17 home runs, mostly as a designated hitter. One of his most memorable moments was in Game 4 of the 2004 American League Division Series. The Yankees were losing to the Minnesota Twins 5–2. Sierra hit a three-run home run that tied the game at 5–5. This helped the Yankees win the game and the series!
However, he was the last out in Game 7 of the 2004 American League Championship Series. This game saw the Boston Red Sox make a huge comeback victory. Sierra had some injuries in 2005 and left the Yankees. He signed with the Minnesota Twins in 2006 but was released later that year. He decided not to play again in 2006 due to family reasons.
In 2007, Sierra signed a contract with the New York Mets. However, he asked to be released from the team in March and did not play for them.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
- List of Silver Slugger Award winners at outfield
- List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
