View source for Rey Ordóñez

{{short description|Cuban baseball player (born 1971)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{family name hatnote|Ordóñez|Pereira|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Rey Ordóñez
|image=Rey Ordóñez 1999 (2).jpg
|caption=Ordóñez holding a [[Beanie Babies|Beanie Baby]] with the New York Mets
|position=[[Shortstop]]
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1971|01|11}}
|birth_place=[[Havana, Cuba]]
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=April 1
|debutyear=1996
|debutteam=New York Mets
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=July 19
|finalyear=2004
|finalteam=Chicago Cubs
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.246
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
|stat2value=12
|stat3label=[[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
|stat3value=287
|teams=
* [[New York Mets]] ({{mlby|1996}}–{{mlby|2002}})
* [[Tampa Bay Rays|Tampa Bay Devil Rays]] ({{mlby|2003}})
* [[Chicago Cubs]] ({{mlby|2004}})
|highlights=
* 3× [[Gold Glove Award]] (1997–1999)
}}
'''Reynaldo Ordóñez Pereira''' (born January 11, 1971) is a Cuban former [[professional baseball]] [[shortstop]]. He played nine seasons in [[Major League Baseball]] for the [[New York Mets]], [[Tampa Bay Rays|Tampa Bay Devil Rays]], and [[Chicago Cubs]].
==Early life==
Ordóñez was a promising young player for the Havana [[Industriales]] club in the [[Cuban National Series]], and was named to the [[Cuba national baseball team|Cuban national team]] at the [[1993 Summer Universiade]] in [[Buffalo, New York]]. He [[defection|defected]] to the United States at the tournament, two days after teammate [[Eddie Oropesa]]; in doing so, he became only the third player since the [[Cuban Revolution]] to [[List of baseball players who defected from Cuba|openly defect]] to the United States.<ref>{{cite news |title=Commie Ball: A Journey to the End of a Revolution |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/07/cuban_baseball200807 |agency=Vanity Fair |issue=July 2008}}</ref><ref name="espn07">{{cite news|title=Long way from Shea for former Mets star Ordonez|url=http://www.espn.com/espn/wire/_/section/mlb/id/2771822|access-date=15 January 2018|work=[[ESPN.com]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|publisher=[[ESPN]]|date=February 20, 2007}}</ref> In March 2013, Ordóñez finally traveled back to Cuba 20 years after defecting.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cuba Travel: Baseball Star Rey Ordonez Allowed To Return Home Thanks To Obama Travel Policies|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/19/cuba-travel-baseball-star_n_2906902.html|work=[[HuffPost]]|date=March 20, 2013}}</ref>
==Professional career==
===St. Paul Saints===
Before signing with a major league team, Ordóñez played part of the 1993 season with the [[St. Paul Saints]] of the [[Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010)|Northern League]]. In 15 games with the Saints, he batted .283. He signed with the Mets as a [[free agent]] after the season, on October 29, 1993, and retired from baseball in 2007 after several years of injury-related absence from the majors.
===New York Mets===
Ordóñez joined the Single-A [[St. Lucie Mets]] of the [[Florida State League]] in 1994 and later that season moved up to Double-A with the [[Eastern League (1938–2020)|Eastern League]]'s [[Binghamton Mets]]. He made his major league debut in 1996. Ordóñez won three consecutive [[Gold Glove Award]]s for his outstanding defensive play with the Mets from 1997 to 1999. During the 1999 and 2000 seasons, Ordóñez set a major league record for shortstops by playing 101 consecutive games without committing a [[Error (baseball)|fielding error]]. Furthermore, in 1999, Ordóñez committed only four errors while posting a .994 [[fielding percentage]].  It is arguably the best defensive single-season performance ever by a major league shortstop based on the number of errors.
Though he rarely [[Strikeout|struck out]] and was capable of laying down [[Bunt (baseball)|sacrifice bunts]], Ordóñez was not a particularly effective hitter. Besides a career [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] of .246, he was not a good [[Stolen base|base stealer]], drew few [[Base on balls|walks]] and little power. His lifetime [[on-base plus slugging|OPS]] of .600 was almost 200 points lower than the major league average (.782 in 2000, for example).<ref>[https://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/team?sort=runs&split=0&group=8&season=2000&seasonType=2&statType=batting&type=reg 2012 MLB Team Batting Stats – Major League Baseball – ESPN]. Sports.espn.go.com. Retrieved on 2012-10-09.</ref>
[[File:Rey Ordóñez (51009346312) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Ordóñez with the New York Mets in 2001]]
Ordóñez's defensive play never recovered after he fractured his left arm on May 29, 2000, when attempting to tag the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]]' [[F.P. Santangelo]] out at [[second base]], an injury that prevented the three-time Gold Glove winner from playing in the [[2000 World Series]] (the ''Subway Series'') against the [[New York Yankees]]. Given that he offered little offensively, with his defense diminished, his value as a player became drastically reduced. Ordóñez was taunted by unhappy Mets fans throughout the 2002 season, particularly because the much-heralded double play combination of him and [[Roberto Alomar]] failed to produce.
===Devil Rays and Cubs===
On December 15, 2002, Ordóñez was traded to the [[Tampa Bay Devil Rays]] for two minor league [[Player to be named later|players to be named later]], along with $4.25 million to cover his salary.<ref name="NYTimes-Ordonez-Trade-Dec2002">{{cite news|last1=Chass|first1=Murray|title=With Sigh of Relief, Mets Trade Ordóñez|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/16/sports/baseball-with-sigh-of-relief-mets-trade-ordonez.html|access-date=26 December 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 16, 2002}}</ref><ref name="NYDaily-Ordonez-Trade-Dec2002">{{cite news|last1=Rubin|first1=Roger|title=With Trade, They Call Him Devil Rey – Ordonez out; Mets seek Neagle in 3-way|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/sports/trade-call-devil-rey-ordonez-mets-seek-neagle-3-way-article-1.501380|access-date=26 December 2017|work=[[New York Daily News]]|date=December 16, 2002}}</ref> Ordóñez missed most of the 2003 season due to injuries and signed with the [[Chicago Cubs]] in 2004. He made his Cubs debut in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 28. He recorded his first hit in a Cubs uniform on June 2 against the Houston Astros. Ordóñez played 23 games and recorded 10 hits before being given his release by the Cubs on July 23, 2004.
===San Diego Padres===
In 2004, incoming rookie [[Khalil Greene]] beat out Ordóñez for the position of shortstop with the [[San Diego Padres]] during [[spring training]].<ref>[http://www.sandiego-online.com/media/San-Diego-Magazine/April-2005/Grounding-out-to-Greene/ Grounding out to Greene] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222541/http://www.sandiego-online.com/media/San-Diego-Magazine/April-2005/Grounding-out-to-Greene/ |date=2007-09-27 }} By Michael Huang.</ref> He was unsure at the time whether he would ever play Major League Baseball again, and did not play for any major league organization during the {{By|2005}} and {{By|2006}} seasons.
===Seattle Mariners===
On November 14, 2006, Ordóñez was signed to a minor league contract by the [[Seattle Mariners]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://seattletimes.com/html/mariners/2003430536_webmari14.html |title=SS Ordonez among 9 signed by M's to minor league deals |date=November 14, 2006 |publisher=seattletimes.com |access-date=February 4, 2015}}</ref> On April 1, 2007, Ordóñez was reassigned to the Mariners' minor league camp, but stated to the ''[[Seattle Times]]'' newspaper that at the age of 35, he was "too old for that."<ref name="hermanson">{{cite news |title=Hermanson Released By Reds |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/hartford-courant-hermanson-released-by-r/136098168/ |access-date=1 December 2023 |work=[[Hartford Courant]] |date=2 April 2007 |pages=C07}}</ref> According to reports, Ordóñez was originally included on the Mariners' final 25-man roster,{{cn|date=December 2023}} but an 11th hour trade with the [[San Francisco Giants]] for [[outfielder]] [[Jason Ellison]] led to his reassignment. Ordóñez hoped to catch on with another major league franchise<ref name="hermanson" /> but never did.
==Personal life==
In 2001, Ordóñez agreed to pay his ex-wife, Hilda Maria Fiallo, $6,250 per month in child support, for their son, Rey Jr. This amounted to a 4,166 percent raise for Fiallo, who had been previously granted child support payments of only $1.50 per month by a Cuban court.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/baseball/article/Mets-shortstop-agrees-to-pay-child-support-1055362.php |title=Mets shortstop agrees to pay child support |date=May 22, 2001 |publisher=seattlepi.com |access-date=December 6, 2021}}</ref>
==See also==
{{Portal|Baseball}}
*[[List of baseball players who defected from Cuba]]
* [[List of Gold Glove Award winners at shortstop]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Baseballstats |mlb= |espn= |br=o/ordonre01 |fangraphs=889 |brm=ordone001rey}}
*{{CPSNBAT |cps=reinaldo-ordonez-pereira}}
*[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/19/cuba-travel-baseball-star_n_2906902.html Rey Ordóñez Returns To Cuba ]
{{Willie, Mickey and the Duke Award}}
{{NL SS Gold Glove Award}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ordonez, Rey}}
[[Category:Major League Baseball shortstops]]
[[Category:New York Mets players]]
[[Category:Tampa Bay Devil Rays players]]
[[Category:Chicago Cubs players]]
[[Category:Gold Glove Award winners]]
[[Category:St. Paul Saints players]]
[[Category:Binghamton Mets players]]
[[Category:St. Lucie Mets players]]
[[Category:Norfolk Tides players]]
[[Category:Daytona Cubs players]]
[[Category:Iowa Cubs players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball players from Cuba]]
[[Category:Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States]]
[[Category:1971 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Defecting Cuban baseball players]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Havana]]
[[Category:Metropolitanos de La Habana players]]
[[Category:Industriales de La Habana players]]