Orlando Cabrera

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Orlando Luis Cabrera

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 5' 11", Weight 165 lb.

Debut September 3, 1997
Born November 2, 1974 in Cartagena, Colombia

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[edit] Biographical Information

Colombian shortstop Orlando Cabrera was signed by the Montreal Expos in 1993 and made his pro debut the following summer with the GCL Expos, hitting .315 in 22 games. He spent most of 1995 with the Vermont Expos, where he hit .282 with 5 triples. With the Delmarva Shorebirds in 1996, he earned a spot on the South Atlantic League All-Star team by hitting .252 with 14 homers, 65 RBIs, and 51 stolen bases.

After stops at A, AA, and AAA in 1997, Cabrera earned a September call-up with the Expos, becoming the fifth Colombian to reach the majors. He made his big league debut on September 11th against the Boston Red Sox, got his first hit off Rick Reed of the New York Mets on September 9th, and made his first big league start on September 22nd versus the Atlanta Braves.

In 1998, Cabrera began the season with the Ottawa Lynx, with whom he stole 19 bases, before being called up to the Expos in June when Mike Mordecai went on the disabled list. He quickly became the team's regular second baseman and hit over .300 in his first month with the team. On July 21st, he hit his first home run, an inside-the-park round tripper, off Mark Portugal of the Philadelphia Phillies, and on July 30th, he hit a pair of triples in a game against the San Francisco Giants, tying a club record. The following day, regular shortstop Mark Grudzielanek was traded the the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Cabrera became the Expos everyday shortstop.

Cabrera remained a regular with the Expos in 1999 and had a 42 game errorless streak at shortstop at one point. However, his season was ended by a severely sprained ankle on August 8th. He hit 13 homers for the club in 2000, despite missing a month of the season with a separated shoulder. In 2001, he had his finest season to date, hitting .276 with 14 home runs and 96 RBIs while earning a Gold Glove and appearing in all 162 games with the Expos.

Cabrera's numbers fell off a bit in 2002, but he still managed to hit 43 doubles and steal 25 bases. He bounced back the next year, setting career bests in batting average (.297), homers (17), and doubles (47), while once again playing in every Expos game.

In 2004, Cabrera hit .246 in 103 games with the Expos before being traded to the Boston Red Sox to replace Nomar Garciaparra as the team's shortstop. In his first plate appearance for the BoSox on August 1st, he smashed a home run off Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins, and overall, he hit .294 in 58 games foor the club. He played every game in the postseason, hitting .379 in the ALCS, as the Red Sox won the World Series.

After the 2004 campaign, Cabrera became a free agent and signed with the Los Angeles Angels. He hit .257 with 8 home runs and 57 RBI in 2005 and improved to .282 with 9 homers and 82 RBI in 2006, while reaching base safely in an Angels record 63 straight games. He hit .301 for the team in 2007 and earned his second Gold Glove award. Following the season, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox for pitcher Jon Garland.

Cabrera was on the team that defeated the New York Yankees in the postseason in both 2004 and 2005. He was the first player to beat the Yankees in two straight postseasons since the New York Giants beat them in 1921 and 1922.

He is the brother of Jolbert Cabrera and son of big league scout Jolbert Cabrera, who was reponsible for signing Edgar Renteria for the Florida Marlins.