Ralph Henriquez Jr.

From BR Bullpen

Ralph M. Henriquez

Bats Both, Throws Right
Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.

High School Key West High School

Born April 7, 1987 in Key West, FL USA

Ralph Henriquez Jr. is the son of Ralph Henriquez Sr.

Henriquez Jr. hit .495 with 45 runs and 39 RBI in 95 AB as a high school senior. Baseball America named him as a third-team high school All-American behind Brandon Snyder and Jon Egan at catcher. The Houston Astros made Henriquez a second-round pick in the 2005 amateur draft, the 72nd overall selection. Henriquez signed for a $485,000 bonus.

Ralph debuted in the minors with the Greeneville Astros, hitting a very disappointing .215/.246/.342. In 2006, he batted .231/.274/.340 for Greneville with a team-high 37 RBI but 56 strikeouts in 238 AB. He led Appalachian League catchers with a .990 fielding percentage. The next year, he eked out a .185/.227/.280 line at the plate for the Lexington Legends. Over the winter, he was dealt to the New York Mets for Josh Appell.

In 2008, while playing for the Brooklyn Cyclones, Henriquez was at the center of a perplexing situation. Facing switch-pitcher Pat Venditte, Henriquez chose to bat right-handed - then changed his mind multiple times, with Venditte countering each move by reversing sides as well. Finally, the umpires and managers conferred and decided that a batter had to pick first in such situations and each player could only switch once per at-bat. After all the fuss, Henriquez went down on strikes after four pitches from Venditte.