Willie Cañate

Emisael William Cañate Librada

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 170 lb.

• Debut April 16, 1993
• Final Game October 3, 1993
• Born December 11, 1971 in Bobures, Zulia, Venezuela

BR page

Biographical Information

As a backup outfielder during the Toronto Blue Jays' 1993 championship season, Willie Cañate received a World Series ring, playing 38 games with another brief appearance in the World Series. Willie spent almost the entire season on the Jays roster after being picked in the by the Cincinnati Reds in the 1992 Rule V draft and being sold to Toronto in early April, but never played in the bigs again after. His only career home run was a game-winning walk-off shot on July 18th off Hipolito Pichardo of the Kansas City Royals. Overall, he went 10 for 47 (.213) in his brief major league career.

His professional career lasted for 1989 to 1997. He was originally signed by the Cleveland Indians as an international amateur free agent from Venezuela and played his first season with the GCL Indians, going 5 for 24 (.208). He was a regular over the next three seasons, but only reached Class A with the Columbus Indians of the South Atlantic League. He hit .316 in 133 games there in 1992, with 37 doubles and 110 runs. This pointed to some talent, but he was obviously not ready for the majors when he had to spend a season there after being drafted by the Reds. He started the season rehabbing from an injury in AAA, going 0 for 5 in 3 games for the Indianapolis Indians, then was sold to the Blue Jays on April 13th when the Reds were unwilling to add him to their big league roster. He made his major league debut three days later but hardly saw any action over the next two months. The Jays managed to send him down briefly to the minors on another rehab assignment, where he played 16 games between AA and AAA before he had to be brought back to the majors or returned to Cleveland. Starting in early July, he saw more action for a couple of weeks, but hardly came to bat after August 1st, with just 20 at-bats after that date. In his lone appearance as a pinch-runner in the World Series, he was caught in a rundown by the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 5.

After his major league obligation was fulfilled, the Blue Jays were allowed to send him to the minors in 1994, and he split the season between the AA Knoxville Smokies and AAA Syracuse Chiefs. However, he had a poor season, hitting just .225 in 130 games, with 18 doubles but no homers, for a slugging percentage of .267. His OPB of .274 was also a major disappointment for a player whose speed was his biggest asset. In 1996, he spent a full season with Syracuse, hitting .238 in 114 games. He improved slightly in terms of OBP and slugging percentage, but it was by now obvious that he was not going to be a major league regular. In 1997 he completed his career in North America with one season in the Mexican League, with the Potros de Minatitlan.

He later played five seasons in Italy, from 2002 to 2006. He won a Gold Glove there in 2003 and led the league with 9 homers in 2004.

Notable Achievement

• Won a World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993

Related Sites

• BR Minors page
• Greatest 21 Days