Erick Aybar

Erick Aybar
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – No. 2
Shortstop
Born: (1984-01-14) January 14, 1984 Bani, Dominican Republic
Bats: Switch	Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 16, 2006 for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Career statistics (through 2012 season)
Batting average	.278
Home runs	32
Runs batted in	251
Stolen bases	98
Teams
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2006–present)
Career highlights and awards
Gold Glove Award (2011)

Erick Johan Aybar (born January 14, 1984) is a Major League Baseball shortstop with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Career

Dominican Republic

Aybar has also previously played in the Dominican Republic.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Aybar was signed by the then Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as an amateur free agent in 2002 and made his Major League debut on May 16, 2006 a pinch runner against the Toronto Blue Jays. He recorded his first Major League hit, in his first start, on May 20, 2006 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, a single to right field in the fourth inning off of Brett Tomko.

Aybar hit his first career major league home run on September 25, 2007, in a game against the Texas Rangers.

On September 5, 2009, Aybar tied a franchise record for most triples in a game, 2, against the Kansas City Royals.

September 8, 2009, Aybar had his first career walk-off hit, against the Seattle Mariners.

In 2009, Aybar hit .312 (eighth in the AL) and posted the fourth-best OPS (.776) of all AL shortstops.

On November 1, 2011, Aybar was awarded his first Rawlings Gold Glove Award.

Caribbean Series

During the MLB offseason, Aybar plays in the Caribbean Series alongside many other fellow MLB players from the countries involved. It is a way for them to prepare for the upcoming MLB season by playing in live games and it is a way for them to represent their country. The most talked about series was probably in 2006 when Venezuela and the Dominican Republic squared off. Both of these countries are no strangers to each other and have developed a very heated rivalry over the years.

Down, 4–3, in the ninth, Baltimore catcher Ramon Hernandez, named the Caribbean Series MVP, led off the bottom of the frame with a single and was immediately replaced by pinch runner William Bergolla. The moved proved to be a wise one because Bergolla advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and tied the game at 4 when he rambled home on Gonzalez's single to right field. He would not stay at first long.

Cubs catcher Henry Blanco followed with a high popup to shallow left field between Dominican shortstop Erick Aybar and left fielder Napoleón Calzado. Backpedaling and seemingly confused, the ball hit Aybar's head and rolled away. Gonzalez sped around the bases to send Venezuela's Caracas Baseball Club into the record books with a 5–4 victory to secure the title.

Family

Aybar is the youngest brother (by 10 months) of former Tampa Bay Rays infielder/outfielder Willy Aybar. He is also the cousin of Wil Aybar, who coaches Central Mass Diving and the diving team at The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Aybar has a wife, Nhachari Aybar.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Finale lifts Venezuela to title