Dominican baseball player (1949–2023)
Baseball player
Mario Miguel Guerrero Abud (September 28, 1949 – July 2, 2023) was a Dominican professional baseball player who was a shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams in an eight-year career from 1973 to 1980.
Career
Guerrero signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1968. After four plus seasons in their farm system, he was sent to the Boston Red Sox on June 30, 1972, as the player to be named later in the deal that brought future Cy Young Award winner Sparky Lyle to the Yankees in exchange for Danny Cater.[1] Guerrero made the Red Sox out of spring training 1973, and won the starting shortstop job over Rick Burleson following Luis Aparicio's release.
During the off season, the Red Sox traded Guerrero to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Jim Willoughby. He split 1975 between the Cardinals and their triple A affiliate, the Tulsa Oilers, batting .239 in 64 games at the major league level. He was assigned to Tulsa in 1976 when he was traded to the California Angels for two minor leaguers.
Guerrero signed as a free agent with the San Francisco Giants after the 1977 season, only to be sent to Oakland Athletics on April 7, 1978, to complete a trade in which the Athletics also acquired Gary Thomasson, Gary Alexander, Dave Heaverlo, John Henry Johnson, Phil Huffman, Alan Wirth and $300,000 for Vida Blue just over three weeks earlier on March 15. He played three seasons in Oakland before his contract was purchased by the Seattle Mariners. He retired following his release from the Mariners in spring training 1981. In 1989, Guerrero played for the Winter Haven Super Sox of the Senior Professional Baseball Association. He batted .315 in 15 games.
Personal life and death
His brother Epy Guerrero was a coach for the Toronto Blue Jays.[2] While working as a buscón (headhunter) in the Dominican Republic, Guerrero sued Raúl Mondesí for 1% of his salary. He ended up winning a $640,000 judgment.[3]
Mario Guerrero died on July 2, 2023, at the age of 73.[4]
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