Aaron Acosta

Aaron Acosta Utrera

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 209 lb.

• Born August 16, 1968 in Veracruz, Veracruz Mexico

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Aaron Acosta pitched for 19 seasons in the minor leagues.

Acosta debuted in 1990 with the Monterrey Sultans, going 4-7 with a 4.37 ERA. He improved to 12-3, 3.32 in 1991. Among pitchers with 100+ innings, he was 6th in the Mexican League in ERA, behind Odell Jones, Alejandro Garza, Mercedes Esquer, German Jimenez and Urbano Lugo. Monterrey won the title. The right-hander's record fell to 6-9, 3.24 for the 1992 Sultans and 2-2, 4.95 with two saves for the 1993 Sultans, the only two years of the 1990s in which he had more relief appearances than starts. He was 3-1 for the Mazatlan Deer in the 1993-1994 Mexican Pacific League. In 1994, he was 6-5 with a 3.11 ERA for the Sultans, looking resurgent. He had a superb winter, with a 1.69 ERA for Mazatlan, 7 wins, 2 saves and only one loss. He led the LMP in ERA.

Moving to the Torreon Cotton Dealers, the 26-year-old was 9-3 with a 4.08 ERA in 1995, then 4-8 with a 4.16 ERA in '96. In between, he had a 4-5, 2.95 record for Mazatlan in 1995-1996. He next joined the Monclova Steelers, where he was 9-8 with a 3.09 ERA in 1997, his best summer ERA ever. He struggled to a 1-5, 3.15 record in the winter of 1997-1998. He rebounded to 12-5, 3.38 that summer for the Nuevo Laredo Owls, his most wins in 7 years. After the Mexican League season ended, he signed with the Mercury Tigers (their only Mexican player ever) but bombed at 0-1, 6.38 in 7 games. He was not the worst foreigner the Tigers tried that summer - Wally Ritchie (10.80), Dilson Torres (21.70) and Jose Centeno (27.00) all had higher ERAs.

Aaron was 5-4 with a 3.10 ERA in 1999, finishing 11th in ERA. He fell to 10-10, .54 for the 2000 Cordoba Coffee Growers, serving up 22 homers after never before allowing 10 in any season. He also hit 13 batters, 5 more than he had ever plunked before. Through that year, he was 79-64 with a 3.88 ERA in the Mexican League. In 2001, the veteran pitched for both Cordoba and the Campeche Pirates with a composite record of 6-4, 3.66. He was 0-5 with a 5.84 ERA for Campeche in 2002, his first losing season in five years and his only winless summer.

Acosta was 1-2 for the 2003 Tabasco Olmecas, then was 1-1 in 2004. In 2005, he joined the Veracruz Eagle and had his best performance in six years with a 9-9, 3.72 record. He finished 7th in the LMB in ERA, between Steve Bourgeois and Isabel Giron, not bad for a guy who had won two games total from 2002-2004. The 37-year-old struggled with Veracruz in 2006 (4-7, 6.24). Moving to the Vaqueros Laguna, he was 8-4 with a 4.77 ERA in 2007. He wrapped up with the Saltillo Saraperos (2-2, 5.33) in 2008 and Nuevo Laredo (1-5, 8.69) in 2009.

Overall, Acosta was 111-103 in the minor leagues.

Sources

• Assorted Baseball Almanacs and Baseball Guides
• Chinese Baseball Wiki
• The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros