Daniel Espino

Note: This page is for 1990s minor league player Daniel Espino; for the minor league pitcher in the 2020s, click here.

Daniel Espino

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 216 lb.

• Born January 30, 1970 in Monterrey, Nuevo León Mexico

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Just like the son of a Negro League legend (Josh Gibson Jr.) and the son of a Japanese baseball legend (Kazushige Nagashima), Daniel Espino has not come close to the impact left by his father, Mexican League superstar Hector Espino. Weighing over 30 more pounds than the elder Espino, Daniel has had fewer career homers than Hector hit in a typical year.

A 1B/OF, Daniel broke in with the 1994 Monterrey Sultans, hitting .267/.303/.267 in 10 games. Two years later, he went 1 for 11 for the Rieleros de Aguascalientes. In '97, Espino batted .290/~.350/.322 for the Sultans. in 1998, he remained a part-timer and produced at a .322/~.392/.414. He followed with a season in which he hit his first two homers and batted .319/~.386/.419 in a semi-regular role. In 2000, the 30-year-old hit .301/~.356/.319 with only 3 extra-base hits (all doubles) in 163 AB. Through that year, his career line was .302/~.364/.358; he had been hit by pitch frequently, getting plunked 21 times in about 772 plate appearances.

Daniel hit another two homers in '01, batting .301 with 34 RBI. In 2002, Espino batted .290. He slipped to a .273 average in '03 but bounced back in 2004 with the Cancun Lobstermen, hitting .300/.365/.397 with a career-high five homers as a regular, splitting his time between first and the outfield. In '05, the veteran had a .272/.346/.357 line with Cancun and the Veracruz Eagle (9 games). He only played five games for the 2006 Rieleros, hitting .385/.385/.462 and not appearing after April 5.

Sources: 1995, 2005 and 2006 Baseball Guides, Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database, The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros, Minorleaguebaseball.com for 2006 stats