Danny Richar

Danny Adam Richar

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 170 lb.
• High School Liceo Aristides Garcia Mella
• Debut July 28, 2007
• Final Game July 2, 2009
• Born June 9, 1983 in La Romana, La Romana, D.R.

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Biography

Danny Richar became the regular second baseman of the Chicago White Sox as a rookie in 2007 after Tadahito Iguchi was traded.

He signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks as an undrafted free agent from the Dominican Republic in 2001 after having been scouted by Junior Noboa. Scouts considered Richar's greatest strength to be the lack of a true weakness.

The second baseman showed an ability to hit for average early in his professional career, but did not flash much power. In nearly 800 at-bats with the single-A Lancaster Jethawks in 2003 and 2004, Richar hit .293 with 13 triples, but only 7 home runs. Richar had debuted stateside with Lancaster in 2003, unusually starting in high A ball as a signee from Latin America. He hit .304/.331/.402 that year, and just missed placing among the California League's top 10 batting average leaders. He batted .282/.312/.384 for the team in 2004 with 22 steals in 30 tries, but also got a chance in AA with the El Paso Diablos, hitting just .207/.286/.244 in 26 contests.

Still with Lancaster in 2005, he began to hit with more authority, cracking 20 homers, 32 doubles, and 8 triples in 454 ABs. His batting line was .300/.347/.537.

His power faded a bit (8 homers, 25 doubles) in 2006 with the double-A Tennessee Smokies, but he still hit .292 and drew 52 walks for an OBP of .360 and a slugging percentage of .415. He stole 15 bases in 20 tries. He led Southern League second basemen with a .986 fielding percentage and made the league All-Star team at second base.

In 267 at bats in for the triple-A Tucson Sidewinders before the 2007 trade, Richar hit .285/.348/.479 with 20 doubles and 8 home runs. His steady progress in the D'backs organization ended when he was sent to the Chicago White Sox on June 16th in exchange for minor league outfielder Aaron Cunningham. He then posted a .346 batting average, .400 OBP, .556 slugging percentage and 5 home runs with the triple-A Charlotte Knights. With Richar performing well and the White Sox falling out of contention, Tadahito Iguchi was deemed expendable. A spot in the major leagues opened for Richar on July 27th when Chicago shipped Iguchi to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Richar was called up by the White Sox on July 28th and debuted that night against the Toronto Blue Jays, hitting 9th. He singled against Roy Halladay in his first major league at-bat, finished the game 2-for-3, and scored the go-ahead run. He hit .230/.289/.406 in 56 games for the White Sox that season.

He played in the 2007-08 winter league in his home country, and after having visa problems, arrived late for spring training in 2008. After hitting .262/.321/.427 in 62 games for Charlotte, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds with Nick Masset in return for Ken Griffey Jr.