Eddie Lantigua

Eduardo Amado Lantigua

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 198 lb.

• Born September 4, 1973 in Puerto Plata, Puerto Plata D.R.

BR Minors page

Biographical information

Eddie Lantigua has played 19 seasons in the minor leagues and was once identified by Baseball America as the independent leagues Player of the Year.

Lantigua's baseball journeys began in 1992 with the Los Angeles Dodgers system. At age 18, Eduardo hit .314/~.324/.543 with 15 RBI in 20 games for the GCL Dodgers and .275/~.347/.429 in 25 games for the Great Falls Dodgers. He struck out 45 times in 161 AB. In 1993, Lantigua was already in high-A ball with the Vero Beach Dodgers and faring well. He hit .271/~.319/.394 and led the team with 70 runs and 79 RBI. He was named to the FSL All-Star team as the top third baseman in the circuit.

In 1994, Lantigua began the year with the Bakersfield Blaze, batting .231/.259/.365 with 46 strikeouts in 208 AB and a .885 fielding percentage at third base. In June, Los Angeles sent him to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for Brian Barnes. Assigned to the Kinston Indians, he hit .254/.333/.458 with 11 HR in 236 AB over the remainder of the season.

Lantigua started 1995 slowly with the Columbus RedStixx, hitting .241/~.275/.333 in 23 games as a utility man before the Indians let him go.

Picked up by the Sioux Falls Canaries, Lantigua began a long stretch in the independent leagues by hitting .267 and slugging .437 as an outfielder. In 1996, he made his final appearance in Organized Baseball, batting .196/~.212/.308 with 3 walks and 31 strikeouts in 43 games for the Daytona Cubs. Despite his limited time, his 37 games at third base were the most on the team that year.He spent half the year with Sioux Falls, batting .308 and slugging .521.

In 1997, Eddie played 23 games for Sioux Falls and finished the year with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, hitting a combined .260 with a .423 slugging percentage. Lantigua moved to the Waterbury Spirit in 1998 and hit .339 with a .455 slugging mark, coming off of elbow surgery. He was 5th in the Northeast League in batting average and was chosen as the All-Star third baseman.

Lantigua signed with the Les Capitales de Québec in 1999, the team where he would find his greatest success a few years later. He had never heard of Québec but quickly became enchanted with the place and met his wife, Mirian, there. He batted .276 and slugged .435 and Les Capitales let him go. By year's end, Lantigua had resorted to pouring beer in the concession stands.

Lantigua joined the Duluth-Superior Dukes in 2000 and hit .281 while slugging .475. He followed by batting .248 in 2001 with a .388 slugging percentage.

Re-signed by Québec, Lantigua improved to .321 with 30 doubles and a .518 slugging percentage. He was 6th in the Northern League's Eastern Division in average and was second in doubles. In 2003, Eddie hit .313 and slugged .459 for the Capitales. He was 6th in the Northeast League in average and made the league All-Star team at third base.

Lantigua hit .290 and slugged .518 in 2004, with 18 homers and 74 RBI. He was picked as the Northeast League All-Star DH, the 4th postseason All-Star honor of his career. At age 31, Eddie had a career year in 2005. He hit .324 with 31 HR, 81 runs and 112 RBI in 90 games. He tied Derrick Gibson for 8th in the new Canadian-American Association in average and led the loop in homers, RBI, extra-base hits (51), slugging (.645), intentional walks (8) and grand slam home runs (3). He was named to the league All-Star team at third base, won MVP honors and was named the Baseball America Independent League Player of the Year. Manager Michel Laplante said that Lantigua had matured significantly in the six years since his debut in Québec.

In 2006, Lantigua produced at a .343/.424/.547 clip to lead the league in all three departments. He was named to the All-Star team at third base, the sixth time he had picked as a postseason All-Star. He tied Vic Davilla for the league lead in RBI (61). The text in the 2007 Baseball Almanac lists him as MVP but the awards section and other sources list Davilla.

Lantigua batted .319/.397/.553 in 2007, finishing 9th in the Can-Am in average, tying Sandy Madera for the most home runs (21), leading in RBI (82) and placing second to Madera in slugging. He was named to the All-Star team at first base but failed to win his third straight MVP Award. He continued playing for Quebec until 2009, when he was released late in the season after former major leaguer Pete LaForest moved him off first base. In all, he played 9 seasons for les Capitales, amassing 126 homers and 598 RBI. After sitting out the 2010 season, he returned for one more year in the Can-Am Association in 2011, hitting .244 with 12 homers and 42 RBI in 65 games with the road team the New York Federals, at age 37.

Lantigua stayed in Quebec City after retiring from the game and was appointed a goodwill ambassador by les Capitales in 2013, in recognition of his role in making the team one of the most successful indy league organizations in North America. His number 31 was retired by the team in 2010, the first player to receive such an honor.

Notable Achievements

• 2005 MVP Can-Am Association Québec Capitales
• 2006 MVP Can-Am Association Québec Capitales

Sources:

• An interview with Lantigua
• Bio on the Les Capitales website
• 1993-2007 Baseball Almanacs
• 1995 Baseball Guide