Freddy Tiburcio

Fredrick Antonio Tiburcio (Dibo/Imperial Waves and Billows)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 160 lb.

• Born January 24, 1963 in Santo Domingo D.R.

BR page

Freddy Tiburcio played 7 years in the US minors (3 at AAA), 6 years in Taiwan and one year in Mexico and has since been a scout and coach.

Braves system

Tiburcio debuted in 1981 with the Anderson Braves, hitting .259/.320/.363 and registering 10 outfield assists. For the '82 Durham Bulls, he batted .257/.320/.329, scoring 72 runs and stealing 14 bases in 21 tries. His 236 putouts were third among Carolina League outfielders but he also had 12 errors, fifth-most.

Back with Durham for more seasoning in 1983, the young Dominican produced at a .262/.331/.352 rate with 8 triples and 30 steals in 38 attempts. His 15 outfield assists tied for third in the circuit. The next year, Freddy hit .251/.417/.373 for the Greenville Braves with 17 steals in 28 tries, his OBP improving significantly.

In 1985, Tiburcio played for Greenville (.250/~.299/.368 in 86 G) and the Richmond Braves (.248/~.296/.350 in 39 G). He had made it to AAA by age 22, but his career stalled there. In the winter of 1985-1986, Freddy hit .243/~.319/.368 for La Romana in the Dominican League. In '86, he was back with Greenville and Richmond, hitting .340/~.409/.407 in 42 contests for the AA team and .267/~.308/.352 in 84 at AAA. He stole 16 bases for Richmond.

Tigers system

In the off-season, Tiburcio was traded with Terry Harper to the Detroit Tigers for Randy O'Neal and Chuck Cary. As Detroit had a much stronger outfield at that point than Atlanta, this did not bode well for Freddy's MLB chances. He split 1987 between the Glens Falls Tigers (.272/~.332/.427 in 56 games) and Toledo Mud Hens (.179/~.225/.313 in 40 contests).

Taiwan

It is unclear if Tiburcio played anywhere in 1988-1989. By 1990, a new door opened. The Chinese Professional Baseball League formed in Taiwan and Tiburcio signed on with the Brother Elephants; he was still just 27 years old, the age at which the greatest percentage of players tend to peak.

Tiburcio hit .305/.381/.495 in 1990 with 37 steals. He batted .318/.390/.485 in 1991 and was named to the Best Nine as one of Taiwan's top three outfielders. He stole 30 bases that year and won a monthly MVP Award. In '92, he hit .263/.341/.409 with 30 swipes, a significant decline. In 1993, he produced at a .268/.324/.427 rate. He hit .336/.377/.552 in 1994 but only played 51 games due to injury. Had he qualified, he would have ranked 8th in the CPBL in average. In '95, the Elephants flyhawk hit .222/.279/.317 to end his long run in Taiwan. He had batted .289/.357/.455 in 384 games in the CPBL.

Mexico

In 1996, Tiburcio played for the Campeche Pirates in Mexico, hitting .305/.32/.441 in 92 games. He led his club in average in his last pro campaign.

Post-playing career

Freddy was hired by the Elephants as a Caribbean scout from 1997-1999, then scouting in the Dominican for the New York Yankees from 1997-2001. He scouted Joaquín Arias. From 2002-2009, he was a hitting coach for the DSL Yankees. Tiburcio was hitting coach for the DSL Dodgers in 2015.