Hector Roa

Hector Teodoro Roa

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 170 lb.
• Born June 11, 1969 in Mata de Palma, Dominican Republic

BR Minors page

Dominican infielder Hector Roa spent almost two decades playing professional baseball.

1990-1995: Climbing the ladder

Roa debuted in 1990 with the GCL Braves (.209/.306/.302 in 13 games), Pulaski Braves (.348/.388/.522 in 21 games, 23 runs) and Sumter Braves (.217/.250/.283 in 24 games). Overall, he had 12 steals in 13 tries that year. Roa split 1991 between the Macon Braves )(.306/~.354/.438 in 34 games) and the Miami Miracle (.199/~.239/.266, 17 SB in 87 games).

Hector was with the 1992 Greenville Braves (3 for 9) and Durham Bulls (.279/.308/.451, 7 3B, 14 SB, 4 CS). In '93, he finally settled down with one team, hitting .246/.285/.367 with 28 doubles for Greenville. A 2B-3B for the prior couple seasons, he spent the entire year at shortstop.

Roa split 1994 between Durham (.264/.306/.416 in 33 G) and Greenville (.267/.284/.425 in 40 G). He was beginning to show pop, with 9 home runs in 290 AB for the year; on the other hand, he was clearly slowing down, with only 4 steals in 11 tries. The 25/26-year-old spent 1995 with the AAA Richmond Braves, hitting .258/.280/.350 in 40 games as a utility infielder.

1995: Mexico

In the winter of 1994-1995, Roa led the Dominican League with 28 runs.

Let go by Atlanta, Roa signed with the Mexico City Tigers and hit .250/.281/.391 in 33 games.

1996-1997: Taiwan

Roa then signed with Taiwan's President Lions. On March 19, he homered in his first at-bat in the league, the first player ever to do so in the history of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. On April 10, he hit for the cycle, the third player (and first foreigner) to accomplish that in the CPBL. He hit .344/.385/.598, smashed 17 homers, stole 25 bases and hit 13 triples, breaking Chung-Yi Huang's league record by five. It appears that no one has matched him through 2008.

In 1997, Roa was again productive, with a batting line of .317/.393/.497, though he only had 3 triples, 14 steals and 12 home runs. He was 8th in the league in average and won Best Ten honors at third base, taking advantage of the departure of Luis Iglesias to the rival Taiwan Major League.

1998-2003: Wandering baseball man

Roa split 1998 between two Mexican League clubs (.281/.352/.371 in 75 games) and the New Jersey Jackals (.306, .546 SLG in 30 games). In '99, he hit .227 and slugged .309 for two independent league clubs. Down but not out, the veteran bounced back in 2000 to bat .329 and slug .498 for the Rio Grande Valley White Wings, with 26 doubles and 16 home runs. He was named the All-Star 2B in the Texas-Louisiana League.

In 2001, Roa hit .304 and slugged .437 with the Yuma Bullfrogs. He split 2003 between the Victoria Capitals (.289, .389 SLG) and Baton Rouge River Bats (.317, 18 RBI). He briefly resurfaced in Mexico in late 2007-early 2008.

His son, Hector Roa, Jr., began his professional career in 2012.

In January 2015, he admitted to killing one Yeiry Mejia. She was killed in late November 2014. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Sources

• Chinese Wiki Baseball
• KT Choi's Taiwan Baseball Database
• Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database
• 1992-2004 Baseball Almanacs
• 1991 Baseball Guide
• The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros