Hilario Soriano

Hilario Soriano

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 170 lb.

• Born ~1955

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Hilario Soriano was a long-time minor league catcher, reaching AAA, then managed and scouted. His nephew Alfonso Soriano was a MLB All-Star.

Hilario debuted initially with the St. Louis Cardinals chain, hitting only .158/.222/.175 for the 1973 GCL Cardinals. He also had eight passed balls in 20 games. In 1974, he moved to the Los Angeles Dodgers chain and appeared for the Bellingham Dodgers (.234/.272/.279 in 48 G) and Bakersfield Dodgers (0 for 11). He led Northwest League backstops in the odd combination of fielding percentage (.976) and passed balls (22 in 44 games). With the '75 Danville Dodgers, he hit .260/.281/.350 while backing up fellow future scout Pablo Peguero.

In 1976, Soriano was with the Lodi Dodgers (.278/.311/.365 in 38 G) and Waterbury Dodgers (.125/.176/.146 in 13 G). He backed up Mike Scioscia with the 1977 Clinton Dodgers and put up a pitiful batting line of .163/.181/.196 in 37 games. He still moved up to the San Antonio Dodgers in AA in '78, batting .227/.284/.273 in 58 games. The next year, he ended his Dodgers run by hitting .243/.285/.296 in 37 games for San Antonio, backing up Don Crow.

Soriano was out of the minors in 1980-1981. He returned in 1982, splitting action between the San Jose Expos (3 for 21, 2B), Wichita Aeros (.241/.250/.379 in 24 G) and Knoxville Blue Jays (.283/.290/.367 in 18 G). He moved around the Toronto Blue Jays chain in 1983, appearing for the GCL Blue Jays (2 for 9, BB), Florence Blue Jays (1 for 12, BB) and Knoxville (9 for 58, 3 2B, 2 BB). He ended his US playing career in 1984 with the Kinston Blue Jays (4 for 29) and Knoxville (2 for 16, 2 BB). He then spent one year with the Mexican League's Yucatan Lions, hitting .214/~.276/.357. His career average was .217, with not much else to support it (66 BB, 9 SB, 40 2B, 5 3B, 12 HR) in 431 games.

After his playing career ended, Soriano has scouted for the Florida Marlins, Blue Jays and New York Mets. He signed Luis Pérez, Nicolás Débora, Robinzon Díaz, Joel Carreno, Dawel Lugo and Moises Sierra. He also managed the 1992-1993 DSL Expos (60-78) and 1994-1996 DSL Marlins (76-130).

Sources

• 2001 article on Soriano's family, focusing on his famous nephew
• Assorted Baseball Guides
• The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros