Iván Maldonado

Ivan Maldonado Oquendo

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 230 lb.
• School Indian River Community College
• High School Miguel Melendez Munoz High School

• Born June 7, 1980 in New York, NY USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Ivan Maldonado reached AAA in 2007 and pitched at that level for three seasons, but never made the major leagues.

Maldonado was picked by the New York Mets in the 18th round of the 2002 amateur draft out of junior college. He debuted that year with the Kingsport Mets, allowing 6 runs (3 earned) in 7 innings. In 2003, the right-hander was 5-2 with a save and a 4.06 ERA for the Brooklyn Cyclones. The next season, Ivan spent most of the year with the Capital City Bombers (4-4, 7.38, 65 H, 15 HR in 46 1/3 IP) though he did have 3 appearances at lower levels.

Maldonado was 1-0 with a 1.16 ERA for the Gigantes de Carolina in the 2004-2005 Puerto Rican League. He split the 2005 season between the St. Lucie Mets (4-5, Sv, 5.46) and Binghamton Mets (1-1, 4.26). In the 2005 Baseball World Cup, Ivan pitched for Puerto Rico, going 1-1 with a 2.30 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 15 2/3 IP. He tied Josue Matos for the team lead in Ks. He got the win over the Spanish national team and Xavier Civit but lost to Team USA.

Maldonado stuck with the Puerto Rican national team for the 2006 World Baseball Classic, in which he allowed two runs in one inning spread out over two games. He made significant progress in 2006, going 2-3 with 3 saves and a 2.51 ERA for Binghamton and making the mid-season Eastern League All-Star team. He returned to the Puerto Rican squad for the COPABE Olympic qualifier but went 0-2 and allowed 5 runs in 1 1/3 IP.

In 2007, Ivan made it to AAA with the New Orleans Zephyrs. In 39 games, he won 2, lost 1 and saved 9 while posting a 3.80 ERA and striking out 45 in 42 2/3 IP. He returned to New Orleans for 2008, going 4-5 with 3 saves and a 4.07 ERA in 47 games. He was 1-0 with 9 saves and a 2.25 ERA for Carolina in 2008-2009, finishing 4th in the Puerto Rican League in saves. Moving to the Leones de Ponce for the 2009 Caribbean Series, he was superb (3 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 R, 4 K) and saved a win over the Tigres del Licey.

Maldonado repeated on Puerto Rico's squad for the 2009 World Baseball Classic. In his lone outing in the event, he allowed hits to Bryan Engelhardt and Dirk van 't Klooster, fanned Mike Duursma and was then relieved by Pedro Feliciano. That summer, he pitched for the Mexico City Red Devils (2-2, 3.32 in 16 G) and Monclova Steelers (3 H, 3 R, 0 outs). He was 1-0 with 3 saves for Carolina in 2009-2010 but walked 10 in 11 2/3 IP and had a 6.17 ERA.

He signed with the independent Long Island Ducks for 2010 and pitched 39 games (4-4, 2 Sv, 4.53). With the Criollos de Caguas in 2010-2011, control returned as a problem in the winter (14 BB in 21 1/3 IP; 5.91 ERA). After nine years in the minors, he was out for the first time. He struggled in the 2011 Baseball World Cup (0-2, 7.88), losing to Panama and Taiwan. In the 2011 Pan American Games, he allowed 3 runs (1 earned), two hits, a walk and a hit batsmen in one inning of work.

The veteran right-hander had a 1-0, 5.40 record for the 2011-2012 Criollos. In 2012-2013, he was 2-3 with a 8.44 ERA for the Santurce Crabbers and tied for 5th in the league in losses. The next winter, he had a 5.40 ERA in five relief outings for Santurce.

Things turned around for Maldonado in 2014-2015 after years of struggles. He went 5-1 with a 0.39 ERA for Santurce, with only 2 earned runs (8 runs total) and a 0.78 WHIP in 46 IP. He led the league in ERA handily (Giovanni Soto's 2.20 was second), tied Tomas Santiago for second in wins behind Luis Atilano and led in WHIP by .33 over Soto. He set the Puerto Rican League ERA record, breaking Fernando Figueroa's record of 0.63 (set in 1992-1993). He won both Comeback Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year.

Sources

• 2008 Mets Media Guide
• MILB.com
• Defunct IBAF site
• 2006 Baseball Almanac
• World Baseball Classic
• Primera Hora