J.C. Linares

From BR Bullpen

Juan Carlos Linares Izquierdo

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 9", Weight 214 lb.

BR Register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Juan Carlos Linares was a muscular slugger for La Habana. He is no relation to the other Juan Carlos Linares Izquierdo, whose career overlapped with his own.

Linares hit .407/.433/.926 with 4 homers, 9 runs and 13 RBI in 8 games when Cuba won the 2002 World Junior Championship. He had six putouts, an assist and no errors in center. He also pitched, going 2-0 with a 3.07 ERA and 18 K in 14 2/3 IP. He tied for 3rd in dingers (behind Delmon Young and Lastings Milledge), was 4th in RBI (behind Young, Shawn Bowman and Milledge), was 9th in ERA and tied Chad Billingsley for 6th in strikeouts. He was named the event's All-Star right-handed pitcher (Milledge, Eliu Torres and Adam Loewen were picked in the outfield, while Young won the MVP).

He debuted in the Serie Nacional in 2002-2003, hitting .169/.319/.254. He was 1 for 27 in 34 games in 2003-2004. He hit .227/.288/.398 in 2004-2005. In 2005-2006, Linares batted .319/.385/.513. He led the league with 72 strikeouts.

Linares produced at a .345/.467/.586 rate in 2006-2007 with 16 home runs and 65 walks. He led the league in slugging (over Alexei Ramírez) and tied Alfredo Despaigne for fifth in home runs, four behind Ramírez. He was tied for 6th in doubles (23), 6th in RBI, 4th in walks, 3rd in strikeouts (64), tied for 9th with Yulieski Gourriel in average and tied for second in total bases (187, even with Gourriel and behind Alexei Ramírez).

Linares hit .308/.438/.536 in 2007-2008 and won a Gold Glove in the outfield. His 66 strikeouts were third in the league and he tied Alexander Mayeta for fourth in intentional walks (16). In 2008-2009, his batting line was .325/.430/.588 with 63 RBI in 68 games. He fielded .988 and won another Gold Glove, but did not finish among the league leaders in anything (presumably in part due to his limited playing time).

Linares was put on Cuba's list of 58 candidates for the 2009 Baseball World Cup. He did not make the final cut and left Cuba shortly thereafter.

Sources[edit]

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