Jorge DeLeon (minors)

Jorge Luis DeLeon

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 164 lb.
• School University of South Florida

• Born September 26, 1974 in Ponce, Puerto Rico

BR Minors page

Biographical information

Jorge DeLeon is a former minor league baseball player who played from 1997 to 2001 in the Boston Red Sox system. An infielder, he played second base, third base and shortstop about the same amount.

He was originally drafted by the Red Sox in the 16th round, 491st overall.

In his debut season, 1997, he spent time with both the Lowell Spinners and Michigan Battle Cats. He played in three games with Lowell and 20 games with 20 games with Michigan. Overall that year, DeLeon collected 20 hits in 71 at-bats for a .282 batting average. He had a terrible eye at the plate - he struck out 19 times and walked zero times.

In 1998, he spent time with Michigan and the Trenton Thunder. With Michigan, he played in 50 games and with Trenton, 29 games. Combined, he collected 74 hits in 271 at-bats for a .273 batting average. His eye at the plate improved greatly, as he walked 20 times and struck out only 22 times.

While with the Sarasota Red Sox in 1999, DeLeon played in 66 games, collecting 60 hits in 219 at-bats for a .274 batting average.

2000 was, without a doubt, his best season. He split time with three teams that year - he played in 5 games with the Pawtucket Red Sox, 10 games with Sarasota and 88 games with Trenton. He had career highs in every single major category that year, except for home runs and triples (which he tied), on base percentage (his 1999 total was higher) and stolen bases (his 1998 and 1999 totals were higher). In 103 games that year, he hit safely 117 times in 395 at-bats for a .296 batting average. He scored 50 runs in a season for the first and only time in his career when he scored 52 times total. He would never again play in 100 or more games in a season. Interestingly, before hitting two home runs at the Double-A level in 2000, DeLeon had gone 648 at-bats at that level without hitting one. He also tied the Trenton record for most RBI in a game when he had drove in seven runs in a single match.

Oddly, after his relatively impressive 2000 season, his performance quickly turned sour and his career fizzled. Injuries played a role in his career quickly ending. Spending time with the GCL Red Sox, Trenton and Pawtucket, he played in a total of 48 games and hit only .230 in 165 at-bats. He also pitched for the first and only time in his career, giving up an earned run in 1 1/3 innings of work. By two years after the best season of his career, he was out of a job in American Major League affiliated baseball.

References

• The Baseball Cube
• Eastern League Website