José León

José Geraldo León Vega

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut June 16, 2002
• Final Game September 26, 2004
• Born December 8, 1976 in Caguas, P.R.

BR page

Biographical Information

José León batted .194/.256/.306 for the Puerto Rican national team in the 2005 Baseball World Cup but had 3 outfield assists (no errors; eight putouts) as their starting left fielder. He went 4 for 15 in the qualifying tourney for the 2008 Olympics. In December 2008, Leon was indicted (and banned for life from the Chinese Professional Baseball League) along with eight others for throwing games while playing for the dMedia T-Rex.

The St. Louis Cardinals drafted León in the 22nd round of the 1994 Amateur Draft. He played in their minor league system until 2000 when he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles. León played in 88 major league games with the Orioles from 2002 - 2004, mostly at first or third base. Overall, León enjoyed a 16 year playing career which ended in 2009.

León became a hitting coach with the DSL Cardinals in 2017 and DSL Cardinals Blue in 2018. He became a manager with the State College Spikes in 2019. Under his leadership, State College led the New York-Penn League with 353 runs scored in 76 games and paced the league in both batting average (.247) and slugging percentage (.364). Leon was slated to return in the same role in 2020 before COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the minor league season. León managed the Palm Beach Cardinals in 2021.

The Cincinnati Reds hired León in 2022 to coach DSL Reds hitters. He was the hitting coach for the ACL Reds in 2023 and Dayton Dragons in 2024.

In addition, León has some experience coaching in the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League. He was the hitting coach for the Criollos de Caguas during the 2019/2020 and 2022/2023 seasons.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
2019	State College Spikes	New York-Penn League	39-36	8th	St. Louis Cardinals
2021	Palm Beach Cardinals	Low-A Southeast	37-80	10th	St. Louis Cardinals