Norman Cardoze

Norman R. Cardoze Ramirez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 190 lb.

• Born December 31, 1971 in Masaya, Masaya Nicaragua

Biographical Information

Norman Cardoze was a long-time member of the Nicaraguan national team.

He was Nicaragua's youngest player in the 1993 Intercontinental Cup and went 0 for 1 as a pinch-hitter. In the 1995 Intercontinental Cup, he hit .306/.359/.639 with 8 runs and 10 RBI in 9 games and fielded perfectly at second base. He tied Omar Linares, Evert-Jan 't Hoen, Byung-kyu Lee, Nobuhiko Matsunaka and two others for second in the event with three home runs and he tied Víctor Mesa and Hiroyuki Watanabe for third in RBI, behind only Matsunaka and Nemesio Porras. He was named the All-Star second baseman, the only Nicaraguan honored at any position that year. He was with Nicaragua when they won the Silver Medal at the 1995 Pan American Games.

Norman was just 2 for 16 with 3 walks and a triple in the 1996 Olympics and fielded .967 at second base, where he split action with Jorge Avellán. Cardoze batted .227/.346/.455 in the 1997 Intercontinental Cup and again had a .967 fielding percentage at second. Against Cuba, he foiled a no-hit bid by Ciro Licea. He played for Nicaragua when they won Silver in the 1997 Central American Games. In the 1998 Haarlem Baseball Week, the 26-year-old was 4 for 16 but his hits were two doubles and two home runs. He helped Nicaragua to a Silver in the 1998 Central American and Caribbean Games.

Cardoze produced at a .439/.455/.659 rate in the 1998 Baseball World Cup with 9 runs and 15 RBI in 10 games while alternating between 2B and 3B. He tied Orestes Kindelan and Andrew Scott for 4th in the event with 18 hits, one behind co-leaders Edgard López, Henry Roa and Robelquis Videaux. He was third in RBI, 3 behind leader Kindelan and two behind Antonio Pacheco, leading all non-Cubans. Norman was 1 for 3 with a RBI and a double as Nicaragua beat Italy in the Bronze Medal game. He was again left off the All-Star team in favor of Cubans as Pacheco was picked at second base and Linares at third. He hit .286 in the 1999 Pan American Games.

The Masaya native was 7 for 23 in the 2003 Pan American Games. He hit .324/.395/.588 in the 2003 Baseball World Cup with 7 runs and 7 RBI in 9 games though he fielded just .857 at third base, his main position in the event. He batted .308/.370/.462 during the 2005 Baseball World Cup but was even worse with the glove than in '03, with five errors in nine games and a .821 fielding percentage at the hot corner. He drovei n 10 runs in 10 games.

At age 34, Cardoze hit .273 and slugged .500 in the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games. In the 2007 Pan American Games, the veteran infielder was just 1 for 15 for the Bronze Medal winners.

Through 2008, Cardoze was 14th in Nicaraguan amateur league history with 1,306 hits (between Sandy Moreno and Marlon Abea) and 6th with 182 home runs (1 behind #5 Porras).