Ray Cabrera

Raymond Cabrera

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 220 lb.
• Born November 10, 1978 in Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional D.R.

BR Minors page

Biographical information

Ray Cabrera is a former minor league baseball outfielder who played from 1996 to 2002 in the Baltimore Orioles farm system.

Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Orioles in 1996, Cabrera started his professional career off in 1996 with the DSL Orioles, hitting .273 with no home runs. In 1997, he played for Guacara 1 in the Venezuelan Summer League and batted .293 with 2 HR and 18 RBI to finish 9th in the VSL in average. He hit .270 for Universidad in the VSL in 1998 and came stateside with the GCL Orioles. In 49 games with them, he batted .272. His on-base percentage was only .280, however, as he walked only twice in 184 at-bats. He struck out 25 times. He was actually one of the better hitters on his team that year, because the team as a whole hit only .236. He led the team in hits and RBI (30). He was second on the team in doubles (Brock Rumfield had 10; Cabrera had nine).

He split time between GCL Orioles and the Bluefield Orioles in 1999. Combined, he played in 47 games, collecting 50 hits in 175 at-bats for a .286 batting average. He walked only seven times, while striking out 20 times.

With the Delmarva Shorebirds in 2000, the 21-year-old Cabrera played in 122 games, collecting 122 hits in 437 hits for a .279 batting average. Because he walked only 12 times, his on-base percentage was only .315. He led the team in being hit by pitch (13 times) and times grounded into a double play (15 times). He slugged .357.

He set career highs in many major categories in 2001, with the Frederick Keys. In 123 games, he hit 14 home runs, drove in 65 RBI, scored 62 runs, walked 23 times, struck out 73 times and stole 16 bases - all career highs. He led the team in triples (four), hit by pitch (12) and he tied with Octavio Martinez for the team lead in times grounding into a double play, with 15 times. He was second on the team in many categories, often trailing Doug Gredvig. Cabrera trailed Gredvig in games played (129 to 123), runs (71 to 62), doubles (35 to 21) and home runs (20 to 14). In the hits category, his 126 trailed only Napoleon Calzado's 133. His batting line was .274/.325/.428.

Cabrera also took part in the 2001 Caribbean Series.

2002 would end up being his final season. Playing for the Bowie Baysox, Cabrera hit .276 in 61 games. His on base percentage was .296.

Overall, he played in 402 games in his five years in US-based leagues, collecting 415 hits in 1,499 at-bats for a .277 batting average. Of his 415 hits, 80 were doubles, 11 were triples and 25 were home runs. He scored 189 times, struck out 201 times, walked only 51 times (averaging just over 10 walks a season) and struck out 213 times. He stole 42 bases in 61 chances for a 69% success rate.

He later played briefly for the Bravos de Margarita of the Venezuela Winter League in 2007-2008.

Sources

• BR minors page