Roger Luque

Roger Emil Luque

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.

• Born January 8, 1980 in Ciudad Ojeda Venezuela

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Roger Luque had been a professional baseball pitcher for 12 years before his 29th birthday.

Luque began his career in 1997 with the DSL Padres, going 3-9 with a 5.00 ERA; the team as a whole was 14-56, so Luque was above-average in terms of record. He split 1998 between the AZL Padres (2-1, 5.79, 59 H in 42 IP) and the Idaho Falls Braves (1-0, 5.28, 12 BB, 19 K in 15 IP).

In 1999, Roger was with the Fort Wayne Wizards (4-5, 2 Sv, 3.84, 79 K in 77 IP) and the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (2 R in 1 2/3 IP). The southpaw spent 2000 with the same two clubs, going 4-3 with a 4.24 ERA for Fort Wayne and 3-3 with a save and a 5.98 ERA for Rancho Cucamonga, allowing a .310 average.

Luque pitched for the 2001 Wizards (5-2, 2.40 in 42 G, .211 opponent average, 61 K in 60 IP) and the Lake Elsinore Storm (3 R in 1 IP).

In 2002, Roger was with the San Bernardino Stampede (1-0, 3.86 in 14 G) and the Sioux City Explorers (3-2, 2.60), starting a long span in the independent leagues. He was 9-6 with a 3.41 ERA for two Northern League clubs in 2003.

The Ciudad Ojeda native had a 9-4, 3.74 record for the 2004 Winnipeg Goldeyes. In '05, he fell to 6-8, 5.06 for Winnipeg. He spent the 2006 season with the Joliet Jackhammers, struggling to a 3-5, 6.33 finish with 70 hits allowed in 48 innings.

The southpaw bounced back with the 2007 Yuma Bullfrogs, going 5-6 with a 2.57 ERA. He led the Golden Baseball League in ERA (by .42) and was named to the league All-Star team. With Yuma in '08, he fell hard, again going 5-6, but this time with a 7.97 ERA.

Luque was with Venezuela for the 2009 Baseball World Cup. He went 1-0 with a 3.06 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 17 2/3 IP. He tied Junior Guerra for the team lead in whiffs and was third in ERA behind Luis Torres and José Escalona. His best outing was against Great Britain, working seven shutout innings for the win. He was least effective against Team USA (2 R in 3 2/3 IP, in an upset 11-9 win) and Team Canada (4 R in 3 1/3 IP in a 9-2 defeat for his club). In the 7th/8th place game, he relieved Willy Guedez in the 6th with a 2-0 deficit against Taiwan and tossed a shutout inning. After Venezuela tied it in the bottom of the inning, he was replaced by Johan Lopez in a 6-3 Venezuelan win.

He signed with the Netherlands' Mr. Cocker HCAW in May 2010. He went 3-3 with a 3.17 ERA and struck out 61 in 54 innings. He was 11th in the league in strikeouts and 15th in ERA. In the 2011 Pan American Games, Luque was 0-1 with a 7.95 ERA, walking 5 and allowing 9 hits in 5 2/3 IP while fanning 7. He lost to Canada. He signed with Italy's Bologna club in 2013, replacing another former Venezuelan national team player, Victor Moreno.

Sources

• 1998-2009 Baseball Almanacs
• Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database