Cole Figueroa was called up before the finale of the game
between the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics while the Yankees sent
Jose Pirela down to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Why the Yankees flat out
refuse to use Robert Refsnyder in these situations and what they have against
the man is beyond me but whatever, more on that later as promised.
Stephen Coleman Figueroa was born on June 30, 1987 to
parents Cindy and Bien Figueroa and spent his college career at the University
of Florida playing on the Gators baseball team. Figueroa was the starting
shortstop for the team and impressed many teams there including the San Diego
Padres who drafted him in the sixth round of the 2008 MLB First Year Players
Draft. Figueroa was also drafted in the ninth round of the 2006 Draft but elected
to not sign with the Toronto Blue Jays, seems like that was a good decision for
him.
Figueroa hoped that his father’s baseball blood, Bien is a
former major league player with the St. Louis Cardinals, would translate to a
great career with the Padres but the team traded him to the Tampa Bay Rays on
December 17, 2010. San Diego received Jason Bartlett while trading Figueroa,
Brandon Gomes, Cesar Ramos and Adam Russell to Tampa. Figueroa saw his first
major league at bat on May 22, 2014 after the Rays called him up and recorded
his first major league hit on May 23, a walk off RBI double against the Boston
Red Sox in the bottom of the 9th inning.
That to date is the highlight of Figueroa’s career as he is
now a member of the New York Yankees big league club. Good luck Cole, make the
most of the opportunity.
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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)