Juan Uribe

Inspired in part by his older cousin José Uribe, who returned every winter to the Dominican Republic with tales of his life in major-league baseball, Juan Uribe from an early age aspired to play in the big leagues. That dream ultimately became a reality as Uribe crafted a 16-season major-league career that saw him playing an important role on two World Series champions, the 2005 Chicago White Sox and the 2010 San Francisco Giants.

Juan Cespedes Uribe Tena was born on March 22, 1979, in Palenque, San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. He attended high school at Abel Uribe, Juan Baron in the Dominican Republic, but did not attend college, signing with the Colorado Rockies in 1997. He had been identified as a prospect by Jorge Posada Sr., the father of the veteran New York Yankees catcher, and was signed by Posada and Rodolfo Rosario on January 15, 1997, as an undrafted free agent. Uribe began his professional career that summer playing on the Rockies team in the Dominican Summer League.

In 1998, the 19-year-old Uribe appeared in 40 games for the Rockies’ Arizona Rookie League club, which won the league championship. He hit .277, scored 25 runs, drove in 17, and stole eight bases in nine attempts. In the field the six-foot shortstop posted a .927 fielding average, committing 14 errors while turning 25 double plays.

The next season, Uribe was promoted to the Asheville Tourists of the low Class-A South Atlantic League. Appearing in 125 games he hit .267 while scoring 57 runs and driving in 46. He also showed more power than previously, hitting nine home runs. He improved his fielding average to .938.

The 2000 season saw Uribe continue his climb toward the majors as he appeared in 134 games for the Rockies’ high-A Carolina League entry, the Salem (Virginia) Avalanche. He hit .256 with 124 hits, 64 runs scored, and 65 RBIs with 13 home runs. The young shortstop continued to show improvement in the field, raising his fielding average to .961, handling 667 chances with only 26 errors.

The 2001 season was something of a yo-yo or roller-coaster ride for Uribe. While the season included a three-game stint with the Carolina Mudcats of the Double-A Southern League, for the most part he went back and forth between the Rockies and the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Pacific Coast League). There he ended up playing a total of 74 games, hitting a then career-best .310, with 40 runs scored and 48 RBIs. But more importantly, he played in 72 games with the Rockies.

Making his major-league debut on April 8, 2001, in the bottom of the ninth with the Rockies trailing 11-3 against the San Diego Padres, Uribe led off the inning, pinch-hitting for Mike Myers. Facing Jay Witasick, he grounded out to second. He made his first start the next day, going hitless, before collecting his first major-league hit – a line-drive single to center – on April 11 in St. Louis off Cardinals right-hander Matt Morris. Uribe was sent back to Colorado Springs on April 23. Called up again on May 19, he was sent back down on the 23rd.

Uribe was called back up for good on July 25 after the Rockies traded Neifi Pérez to Kansas City. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he started 59 of the Rockies’ final 61 games and put together a performance that made clear he was major-league-ready. Indeed, Uribe’s totals for his time with Rockies included a .300 batting average, with 82 hits, 32 runs scored, and 53 runs batted in. He posted a .983 fielding average with only five errors. Paired with second baseman Jose Ortiz, Uribe was seen as being part of a “promising double play combination.”1 In addition, his 11 triples in 72 games placed him tied for second in the National League and tied the Rockies team record. Also, while he did not have enough plate appearance to qualify for the batting title, only Albert Pujols ranked ahead of him of those who did qualify. He also ranked fourth among NL rookies in RBIs, extra-base hits, and total bases. It was, by any measure, an auspicious start to his major-league career.

It also undoubtedly contributed to Uribe’s earning the nod as the team’s starting shortstop when the 2002 season began. In his first full season in the major leagues, Uribe played 150 games at shortstop for the Rockies, while appearing in a total of 155 contests. He started off strong, hitting .373 for the month of April, and while he slumped in midseason, at one point he put together a 17-game hitting streak and ranked third on the team with 38 multihit games. At the same time, he also struck out 120 times, the fourth most in team history. Uribe hit a strong .314 in September to finish on a high note. While his .240 overall batting average was certainly not what he wanted, his play at shortstop made him a valuable asset. He led all shortstops with 261 putouts, 792 total chances, and 118 double plays and he was second with an average of 3.45 assists per nine innings.

Uribe’s hopes of building upon his solid rookie campaign were derailed by injury issues that left him able to play in only 87 games in 2003. He opened the season on the 60-day disabled list after fracturing a bone in his right foot on March 1 while running the bases in a spring-training game. Undergoing surgery in the first week of March, he began his rehabilitation assignment the last week in May and joined the Rockies on June 3. He returned in fine style that night, going 2-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs, leading the Rockies to a 7-3 win over the visiting Cleveland Indians. Overall, Uribe hit .253 while playing 74 games at shortstop and 11 at second base. Anxious to make up for the time he had lost, he played 21 games in the Dominican Winter League.

Everything changed for Uribe on December 2, 2003, when the Rockies traded him to the Chicago White Sox for infielder Aaron Miles, who had played only eight games in the majors.

Joining a White Sox team in the midst of a major overhaul and with a new manager, Ozzie Guillén, Uribe in 2004 recorded career bests in pretty much every offensive category, starting with a batting average of .283. He hit 23 home runs while driving in 74 runs.

The following year brought Uribe his first taste of postseason baseball, and while he was not able to match his 2004 offensive efforts, he was still a critical cog in the 2005 White Sox team that took the baseball world by storm. After winning 99 games in the regular season, the team dominated in the postseason, winning 11 of 12 contests, culminating with a sweep of the Houston Astros in the World Series to win their first title since 1917.

While Uribe had been moved around a bit in 2004, spending time at shortstop, second, and third, in 2005, he was the team’s shortstop from day one. Starting 143 of the team’s regular-season games and all the postseason ones, he contributed in countless ways at bat and in the field. Uribe hit .252, with 16 home runs, and 71 RBIs while also tying for second in the American League with 10 sacrifice flies. His fielding average of .977 ranked third among American League shortstops. In the postseason he reached base safely in 11 of the 12 games and was at the center of the final two outs of the World Series, first making an “acrobatic leap into the stands” in shallow left field for the next to last out, an effort immortalized in the Championship Monuments statue outside the ballpark, and then making a “slick, off-balance assist” on Orlando Palmeiro’s “slow roller up the middle” to seal the win and the championship.2

As the White Sox sought to repeat in 2006, Uribe turned in a performance comparable to his efforts in their championship season. While his batting average dropped to .235, his 21 home runs – in 14 fewer games – represented an increase over the 16 he hit in 2005, and he matched his RBI total of 71.

Uribe’s offseason was marred by charges of a reported shooting incident. The shortstop was accused of shooting a farmer in the Dominican Republic in October of 2006, a charge he denied. An attempted-murder investigation commenced but the case was settled when Uribe paid a reported $25,500, after which all charges were dropped, with Uribe’s lawyer saying it was recognized that Uribe was not in fact involved in the incident.3 While the whole episode was unsettling, Uribe arrived at spring training only two days late. The 2007 season itself was very similar to the previous campaign, although he played in 150 games. His 20 home runs placed him third among American League shortstops as did his .976 fielding average.

Uribe’s 2008 performance was mixed. Injuries, especially hamstring issues, reduced his playing time and he ended up playing in only 110 games, his fewest since the injury-plagued 2003 season. But he continued to show his versatility, being the only American Leaguer to play in more than 50 games at both second and third, and he raised his batting average to .247, even if the reduced game total lowered his home run and RBI totals.

After the 2008 season, Uribe was granted free agency, and he signed a one-year deal with the San Francisco Giants at the end of January 2009. The 2009 season made clear Uribe’s versatility as he started 34 games at second base, 34 at third, and 35 at shortstop, committing only nine errors total in 123 games and 600 chances. He had one of his best seasons at bat, hitting .289 with 16 home runs and 55 RBIs. After again signing a one-year deal with the Giants, Uribe played in 148 games in 2010, primarily playing shortstop. While his batting average dropped to .248, he achieved career highs with 24 home runs and 85 RBIs.

In the postseason, Uribe’s clutch Game Six, eighth-inning home run broke a 2-2 tie and propelled the Giants to their pennant-clinching win over the Phillies, and he finished second on the team in postseason RBIs with nine, five of which came in the World Series as Uribe earned his second championship ring.

While Uribe’s time with the Giants was brief, he had endeared himself to Giants fans and teammates alike. As Sports Illustrated writer Ann Killion wrote at the end of the season, just after the Giants had won the World Series, “Juan Uribe is the Giants’ sometime shortstop, sometime third baseman, all the time clutch hitter. He is a clubhouse leader, a playful presence, a World Series winner.”4 She added that “he’s one of the characters that have given the Giants so much personality.”5

With a second World Series ring in hand, Uribe again tested the free-agency market and ended up signing a three-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The security of the contract proved valuable for Uribe when the 2011 season proved to be a colossal disappointment: A left hip flexor muscle caused him to miss time in May and June, before a left hip strain, followed by season-ending sports hernia surgery in July, ended his season after he had played in only 77 games. The 2012 season was little better as nagging injuries, especially a wrist injury, kept him on the disabled list while also limiting his ability to compete for playing time. After hitting .204 in his limited playing time in 2011, Uribe dropped to .191 in the injury-shortened 2012 season.

But after the two disappointing seasons, and in the final year of his contract, Uribe bounced back in 2013. Starting the season as a utility infielder, by June he had made third base his own. He ultimately appeared in 132 games, including 123 at third base, where his play earned him the Dodgers’ Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award. He was also a finalist for the Gold Glove Award. Meanwhile, the 34-year-old Uribe hit .278, with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs as the Dodgers reached the postseason and they lost to the Cardinals in the NL Championship Series. While the season ended on a disappointing note, Uribe’s performance earned the free agent a new contract with the Dodgers.

While hamstring strains twice landed Uribe on the disabled list and resulted in his playing in only 103 games in 2014, when he was in the lineup he turned in a performance that was one of his best ever. He posted a career-high batting average of .311, hit 9 home runs, and drove in 54 runs, his most since 2010. His fielding average at third base was tops among National Leaguers and he earned the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award as the major leagues’ top-fielding third basemen. And in a nod to the respect accorded him by the team, manager Don Mattingly allowed Uribe to manage the team’s regular-season finale, aided by Clayton Kershaw serving as pitching coach.6

A healthy, but 36-year-old Uribe opened the 2015 season for the Dodgers at third base, but after appearing in 29 games and hitting .247, on May 27 he was traded to the Atlanta Braves along with Chris Withrow for Alberto Callaspo, Juan Jaime, Eric Stults, and Ian Thomas. Despite the trade but reflective of the respect accorded Uribe, the Dodgers still held their Juan Uribe Bobblehead night as scheduled for July 11.7 Two weeks later, his stint in Atlanta was over. After hitting .285 over 46 games, 38 of which he started, he was traded to the New York Mets on July 24 along with Kelly Johnson for John Gant and Rob Whalen. Uribe played in 44 games with the Mets, starting 29, and hitting .219 as the team advanced to the World Series, where they lost in five games to the Kansas City Royals. While a chest contusion prevented Uribe from playing in either of the first two rounds of the postseason as the Mets won the National League pennant, he made his mark in the third game of the World Series. Pinch-hitting for pitcher Noah Syndergaard in the bottom of the sixth, he stroked a line-drive single to right, sparking a four-run outburst that secured the Mets’ 9-3 win, their only victory in the Series.

The winter after the 2015 season again saw Uribe a free agent and in late February he signed with the Cleveland Indians, agreeing to a one-year, $4 million contract. Even though he was 37, as word of his impending signing got out, the value of his “dynamic clubhouse presence” to an Indians team that featured a strong young core was recognized by local media.8 Manager Terry Francona, who said the team had been trying to get Uribe all winter, installed the veteran as the starting third baseman.9 While clearly nearing the end of his career, his value to the team was evident. As Francona observed, “We got a kid in here that has played on winners and is a really good guy in the clubhouse, especially with the younger Latin kids. But it doesn’t just have to be Latin.”10

Uribe was in the team’s Opening Day lineup at third base and he held the position until June 12, when, after being hit in the groin by a 106 mph groundball off the bat of Mike Trout, he had to be carted off the field. The injury was diagnosed as a testicular contusion with the injury being made worse by the fact that he was not wearing a cup.11 Uribe was replaced by the rising young star José Ramírez, who had been playing other positions in order to keep his bat in the lineup while Uribe held down the hot corner but who slid smoothly into his preferred position when the veteran was hurt. The injury signaled the end of Uribe’s career. He was designated for assignment by the Indians on August 1 and released on August 5.

Over the course of his 16 seasons and over 1,800 major-league games, Uribe put together a solid record. While playing on two World Series champions with the White Sox and Giants as well as the National League pennant-winning Mets, Uribe posted a career batting average of .255 with 1,568 hits, 199 home runs, and 816 RBIs. A star shortstop early in his career, his later shift to third not only enhanced his reputation for versatility but earned him formal recognition. And beyond the statistics, his consistent performance, coupled with his infectious spirit and enthusiasm earned Uribe a reputation as a tough, versatile ballplayer, one who could contribute at bat, in the field, and in the clubhouse, where he was “extremely popular with his teammates and appreciated for his sunny disposition.”12

While playing for seven different teams in both leagues, Uribe was recognized as a player who added much to his team. His White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén called him “the most beloved guy” on the team, adding that he was the “funniest man, great player … played hard every day.”13 White Sox general manager Kenny Williams said that Uribe “remains one of my favorite guys to ever put on a White Sox uniform. He’s a prince of a guy and if you get to know him, he’s one of the funniest guys you’ll ever know.”14 His White Sox teammate Aaron Rowand recalled how Uribe “walk[ed] into the clubhouse every day like a little kid. … He never changes.”15 And his Giants teammate Aubrey Huff joked that he didn’t “really know how he is as a teammate because he doesn’t speak English very well,” but added, “We love him as a teammate. He’s got a lot of energy. And he’s a fun guy. If you can understand him.”16 As Sports Illustrated’s Ann Killion wrote after the 2010 World Series win, “Uribe is beloved, always happy, consistently upbeat.”17

Before his retirement had been made official, baseball observers noted that Uribe was the kind of player whose value could be partly quantified, but who had an additional human-based value that resulted in important but often unrecognized contributions to a team’s success. He was, as one writer put it, the embodiment of the “glue-guy,” the type of player whose value “can never be measured but should ‘always be respected.’”18 The writer also noted that the effort and value of such players was a reminder of the fact that “baseball is still a human game in an era dominated by a growth of admiration for statistics.”19 But in the end, the most important statistic in baseball is wins and as that same writer observed, “[O]ver 16 years, having Uribe in the clubhouse has translated to quite a bit of team wins.”20

In retirement Uribe, who has four children with his wife, Anna, returned to the Dominican Republic, where he established a baseball academy, Uribe Academy, in Nizao, Peravia. In developing the Academy, Uribe has assumed the role of a supportive father, commenting, “In my academy we are like a family. All these kids are like my kids. I go there with them, I play with them, I eat with them. … We do all the same stuff, all together.”21 The academy serves as their school while also helping them develop as ballplayers. Befitting his reputation as an invaluable dugout presence during his playing days, Uribe noted, “They do everything they need to do there. … I take a lot of pride in that because we are like a family. I like to be inclusive with all of them. I like to be part of their routines.”22

One of the first players to be trained at the Academy before going on to play professional baseball was Uribe’s son, Juan Uribe Jr., who signed with the White Sox during the January 2023 international signing period. Juan Sr. commented, “You want your son to be in a good place, the right place. I’m proud of the player he is and the player he is going to become and how he is going to represent the Chicago White Sox.”23 Juan Jr. and the Academy are fitting legacies of the career Juan Uribe crafted, one that reminds us all that even in an era of ever-increasing, if not encroaching, analytics, “baseball is still a human game.”24

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted MLB.com, baseball-almanac.com, and Baseball-Reference.com.

Notes

1 “Bumpy Ride Finally Ends for Rockies,” (Grand Junction, Colorado) Daily Sentinel, October 9, 2001; https://www.newspapers.com/image/539309829/?terms=%22juan%20uribe%22%20.

2 Art Berke, “White Sox A-Z: Uribe,” Inside the White Sox, August 20, 2020; https://whitesoxpride.mlblogs.com/white-sox-a-z-uribe-2b6c7175f963; Scott Merkin, “Chicago-Born Uribe Jr. Follows Dad to White Sox,” MLB.com, January 16, 2023; https://www.mlb.com/news/juan-uribe-jr-signs-with-white-sox.

3 Associated Press “Farmer Accepts Settlement, Drops Charges against Uribe,” ESPN, June 11, 2007; https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=2901210.

4 Ann Killion, “Giants, Fans Embracing Do-It-All Infielder ‘Ooooh! … Ree-Bay!’” Sports Illustrated, October 29, 2010; https://www.si.com/more-sports/2010/10/29/uribe.

5 Killion.

6 Dan Arritt, “Dodgers Shake Up Coaching Staff,” ESPN.com, September 27, 2014; https://www.espn.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_/id/11602043/juan-uribe-manage-los-angeles-dodgers-regular-season-finale-vs-colorado-rockies.

7 Jon Weisman, “Juan Uribe Bobblehead Night Still Set for July 11,” Dodger Insider, May 27, 2015; https://dodgers.mlblogs.com/juan-uribe-bobblehead-night-still-set-for-july-11-5b2f206c4cc5.

8 Jeff Todd, “Indians to Sign Juan Uribe,” MLB Trade Rumors, February 18, 2016; https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/02/indians-to-sign-juan-uribe.html.

9 Zack Meisel, “Juan Uribe Relieved to Finally Be in Camp: Cleveland Indians Morning Briefing,” cleveland.com, February 29, 2026; https://www.cleveland.com/tribe/2016/02/cleveland_indians_morning_brie_6.html.

10 Jesse Sanchez, “Uribe Could Be Force in Tribe Clubhouse,” MLB.com, March 11, 2016; https://www.mlb.com/news/juan-uribe-will-be-force-in-indians-clubhouse-c167098910.

11 Matt Lyons, “Juan Uribe Took a 106-MPH Shot to the Groin,” SB Nation: Covering the Corner, June 12, 2016; https://www.coveringthecorner.com/2016/6/12/11916200/juan-uribe-took-a-106-mph-shot-to-the-groin.

12 Art Berke, “White Sox A-Z: Uribe.”

13 Berke.

14 Berke.

15 Ann Killion, “Giants, Fans Embracing Do-It-All Infielder ‘Ooooh! … Ree-Bay!’”

16 Killion.

17 Killion.

18 Will Templin, “Is This the End of Juan Uribe?” Off Base Baseball, February 7, 2017; https://offbasebaseball.com/2017/02/07/is-this-the-end-of-juan-uribe/.

19 Templin.

20 Templin.

21 Scott Merkin, “Chicago-Born Uribe Jr. Follows Dad to White Sox.”

22 Merkin.

23 Merkin.

24 Templin.