Despite the fact that I've been pecking away at this little-read blog on a near-daily basis for more than seven years, there are still corners of the Orioles universe that I have not yet explored. For instance, this is the first appearance of infielder Jackie Gutierrez in this space. When Jackie debuted with the Red Sox in 1983, he was just the second Colombian-born player in MLB history; the first was Orlando Ramirez, a shortstop who played 143 games for the Angels in the mid-1970s. Ramirez, as it would happen, is Gutierrez's brother-in-law. To date, only 15 major leaguers have come from Colombia, with the most prominent being shortstops Orlando Cabrera and Edgar Renteria.
Jackie did not have a particularly illustrious tenure in Baltimore, appearing in 64 games in 1986 and 1987 and batting .185/.205/.205 in 153 trips to the plate. He had only three extra-base hits, all doubles, and drove in four runs. It was enough to get his picture on a few trading cards, but not much else.
I can add that Gutierrez came from an athletically-inclined family. His father Campo threw the javelin in the 1936 Olympics, and his older brother Freddie ran the 100-meter dash in the 1960 Olympics. So I guess Jackie got a leg up on them by competing as a professional athlete.
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