Ignacio Antonio "Iggy" Suarez
Age: 24
Born: May 3, 1981
Resides: Corona, NY
Height: 5-11
Weight: 165
B/R: Right/Right
College: SW Texas St. U.
High School: John Browne HS (NY)
Drafted:
Selected by Texas Rangers in 34th round (1,035th overall) of 1999 amateur entry draft.
Selected by Red Sox in 24th round (714th overall) of 2003 amateur entry draft.
Scouting Report:
May have the best glove in the whole system.
Light-hitting, slick fielding Suarez was named the organization's best defensive middle infielder by Baseball America in 2003.
Stats from Baseball Cube:
Team Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS 2002 SW Texas St College 21 57 201 37 65 14 2 1 22 24 33 15 3 .323 .402 .428 .830 2003 SW Texas St College 22 58 257 50 70 21 3 4 37 20 38 19 3 .272 .335 .424 .759 2003 Lowell NYPL A 22 58 207 32 46 13 0 0 19 32 43 12 4 .222 .326 .285 .611 2004 Augusta SAL A 23 38 141 28 38 6 2 1 15 21 29 7 1 .270 .373 .362 .735 2004 Sarasota FSL A 23 82 307 42 79 10 3 1 23 31 51 12 4 .257 .331 .319 .650 2005 Wilmington Car A 24 116 403 38 94 20 1 0 38 29 73 9 6 .233 .287 .288 .575 Minor Totals: 3 years .243 .320 .306 .626
Spring Training Stats
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS 2004 Red Sox 23 3 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 .750 .750 .750 1.500 2005 Red Sox 24 7 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 .167 .286 .167 .453 Totals: 10 10 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 .400 .455 .400 .855
Not at spring training this year.
***
Wilmington (high Class A) finished the 2005 season with a 60-80 record, the worst regular season finish in franchise history. Wilmington failed to qualify for the Carolina League's postseason for only the third time in 13 years. The Rocks led the league with 162 errors and had a league-worst fielding percentage of .969. Suarez committed a league-high 32 errors at shortstop.
From a recap of Iggy's 2005 season:
"One of four players to be with the Blue Rocks from opening day until the final game of the season. Suarez hit .233 with no home runs and 38 RBI in 116 games. Suarez delivered the game-winning RBI in Wilmington's 5-4, 11-inning walk-off victory over the Winston-Salem Warthogs on August 6. Put together an 11-game hitting streak from June 8-21. Was among the leaders for the Blue Rocks with a .304 batting average with runners in scoring position."
A few more career notes:
July 13, 2003: 3 hits, 3 runs scored, 2 RBI for Lowell v. Mahoning Valley
July 18-22, 2003: Stole bases in 4 consecutive games.
May 28, 2004: Had 4 hits (2 singles, triple, home run), scored 3 times and had 3 RBI for Augusta vs. Rome.
July 17, 2004: Went 4-for-4 for Sarasota vs. Lakeland.
2004 season: Batted .300 (51-for-170) at home for Sarasota.
Played for Wareham in Cape Cod Baseball League.
***
In September 2005, the Portland Press Herald said this about the shortstop spot for the 2006 Seadogs:
"This is up for grabs. Iggy Suarez finished his second season in advanced Class A but batted only .233. Christian Lara, a prospect, struggled in Greenville (.232). Middle infielder Jed Lowrie was a first-round pick out of Stanford in June. He hit .328 in Lowell but it would be a big leap to Portland from the rookie league."
SoxProspects has Ig penciled in as Portland's starting shortstop for 2006 (and on the Pawtucket bench in 2007).
***
From a cached copy of a 2005 interview:
Shortstop is one of the deepest positions in the Red Sox system. Do you pay attention to who’s playing where in the system?
I do think about who's ahead of me, but I try not to. I just want to play, and that's all I can control. Me going out and playing as well as I can is up to me. No one can take that away. I can get moved up or down during the season, which is beyond my control, but I'll always play hard.
Who was your favorite player growing up?
I was a Mets fan growing up, so I love everyone on the '86 World Championship team
. I grew up a five minute walk from Shea Stadium. But, my favorite player was Cal Ripken, Jr. I looked at him play and said to myself, "I want to be like that guy." The streak (2,632 consecutive games played) was just amazing. It showed how great he was that no matter how much he was hurting, he suited up every day.Do you have any superstitions?
The only thing is on deck. I take the same amount of swings with the doughnut on the bat, then I take four practice swings. I always strap up my batting gloves right first, then left. If I don't do it, I rush and get flustered. I don't really have any other superstitions beyond that.
Have you always played shortstop?
I was always a shortstop. Maybe I played a little second base when I was in Little League. But I've always wanted to play shortstop. I did play a little second base in my first year of pro ball (2003 in Lowell), but it's really not that big of a difference. Playing second base is almost like having a day off.
***
Back in 2003, he said:
FAVORITE
Player: Cal Ripken Jr.
Team: Boston Red Sox
Food: Rice and Beans
Movie: Carlito's Way
Actor: Al Pacino
Cartoon Character: Woody Woodpecker
