Hipolito Pichardo

From SoSH

Hipolito Antonio Pichardo Balbina is a right-handed pitcher who spent two seasons in Boston's bullpen (2000 and 2001). During his Red Sox tenure, he compiled an 8-4 record and posted a 3.97 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. He wore uniform number 35 for the Red Sox.

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Pichardo's Moments in the Sun 3 Trivia 4 Transactions 5 External Links

Overall Career

Hipolito Pichardo's career began when he was signed as a free agent by the Kansas City Royals in 1998, but his first few years in the minors provided mixed results. After a terrific rookie debut in single-A, in which he pitched 75 2/3 innings, allowing 58 hits and 18 walks, Pichardo's level of success decreased at each successive level (1990: 47 hits and 25 walks in 45 innings in High-A, 1991: 116 hits and 38 walks in 99 innings in AA). However, being in the Royals' organization has its benefits, as Hipolito discovered: after beginning the 1992 season in AA, Pichardo was called up after just 2 minor league starts, and he made his debut at age 23 on April 21, 1992 against Baltimore. Pichardo would spend the next six seasons with Kansas City, compiling below-average numbers (with far more hits and walks than innings pitched) and generally fitting right in with the Kansas City pitching staff. Although Hipolito was initially called up as a starter, he was converted to relief for the 1994 season, and pitched exclusively in relief from 1994-1997. After resigning with Kansas City as a free agent prior to the 1998 season, Hipolito Pichardo was used as both a starter and a reliever during the 1998 season. Overall, in his 7-year career with Kansas City, Pichardo pitched 669 2/3 innings and allowed 730 hits, 249 walks, and 333 earned runs while striking out 340, giving him an ERA of 4.48 and a WHIP of 1.46.

Hipolito's rather modest career was threatened by elbow injuries in 1999, and he missed the entire 1999 season after having elbow surgery in April. Prior to the 2000 season, he made the best baseball decision of his career, signing with the Red Sox, and after spending 17 2/3 innings in Sarasota and Pawtucket, he was called up to Boston. Hipolito had the best season of his career in 2000, allowing fewer hits (63) than innings pitched (65) for the first and only time in his career. He became an excellent mid- to late-inning reliever, often displaying good sinking movement on his pitches and compiling a 3.46 ERA in 65 innings pitched. Even during the 2000 season, though, Pichardo's peripherals (3.6 BB/9 and 5.12 K/9) were consistent with his career averages, suggesting that regression to the mean was likely, if not imminent. In 2001, Hipolito experienced just that, allowing 42 hits and ten walks in 34 2/3 innings pitched and sporting a 4.93 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP before being released by Boston in November of that year.

Pichardo signed with the Houston Astros for the 2002 season, but pitched only 1/3 of an inning, allowing 3 earned runs (for an unsightly 81.00 ERA). He announced his retirement from MLB on May 9, 2002.

Pichardo's Moments in the Sun

• Hipolito pitched a complete game (9-inning) one-hit shutout against the Red Sox on July 21, 1992, as the Royals beat the Red Sox 8-0.
• The 2000 season was Pichardo's best season in the majors, as his ERA of 3.46 and WHIP of 1.369 made him an asset to the Red Sox bullpen.

Trivia

• In 1994, Pichardo tied for fifth in the AL with 7 hit batsmen.
• In January 2003, Pichardo earned two wins for the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean Series.

Transactions

• December 16, 1987: Signed as a non-drafted free agent by Kansas City Royals.
• October 31, 1997: Granted free agency
• December 4, 1997: Signed by Kansas City Royals
• November 11, 1999: Granted free agency
• February 11, 2000: Signed by Boston Red Sox
• November 5, 2001: Granted free agency
• February 22, 2002: Signed by Houston Astros
• October 15, 2002: Granted free agency

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis