Dodger Stadium
60th Anniversary
Posted Thursday October 13th 2022
Raul Mondesi
- 1994 Rookie of the Year
Raúl Ramon Mondesi Avelino (born March 12, 1971) is a Dominican former politician and baseball player. Mondesi played in Major League Baseball for 13 seasons, primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and made his MLB debut with them in 1993. He was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1994, an MLB All-Star, and a two-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner.Raul Mondesi:
- Known for his combination of power and speed, Mondesi twice achieved the 30–30 club.
- He led MLB right fielders in assists in three separate seasons over the course of his career.
- Mondesi was originally signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1988 out of the Dominican Republic.
- He made his MLB debut for the Dodgers on July 19, 1993. He appeared in 42 games that season for the Dodgers, hitting .291 with four home runs.
- 1994 Mondesi made the Dodgers opening day roster in 1994 and played in 112 games, hitting .306 with 16 homers, 56 RBI, and 11 stolen bases. He was selected as the National League Rookie of the Year.
- 1995 In 1995, he was twice selected as National League Player of the Week (April 30 and July 5), he won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award and was selected to the 1995 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
- Overall, he hit .285 with 26 home runs, 88 RBI, and 14 stolen bases.
- 1997 In 1997, he hit .310 with 30 homers, 88 RBI, and 32 steals becoming the first Dodger player in history to join the 30–30 club. He also won his second Rawlings Gold Glove Award and finished 15th in voting for the National League Most Valuable Player Award.
- 1999 In 1999, he again joined the 30–30 club with 33 homers and 36 steals, though his average had dipped to .253.
- On November 8, 1999, Mondesi was traded by the Dodgers to the Toronto Blue Jays.
- 2001 He won the American League Player of the Week Award for the week of May 6, 2001.
- 2002 Mondesi was traded by the Blue Jays to the New York Yankees on July 1, 2002. He played in 71 games for the Yankees that season.
- 2003 He played in 98 in 2003, hitting .250 with 27 home runs and 92 RBI.
- The Yankees traded Mondesi on July 29, 2003 to the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 45 games with the Diamondbacks, he hit .302 with eight home runs.
- 2004 Mondesi signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates on February 24, 2004.
- The Anaheim Angels signed Mondesi on May 30, 2004. Shortly after Mondesi signed with the Angels, he tore his quadriceps and was placed on the disabled list. He was released by the Angels in July for not showing up for his rehab therapy.
- 2005 The Atlanta Braves signed Mondesi in 2005; he appeared in 41 games with them.
After baseball, Mondesi began a career in politics, gaining election to the Dominican Chamber of Deputies in 2006. In 2010, he became mayor of San Cristobal in the Dominican Republic, serving a six-year term. In 2017, Mondesi was sentenced to eight years in prison on corruption charges arising from mishandling of public funds during his term as mayor after Tropical Storm Noel.
Mondesi's son Adalberto Mondesi (formerly known as Raul Mondesi Jr.) is also a professional baseball player. He made his MLB debut for the Kansas City Royals in the 2015 World Series.
