Raúl Casanova

[Michael Trzinski]

Raúl Casanova was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico in 1972. He was drafted by the New York Mets in the eighth round of the 1990 MLB Amateur Draft. The switch-hitting backstop played at the lower levels of the Mets chain for three years before being the PTBNL in a trade with the San Diego Padres in December 1992.

Casanova stayed on the three-year plan, playing at Single-A and Double-A in the Padres organization before getting traded to the Detroit Tigers in March 1996. He made his major league debut with the Tigers on May 24 and went 0-for-4 as the DH. After going hitless in his next six at-bats, Casanova singled off Kansas City hurler Tim Belcher in his fourth game for his first big-league knock. In late June, Casanova broke a bone in his left wrist, requiring surgery. He returned in August and then was a September call-up for Detroit. Casanova no doubt impressed the Tigers brass, slashing .286/.375/.429 with one homer in 28 at-bats.

Despite starting the following season in Triple-A Toledo, Casanova set career highs for games (101), at-bats (304), and hits (74) with the Tigers. Dogged by injuries in 1998, Casanova spent most of the year in the minors and only played 16 games for the Tigers.

Casanova underwent surgery for a broken rib in 1999 and after playing just 50 games in the minors, was released after the season. The Rockies signed him as a free agent but released him in March before he played a game for them. The next day, the Brewers signed him as a free agent. Casanova started the season at Triple-A Indianapolis but was called up in mid-April when Henry Blanco went on the disabled list. Casanova was red-hot in late June, slashing .441/.486/.823 with three homers in 34 at-bats. He set career bests with 13 doubles, three triples, and 36 RBI.

Casanova had a nice season in 2001 but missed the last six weeks of the season after knee surgery. He had a career-high 11 homers and an OPS+ of 102. The next season, Casanova struggled and was released at the end of the season. He played part of three seasons with the White Sox, Tampa Bay, and the Mets. Casanova played in the Mexican League and some winters leagues for three years and retired in 2011.

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