Alfonso Soriano |
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Alfonso Soriano (born January 7, 1976, in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic) is a professional Major League Baseball outfielder for the Chicago Cubs.
He previously played for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp (Nippon Professional Baseball), New York Yankees, Texas Rangers and Washington Nationals. He played primarily as a second baseman for the Yankees and Rangers. He bats right-handed, and has batted as a lead-off hitter for most of his career.
Soriano began his professional baseball career in Japan with the Hiroshima Carp, training at their Carp Academy for Dominican players. In 1997, he was promoted briefly to the varsity team, and, wearing uniform number 74, he appeared in nine games, batting .118 (2 for 17) with two walks. In 1997, Soriano earned a salary of $40,000. Soriano finished his career in Japan by retiring from his contract and signing as a free agent with the New York Yankees, using a loophole that had previously been used by Hideo Nomo.