Topic: Miguel Batista

Miguel Descartes Batista Jerez (born February 19, 1971 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Over his career, Batista has played for eight teams and been utilized extensively as both a starter and a reliever. His best seasons came in 2001 and 2003 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, when he went 11-8 and 10-9 with 3.36 and 3.54 ERAs respectively.

He signed a three-year $13.1-million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays prior to the 2004 season, but struggled in his first season with his new club, posting a 4.80 ERA and losing his starter's job late in the season. In 2005, Batista was the Jays closer and blew 8 saves. He was put on the trading block after the Blue Jays signed B.J. Ryan to a large contract to be their new closer. They traded Batista back to the Diamondbacks during the 2005 offseason along with Orlando Hudson for Troy Glaus and prospect Sergio Santos. Batista's 2006 record in Arizona was 11-8 with an ERA of 4.58.