Edwin Hurtado

Edwin Amilgar Hurtado [oor-tah'-doh] (born February 1, 1970) is a Venezuelan former middle relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1995 through 1997 for the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners. Listed at 6' 3" (1.90 m), 215 lb. (97 k), Hurtado batted and threw right handed. He was born in Barquisimeto, the capital city of Lara state.

Hurtado was a reliable and durable pitcher during a professional career that spanned 17 years. Considered a workhorse who could pitch every year in different leagues, he relied on a lively fastball and an array of breaking pitches to establish himself as one of the most dependable pitchers in Venezuelan baseball history.

In a three-year majors career, Hurtado posted a 8-9 record with a 6.67 ERA in 43 pitching appearances, including 15 starts and two saves, allowing 111 runs (107 earned) on 85 walks and 167 hits while striking out 79 batters in 144⅓ innings of work.

Hurtado also pitched 13 Minor League seasons from 1993–2006, including stints for the NPB Orix BlueWave in the 1998 and 1999 seasons, and for the KBO LG Twins in 2004. Overall, he went 85-66 with a 3.92 ERA and six saves in 288 games.

In between, Hurtado played winter ball with the Cardenales de Lara and Leones del Caracas clubs of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League during 16 campaigns from 1991 to 2006. He had a record of 68-47 with a 3.06 ERA and three saves in 199 games, including 631 strikeouts and 314 walks in 902⅓ innings.

Following his retirement, Hurtado became a pitching coach and has worked for several teams both in the Mexican League and the Venezuelan circuit.

Sources

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet, or Pura Pelota – VPBL stats