Robinson Cancel: Late 2000's Mets Backup Catcher (2008-2009)

Robinson Castro Cancel was born on May 4, 1976, in Lajas, Puerto Rico. The six-foot catcher was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1994.

Cancel played in the minors for six years before he got to the AAA level. In 1999 he also got his first call up to the big leagues playing in 15 games for the Milwaukee Brewers striking out a dozen times in just 44 at bats. He batted only .182 with eight hits, two doubles & five RBIS as the fourth catcher on the team. 

Robinson was sent back down to the minor leagues and did not resurface in the majors until almost a decade later with the 2008 New York Mets. In an 18 year minor league career he hit .266 with 1098 hits, 88 HRs & 580 RBIs in 1240 games. He threw out 37% of would-be base stealers & posted a .984 fielding %.

Mets Career: In January 2007 Cancel came to the Mets organization batting .264 at AAA New Orleans as a backup catcher to Mike Difelice.

2008: Cancel had a decent spring training getting some notice, but still began the year at A ball St. Lucie. He was pushed up to AAA New Orleans where he hit .346 in 15 games. That June he was called up, when the Mets needed some catching help.

Mets Debut: On June 6th, he made a pinch-hit appearance grounding out in 1 2-1 loss at San Diego.

On June 15th, he pinch hit for Pedro Martinez, in the second game of a double header at Texas in an interleague game. He batted in the 6th inning with the bases loaded & Cancel delivered a base hit scoring two runs which turned out to be the game winning runs. It was a huge thrill for the 32-year-old journey man minor leaguer, who hadn’t had an MLB hit since 1999.

Cancel went 2-6 in his next pinch hitting roles, before getting a start at Shea Stadium against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 26th.

Only Career HR: On August 11th, he hit his first & only career HR coming off the Pirates Zack Duke in a 7-5 loss at Shea Stadium. 

On September 27th, his 8th inning RBI single tied up a game with the Cubs in which the Mets went on to win on Carlos Beltran's walk off base hit.

In 27 games Cancel hit .245 with the one HR two doubles & five RBIs in 53 at bats.

2009: Cancel spent most of the '09 season at AAA Buffalo getting into one MLB game on July 30th, going 0-1 as a pinch hitter in a game against the Rockies. He was designated for assignment that October.

In 2010 he played for the Long Island Ducks batting .301 with 14 HRs & 81 RBIs. In 2011 he signed with the Houston Astros getting into two games at the big-league level. 

Retirement: In 2012 Cancel played in the Mexican League with Sultanes de Monterrey. He later managed in the Mexican Pacific League (2018-2019).

He also coached in the Atlanta Braves organization then moved on to the Colorado Rockies organization, managing the A ball Fresno Grizzlies (2019-2022).

Family: Robinson & his wife Lizvette have three children residing in the Orlando Florida area.