Late Nineties Mets Reserve Catcher: Jorge Fabregas (1998)

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Jorge Fabregas was born on March 13, 1970 in Miami Florida. He attended the University of Miami playing as a catcher for the Hurricanes. 

 He joined Team USA in 1990 at the last minute & ended up being the team’s second best hitter with a .444 average. Fabregas was a 1991 first round draft pick (#34 pick overall) for the California Angels.

He debuted in 1994 then became the Angels main catcher the next two seasons batting a career high .287 in 1996. In 1997 he was sent to the White Sox & overall saw the most full time action of his career. In 121 games he hit 7 HRs with 51 RBIs 11 doubles 93 hits & .258 average. From that point on he would be mainly a backup journey man catcher in the major leagues for nine seasons through 2002.

He would play with the Angels (1994-1997 / 2001) Chicago White Sox (1997) Arizona Diamondbacks (1998) Florida Marlins (1999) Atlanta Braves (1999) Kansas City Royals (2000) & Milwaukee Brewers (2002) . Fabregas would also have a twenty game stop with the New York Mets in 1998.

After playing 50 games with the Diamondbacks that season he was traded to the New York Mets on July 31st along with Willie Blair for Nelson Figueroa & Bernard Gilkey. Fabregas was a solid defensive catcher with a strong throwing arm. On the 1998 season, although he caught just 53 games, he threw out a league leading 46% of would be base stealers. He would post a .990 fielding % & turn over five double plays behind the plate as well.

At the plate he hit his only Mets HR on August 12th in St. Louis, a two run shot against the Cardinals. In his next start he had his best day, gathering three hits at Shea against the Rockies. He finished out the year batting .188 with the Mets & .199 overall.

His stay in New York was short lived as he was traded to Florida in November for pitcher Oscar Henriquez who never suited up in a Mets uniform. In 1999 he finished the year with the Braves facing off against the Mets in the NLCS where he went 0-2 as a pinch hitter.

In his nine year career, Fabregas played in 646 games, batting .241 overall with 441 hits, 23 HRs 211 RBIs throwing out 37% of would be base stealers posting a .989 fielding %.

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