Mario Guerrero

Guerrero signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1968. After four plus seasons in their farm system, he was sent to the Boston Red Sox on June 30, 1972, as the player to be named later in the deal that brought future Cy Young Award winner Sparky Lyle to the Yankees. Guerrero made the Red Sox out of spring training 1973, and won the starting shortstop job over Rick Burleson the following Spring following Luis Aparicio's release .

During the off season, Guerrero was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Jim Willoughby. He split 1975 between the Cardinals and their triple A affiliate, the Tulsa Oilers, batting .239 in 64 games at the major league level. He was assigned to Tulsa in 1976 when he was traded to the California Angels for two minor leaguers.

Guerrero signed as a free agent with the San Francisco Giants after the 1977 season, only to be sent to Oakland on April 7, 1978, to complete a trade in which the Athletics also acquired Gary Thomasson, Gary Alexander, Dave Heaverlo, John Henry Johnson, Phil Huffman, Alan Wirth and $300,000 for Vida Blue just over three weeks earlier on March 15. He played three seasons in Oakland before his contract was purchased by the Seattle Mariners. He retired following his release from the Mariners in spring training 1981. In 1989, Guerrero played for the Winter Haven Super Sox of the Senior Professional Baseball Association. He batted .315 in 15 games.

His brother Epy Guerrero was a coach for the Toronto Blue Jays.[1] While working as a buscón (headhunter) in the Dominican Republic, Guerrero sued Raúl Mondesí for 1% of his salary. He ended up winning a $640,000 judgment.[2]

Mario Guerrero died on July 2, 2023, at the age of 73.[3]

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
• Mario Guerrero at Baseball Almanac