21 Facts About Vicente Padilla

1.

Vicente de la Cruz Padilla was born on September 27,1977 and is a Nicaraguan former professional baseball pitcher.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,430
2.

Vicente Padilla pitched for Nicaragua in the 1998 Baseball World Cup, helping his team win the Bronze medal as the closer.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,431
3.

Vicente Padilla appeared in the Central American Games the same year, as his team finished in second place.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,432
4.

On July 26,2000, Vicente Padilla was traded from the Diamondbacks to the Philadelphia Phillies along with three other players for pitcher Curt Schilling.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,433
5.

Vicente Padilla was moved to the starting rotation in 2002 and made his first start on April 3 against the Atlanta Braves, working six innings and picking up the win.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,434
6.

On September 16,2007, Vicente Padilla hit Oakland Athletics outfielder Nick Swisher after two pitches earlier in the plate appearances were inside that almost hit Swisher.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,435
7.

Vicente Padilla has history of hitting former teammate Mark Teixeira on June 6,2009.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,436
8.

On July 22,2009, Vicente Padilla tested positive for swine flu, and was believed to be the first major US athlete to catch the disease.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,437
9.

On October 10,2009, Vicente Padilla was the starting and winning pitcher in the clinching Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the St Louis Cardinals, pitching seven scoreless innings.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,438
10.

Vicente Padilla pitched well in Game 2 of the NLCS against the Philadelphia Phillies, working.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,439
11.

On November 3,2009, Vicente Padilla was injured when he was accidentally shot in the leg at a shooting range in Nicaragua.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,440
12.

On March 25,2010, the Dodgers announced that Vicente Padilla would be their opening day starter for the 2010 season.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,441
13.

Vicente Padilla made just three more starts after that before he was shut down for the season.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,442
14.

Vicente Padilla was injured in spring training in 2011 and began the season on the disabled list, rejoining the team on April 23 as a reliever.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,443
15.

Vicente Padilla became the Dodgers closer for a brief time after Jonathan Broxton was placed on the disabled list.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,444
16.

Vicente Padilla was first shut down with a forearm injury and later with neck problems, which required surgery.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,445
17.

On January 16,2012, Vicente Padilla signed a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox that included an invitation to spring training.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,446
18.

Vicente Padilla made the 25-man roster and pitched out of the bullpen.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,447
19.

On January 16,2013, Vicente Padilla signed a one-year deal with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Nippon Professional Baseball League.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,448
20.

Vicente Padilla threw a wide variety of pitches during his career: a fastball, a curveball, a sinker, a slider, a changeup, and an eephus pitch.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,449
21.

Vicente Padilla tended to hit a lot of batters—his total of 106 hit batters is 70th all-time, and he led the American League in hit batters in 2006.

FactSnippet No. 2,321,450