View source for Rick Aguilera

{{short description|American baseball player (born 1961)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Rick Aguilera
|image=Rick Aguilera (cropped).jpg
|caption=Aguilera in 2016
|position=[[Pitcher]]
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1961|12|31}}
|birth_place=[[San Gabriel, California]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=June 12
|debutyear=1985
|debutteam=New York Mets
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 6
|finalyear=2000
|finalteam=Chicago Cubs
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
|stat1value=86–81
|stat2label=[[Earned run average]]
|stat2value=3.57
|stat3label=[[Strikeout]]s
|stat3value=1,030
|stat4label=[[Save (baseball)|Saves]]
|stat4value=318
|teams=
* [[New York Mets]] ({{Baseball year|1985}}–{{Baseball year|1989}})
* [[Minnesota Twins]] ({{Baseball year|1989}}–{{Baseball year|1995}})
* [[Boston Red Sox]] ({{Baseball year|1995}})
* [[Minnesota Twins]] ({{Baseball year|1996}}–{{Baseball year|1999}})
* [[Chicago Cubs]] ({{Baseball year|1999}}–{{Baseball year|2000}})
|highlights=
* 3× [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1991 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1991]]–[[1993 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1993]])
* 2× [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1986}}, {{wsy|1991}})
* [[Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame]]
}}
'''Richard Warren Aguilera''' (born December 31, 1961) is an American former professional [[baseball]] player and [[Coach (baseball)|coach]]. He played in  [[Major League Baseball]] as a right-handed [[pitcher]] from 1985 to 2000. Aguilera won a world championship as a member of the [[New York Mets]] in {{wsy|1986}}, then won a second world championship as a member of the [[Minnesota Twins]] in {{wsy|1991}}. He also played for the [[Boston Red Sox]] and the [[Chicago Cubs]]. In 2008, Aguilera was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/history/hall-of-famers/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229205022/http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/min/history/hall-of-famers/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 29, 2017 |title=Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame at MLB.com |work=mlb.com |access-date=23 December 2019 }}</ref>

==Early life==
Aguilera attended [[Edgewood High School (West Covina, California)|Edgewood High School]] in [[West Covina, California]], and played [[third base]] for their baseball team. Following graduation, he was drafted by the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] in the 37th round of the [[1980 MLB Draft|1980 amateur draft]] on June 3, but did not sign and instead chose to attend [[Brigham Young University]] (BYU). After three years at BYU, in which he had made the transition from third base to pitcher, the Mets drafted him in the third round of the [[1983 MLB Draft|1983 amateur draft]] on June 6.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/aguilri01.shtml |title=Rick Aguilera Statistics and History |publisher=Baseball-Reference.com |access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref>

==New York Mets==
Although he did not sign with the Mets organization until September, he was able to get into 16 games (going 5–6 with a 3.72 ERA in 104 innings) for the [[Little Falls Mets]] in the low A-ball [[New York–Penn League]]. The following season he was promoted to the [[Lynchburg Mets]] in the high-A [[Carolina League]] where he was 8–3 with a 2.34 ERA and 101 strikeouts in {{frac|88|1|3}} innings before being promoted to the [[Jackson Mets]] in the AA [[Texas League]]. In 1985, Aguilera was promoted to the AAA [[Tidewater Tides]] and was 6–4 with a 2.51 ERA in 11 starts before being promoted to the majors.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=aguile001ric |title=Rick Aguilera Minor League Statistics & History |publisher=Baseball-Reference.com |date=December 31, 1961 |access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref>

[[File:Rick Aguilera 1986.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Aguilera in 1986]]
Aguilera saw his first MLB action on June 12, pitching two innings of scoreless relief and getting the win against the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] in a game started by [[Ron Darling]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI198506120.shtml |title=June 12, 1985 New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies Box Score and Play by Play |publisher=Baseball-Reference.com |date=June 12, 1985 |access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref> In the middle of a fierce divisional race with the Cardinals, Aguilera was particularly effective in July, going 3–0 with a 0.89 ERA, and ended the season 10–7 as the Cardinals edged out the Mets.

Aguilera posted an identical record the next year in 1986 as the number five starter for the division-winning Mets. That season, he was involved in a fight with Houston police outside a disco which resulted in the arrest of not only himself, but also teammates [[Bob Ojeda]], [[Tim Teufel]], and Darling, later referred to as 'Cooters-gate'.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.philly.com/1986-07-20/sports/26095948_1_teufel-and-darling-york-manager-davey-johnson-ojeda-and-aguilera |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811212508/http://articles.philly.com/1986-07-20/sports/26095948_1_teufel-and-darling-york-manager-davey-johnson-ojeda-and-aguilera |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 11, 2011 |title=Four Mets Arrested In Houston Bar Fight|publisher=Articles.philly.com |date=August 30, 1986 |access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref> [[Misdemeanor]] charges against Aguilera were eventually dropped.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Durso|first1=Joseph|title=Darling, Teufel Get Probation|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/27/sports/darling-teufel-get-probation.html|access-date=27 December 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 27, 1987}}</ref> In the 1986 postseason, Aguilera pitched five scoreless innings in relief against the [[Houston Astros]] in the [[1986 National League Championship Series|NLCS]]. Despite a 12.00 ERA in the [[1986 World Series|World Series]], he was the pitcher of record in the Mets' dramatic Game 6 comeback victory, getting the win despite giving up the two runs which surrendered the lead to Boston in the top of the 10th inning. Injuries slowed him the next two years, as he was limited to 17 starts in 1987 and 3 starts in 1988 by an elbow injury that required surgery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/10420/METS-RICK-AGUILERA-WILL-UNDERGO-SURGERY-AND-BE-OUT-6-8-WEEKS.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023065330/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/10420/METS-RICK-AGUILERA-WILL-UNDERGO-SURGERY-AND-BE-OUT-6-8-WEEKS.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 23, 2012 |title=Mets' Rick Aguilera Will Undergo Surgery and Be Out 6-8 Weeks |publisher=Deseret News |date=July 12, 1988 |access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref> With injury concerns and seven innings of one-run relief in the [[1988 National League Championship Series|1988 NLCS]], the Mets decided to experiment with Aguilera as a reliever. After returning to the team in 1989, he was converted to a long reliever. Although he was unhappy in a low-leverage bullpen role and asked to be traded,<ref name="nytimes1989">{{cite news|last=Martinez|first=Michael|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/02/sports/aguilera-feels-relief-he-will-start-as-a-twin.html?src=pm |title=Aguilera Feels Relief; He Will Start as a Twin |work=New York Times |date=August 2, 1989 |access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref> Aguilera thrived in the role, going 6–6 with a 2.34 ERA, 80 strikeouts and 7 saves in 36 appearances.

When Dwight Gooden was placed on the disabled list in early July 1989, the Mets began looking for a veteran starting pitcher via trade, rather than promote from within into the open rotation slot, with young pitchers such as Aguilera, [[Kevin Tapani]], and [[David West (baseball)|David West]] rumored as trade bait.<ref>{{cite news|last=Durso|first=Joseph|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/27/sports/mets-talking-to-twins-about-viola.html?src=pm |title=Mets Talking to Twins About Viola|work=New York Times |date=July 27, 1989 |access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref> After the Mets lost their seventh game in a row ahead of the trade deadline, Aguilera was included in a last-minute deadline deal,<ref>{{cite web |last=Durso |first=Joseph |date=August 1, 1989 |title=Mets Trade for Viola After 7th Loss in a Row; Aguilera, West Sent to Twins |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/01/sports/mets-trade-for-viola-after-7th-loss-in-a-row-aguilera-west-sent-to-twins.html?src=pm |access-date=December 26, 2012 |work=New York Times}}</ref> along with West, Tapani, reliever [[Tim Drummond]] and a player to be named (which on October 16 became reliever [[Jack Savage]]), for Minnesota Twins ace [[Frank Viola]].

==Minnesota Twins==
Although he got his wish and completed the season with the Twins as a starter,<ref name="nytimes1989"/> going 3–5 with a 3.72 ERA and 3 complete games in {{frac|75|2|3}} innings, he was shifted to the closer's role in 1990 and responded by saving 32 games for a team that went 74–88. The next year, his relief pitching was instrumental in the Twins' surprising division title, as he saved 42 games with a 2.35 ERA, a team record that would stand until [[Eddie Guardado]] broke it in 2002 with 45 saves. He went on to save three of four victories in the [[1991 American League Championship Series|ALCS]] and the first two games of the [[1991 World Series|World Series]] against the [[Atlanta Braves]]. In Game 3, he became the first pitcher to pinch hit in a World Series game since [[Don Drysdale]] in [[1965 World Series|1965]], flying out in the top of the 12th with the bases loaded and two outs before giving up the game-winning hit in the bottom of the inning. He would also win Game 6 of the series.
Aguilera became one of baseball's premier closers with the Twins from 1990 to 1995 and was named to three consecutive [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] teams from 1991 to 1993.<ref>[https://twinsdaily.com/minnesota-twins-players-project/rick-aguilera-r41/#:~:text=With%20the%20Twins%2C%20Aguilera%20became,Frankie%20Rodriguez%20to%20the%20Twins. Rick Aguilera - The Minnesota Twins Players Project]</ref>

==Boston Red Sox==
With the Twins well on their way to finishing 44 games behind the AL Central division winning [[Cleveland Indians]] in 1995, Aguilera was traded to the [[Boston Red Sox|Red Sox]] on July 6 in exchange for minor league outfielder J. J. Johnson and pitcher [[Frank Rodriguez (baseball)|Frank Rodriguez]]. The move was made official while the Red Sox were in Minneapolis playing the Twins and after walking {{convert|20|ft}} down to the visitors dressing room, Aguilera was called on to convert a save opportunity in his very first appearance – striking out former teammate [[Kirby Puckett]] to help nail down a 5–4 win.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN199507070.shtml |title=July 7, 1995 Boston Red Sox at Minnesota Twins Box Score and Play by Play |publisher=Baseball-Reference.com |date=July 7, 1995 |access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref> Aguilera would later state that the trade that brought him to Boston was the lowest point of his career.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050217&content_id=945106&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027094502/http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050217&content_id=945106&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 27, 2007 |title=Where has Rick Aguilera gone? |website=Minnesota Twins|publisher=MLB|date=June 19, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref> He had known he was likely to be traded and made clear in the weeks leading up to the trade that he was not happy about it. He was about to attain 10/5 status at the time (10 years in the majors, 5 with the same team)--a status which would have given him veto power over any trade, and he went on record saying he would exercise that veto power should he reach the milestone without being traded. All the same, he would perform well for the AL East champion Red Sox, going 2–2 with 20 saves and a 2.67 ERA in 30 relief appearances. Like a number of his teammates, Aguilera struggled in the [[1995 American League Division Series|playoffs]], giving up one run on three hits with one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning.

==Return to Minnesota==
A free agent following the 1995 season, Aguilera opted to return to the [[Minnesota Twins|Twins]]. Minnesota skipper [[Tom Kelly (baseball)|Tom Kelly]] installed Aguilera as a starting pitcher—a position he hadn't been in since starting 11 games for the team in 1989—rather than his familiar closer role. Despite early season shoulder and wrist injuries (with the latter reportedly caused by lifting his wife's suitcase the last week of spring training) forcing Aguilera to miss six weeks early in the season,<ref>{{cite web|agency= Associated Press |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-04-24-sp-62127-story.html |title=Baseball Daily Report: Aguilera Is Back on Disabled List |work = Los Angeles Times |date=April 24, 1996 |access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|agency= Associated Press |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-06-11-sp-13772-story.html |title=Around The Major Leagues |work= Los Angeles Times  |date=June 20, 1986 |access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref> the veteran battled his way to an 8–6 record with a 5.42 ERA in 19 starts, including a pair of complete games.

The following season, the experiment of Aguilera as a starting pitcher had ended midway through spring training and the veteran returned to the bullpen. At age 35, he went 5–4 with 26 saves and a 3.82 ERA in 61 outings. In 1998, he recorded 38 saves (the most since saving 41 games in 1992) in 68 games for the Twins. In 1999, Aguilera had gone 3–1 with 6 saves and a 1.27 ERA in 17 games before the Twins traded the 37-year-old and pitcher [[Scott Downs]] to the [[Chicago Cubs]] for [[Kyle Lohse]] and [[Jason Ryan (baseball)|Jason Ryan]].

==Chicago Cubs==
Aguilera pitched well for the Cubs in 1999, posting a 6–3 record with 8 saves and a 3.69 ERA in 44 games as a middle reliever, set-up man, and occasional closer. At age 38, he entered the 2000 season, his 16th season in the big leagues, as the team's closer. Aguilera went 1–2 with 29 saves in 54 appearances, but blew eight of his save opportunities and finished with a 4.91 ERA for the last-place Cubs.

==Life after baseball==
After spending the off-season weighing the possibility of coming back for a 17th season, Aguilera officially retired on February 17, 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/17/sports/baseball-roundup-aguilera-is-retiring.html?src=pm |title=Baseball: Roundup; Aguilera Is Retiring|work=New York Times |date=February 17, 2001 |access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref> At the time of his retirement, his 318 saves trailed only [[Lee Smith (baseball)|Lee Smith]], [[John Franco]], [[Dennis Eckersley]], [[Jeff Reardon]], [[Randy Myers]], [[Rollie Fingers]], and [[John Wetteland]] in career saves. As of June 2025, he stands 24th on the career saves list.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/SV_career.shtml|title=Career Leaders &Records for Saves - Baseball-Reference.com|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> Aguilera was on top of the Twins / Senators franchise list for career saves with 254 until [[Joe Nathan]] surpassed him on August 10, 2011.<ref name="autogenerated1"/><ref name="baseball-reference1">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/MIN/leaders_pitch.shtml |title=Minnesota Twins Top 10 Pitching Leaders |publisher=Baseball-Reference.com |access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref> In addition, Aguilera's save totals in 1991 (42 saves), 1992 (41), and 1998 (38) are 5th, 7th, and 10th on the franchise's top 10 season saves list (as of the end of the 2015 season).<ref name="baseball-reference1"/>

Aguilera is married to wife Sherry (m. 1988) and the couple have two children, daughter Rachel (born 1991) and son Austin (born 1996).<ref name="autogenerated1"/> A devout Christian, Aguilera now lives in the [[San Diego]] suburb of [[Rancho Santa Fe, California]] and dedicates his time to his family and real estate investments. He has also served as the pitching coach for the [[Santa Fe Christian Schools|Santa Fe Christian]] High School baseball team from 2001 to 2005 and as the head coach from 2005 to 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/4CweNSFwyUubKWZZI6myGw/santa-fe-christian-eagles/baseball/previous_seasons.htm |title=Santa Fe Christian High School (Solana Beach, CA) Baseball Teams |publisher=Maxpreps.com |access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref>

On June 21, 2008, Rick Aguilera was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{baseballstats | mlb=110090 |espn=1644 |br=a/aguilri01 |fangraphs=1000086 |brm=aguile001ric}}

{{1986 New York Mets}}
{{1991 Minnesota Twins}}
{{Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame}}
{{300 saves club}}

{{Portal bar|Baseball|Biography}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aguilera, Rick}}
[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American people of Mexican descent]]
[[Category:Sportspeople of Mexican descent]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from San Gabriel, California]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitchers]]
[[Category:New York Mets players]]
[[Category:Chicago Cubs players]]
[[Category:Minnesota Twins players]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox players]]
[[Category:American League All-Stars]]
[[Category:BYU Cougars baseball players]]
[[Category:Little Falls Mets players]]
[[Category:Lynchburg Mets players]]
[[Category:Jackson Mets players]]
[[Category:Tidewater Tides players]]
[[Category:St. Lucie Mets players]]
[[Category:Fort Myers Miracle players]]
[[Category:Baseball players from West Covina, California]]
[[Category:Anchorage Glacier Pilots players]]