:Paco Figueroa

{{Infobox baseball biography

| name = Paco Figueroa

| image = Paco Figueroa during warmups, Aug 13 2022 (cropped).jpg

| caption = Figueroa with the Phillies in 2022

| team = Philadelphia Phillies

| number = 38

| position = Second baseman / Coach

| bats = Right

| throws = Right

| birth_name = Francisco Figueroa

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1983|2|19|df=y}}

| birth_place = Miami, Florida, U.S.

| teams =

As coach

Philadelphia Phillies ({{mlby|2019}}–present)

}}

Francisco "Paco" Figueroa (born 19 February 1983) is a baseball coach and former professional baseball second baseman. Born in the United States, he represented Spain internationally. He is the first base, outfield, and base running coach for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Baseball career

Figueroa was born in Miami, Florida to a Spanish father and a Cuban mother.{{Cite web |last=Balog |first=Tom |date=2013-03-05 |title=WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: Spain, which played a tune-up game agaisnt the Pittsburgh Pirates, actually fields a multi-national team |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2013/03/06/world-baseball-classic-spain-which-played-agaisnt-pittsburgh-pirates-actually-fields-multi-national/29157459007/ |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=Herald-Tribune}} He played baseball at Gulliver Prep High School and was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 42nd round of the 2001 MLB Draft but did not sign, opting instead to attend the University of Miami. In 2003, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and returned to the league in 2004 to play for the Bourne Braves.{{cite web |title=2003 Brewster Whitecaps |url=https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/summer_stats/2003~Brewster_Whitecaps~CapeCod/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=The Baseball Cube}}{{cite web |title=2004 Bourne Braves |url=https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/summer_stats/2004~Bourne_Braves~CapeCod/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=The Baseball Cube}} He was drafted again, this time by the Baltimore Orioles in the 9th round of the 2005 MLB Draft.

He played in the Orioles system through 2010 and spent a year in AA with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2011. In 2012, he was with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

In seven minor league seasons playing shortstop, second base, and outfield he batted .285/.366/.370 with 8 home runs and 72 stolen bases in 1,798 at bats.{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=figuer003fra|title=Paco Figueroa Minor, Winter & Independent Leagues Statistics & History|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}

He also played for the Spain national baseball team in the 2009 Baseball World Cup, where he won the "Best Batter" award,{{Cite web |date=2010-05-26 |title=Milestone for Spanish Baseball: Paco and Daniel Figueroa reach AAA Orioles’ Team |url=http://www.spainbaseball.com/index.php?id=11&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=79&cHash=ed77076ec9 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411203725/http://www.spainbaseball.com/index.php?id=11&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=79&cHash=ed77076ec9 |archive-date=2013-04-11 |access-date= |website=Spanish Elite League}} and the 2013 World Baseball Classic.{{Cite web |last=Villa |first=Walter |date=2012-09-28 |title=Former Miami Hurricanes star Paco Figueroa still chasing baseball dream |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/28/3025489/former-miami-hurricanes-star-paco.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411090400/http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/28/3025489/former-miami-hurricanes-star-paco.html |archive-date=2013-04-11 |website=Miami Herald}}

Figueroa was named the first base, outfield, and base running coach for the Philadelphia Phillies prior to the 2019 season.{{Cite web |last=Klugh |first=Justin |date=2018-11-07 |title=Hopefully, it’s a new day for the Phillies outfield defense and base running |url=https://www.thegoodphight.com/2018/11/7/18070294/paco-figueroa-phillies-outfield-defense-and-base-running |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=The Good Phight |language=en}}

Personal life

His identical twin brother, Daniel Figueroa, was his teammate at Miami.{{Cite web |date=July 29, 2002 |title=Figueroa twins offer double trouble to opposition |url=https://themiamihurricane.com/2002/07/29/figueroa-twins-offer-double-trouble-to-opposition/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=The Miami Hurricane}} Both were drafted by the Orioles in 2005, and they played together in the minors and with the Spanish national team.{{Cite web |last=Drellich |first=Evan |title=Figueroa twins excited to team up for Spain |url=http://miami.marlins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120919&content_id=38648968&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306103920/http://m.mlb.com/news/article/38648968 |archive-date=2016-03-06 |website=MLB.com}}