Geno Espineli

{{Infobox baseball biography

| name = Geno Espineli

| image =

| position = Starting pitcher

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1982|9|8}}

| birth_place = Houston, Texas, U.S.

| bats = Left

| throws = Left

|debutleague = MLB

| debutdate = July 20

| debutyear = 2008

| debutteam = San Francisco Giants

|finalleague = MLB

| finaldate = September 24

| finalyear = 2008

| finalteam = San Francisco Giants

|statleague = MLB

| stat1label = Win–loss record

| stat1value = 2–0

| stat2label = Earned run average

| stat2value = 5.06

| stat3label = Strikeouts

| stat3value = 8

| teams =

San Francisco Giants ({{mlby|2008}})

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry|{{USA}}}}

}}

Eugene Macalalag "Geno" Espineli (born September 8, 1982) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants.

Early life

Espineli was born in Houston, Texas to Filipino parents born in the Philippines who migrated to the United States. He also has two older sisters who were also born in Houston, Lorene and Theresa. Lorene is a mathematics teacher at the Bentley School in Lafayette, California.{{cite news|last1=Hayes|first1=A.J.|title=Giants Rookie is First Full-Blooded Filipino in Big Leagues|url=http://www.asianweek.com/2008/07/31/giants-rookie-is-first-full-blooded-filipino-in-big-leagues/|accessdate=11 February 2016|publisher=AsianWeek|date=31 July 2008|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025113336/http://www.asianweek.com/2008/07/31/giants-rookie-is-first-full-blooded-filipino-in-big-leagues/|archivedate=25 October 2015}}

Career

Espineli played college baseball for the Texas Longhorns and TCU Horned Frogs. With TCU, he was named to the All-Conference USA Tournament Team in 2004.{{cite web |title=2012 Conference USA Baseball Media Guide |url=http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/c-usa/sports/m-basebl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/c-usa-m-basebl-guide-2012.pdf |accessdate=21 June 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112132014/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/c-usa/sports/m-basebl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/c-usa-m-basebl-guide-2012.pdf |archivedate=2012-11-12 |page=93 |url-status=dead }} In 2002 and 2003, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.{{cite web|author= |url=http://capecodbaseball.org.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/2012website/archives/Current%20Year/All_Time_MLB_CCBL_Alumni.pdf |title=Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League |publisher=capecodbaseball.org |date= |accessdate=September 25, 2019}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thebaseballcube.com/college/summer/stats.asp?Y=2002&T=Cotuit_Kettleers |title=2002 Cotuit Kettleers |publisher=thebaseballcube.com |accessdate=September 23, 2021}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thebaseballcube.com/college/summer/stats.asp?Y=2003&T=Cotuit%20Kettleers |title=2003 Cotuit Kettleers |publisher=thebaseballcube.com |accessdate=September 23, 2021}} He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 14th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft.

A full-time reliever in his first two professional seasons, Espineli started some games for Double-A Connecticut in {{By|2006}} and became a full-time starter for Connecticut in {{By|2007}}. Espineli, a reliever again in {{By|2008}}, started the season with the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies. He was named a PCL All-star and also to the U.S. Olympic team before being called up to the majors on July 20. He made his debut that same day, pitching one scoreless inning.

When Espineli made his debut with San Francisco on July 23, {{mlby|2008}}, with 0.2 innings of perfect relief against the visiting Washington Nationals, many believe he became the first full-blooded Filipino to ever play in the major leagues.

Espineli signed a minor league contract with an invitation to 2011 spring training with the Colorado Rockies.{{cite web| url = http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101210&content_id=16303524&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101213074656/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101210&content_id=16303524&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb| archive-date = 2010-12-13| title = Rockies sign pair to Minor League deals {{!}} MLB.com: News}} On May 13, 2011, Espinelli signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants.[http://tsn.ca/MLB/TRANSACTIONS/ Tsn.ca Transactions] He finished the season with the Fresno Grizzlies and retired after the season.

Eugene is currently the first and only full-blooded Filipino playing for the Dirtbags in the world renowned Denver NABA league. (25WAA)