Norberto Obeso

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name = Norberto Obeso

|image = Norberto Obeso 2018 (cropped).jpg

|caption = Obeso in 2018

|team = Leones de Yucatán

|number = 9

|position = Outfielder

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1995|7|9|df=yes}}

|birth_place = Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico

|bats = Left

|throws = Right

|teams =

Leones de Yucatán ({{lmby|2021}}–present)

|highlights=

|medaltemplates=

{{Medal|Country|{{bb|MEX}}}}

}}

Norberto Obeso González (born 9 July 1995) is a Mexican professional baseball outfielder for the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League. Obeso played in the minor leagues for the Toronto Blue Jays organization and has represented Mexico at the 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup, 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games and 2023 Pan American Games.

Professional career

=Early career=

Obeso was born on 9 July 1995 in Hermosillo, Sonora and made his professional debut in the Mexican Pacific League during the 2014–15 season, for his hometown team, the Naranjeros de Hermosillo, playing only one game for the Naranjeros.{{cite web|title=¡Nunca se fue! Isaac Paredes regresa con Naranjeros de Hermosillo|url=https://tjsports.com.mx/nunca-se-fue-isaac-paredes-regresa-con-naranjeros-de-hermosillo/|website=tjsports.com.mx|date=13 November 2022|access-date=4 March 2024|language=es}}

=Toronto Blue Jays=

On September 12, 2013, Obeso signed with the Toronto Blue Jays as an international free agent. He was assigned to the Dominican Summer League Blue Jays to make his professional debut in 2015, where he finished the season with a .351 batting average and 47 RBI and won the Webster Award, a recognition for the best Blue Jays minor league players and made it to the DSL All-Star team.{{cite web|title=Blue Jays Notebook: Tulowitzki ‘progressing’|url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/blue-jays-notebook-tulowitzki-making-progress/|website=Sportsnet.ca|date=18 September 2015|access-date=4 March 2024}} The next season, Obeso played for the rookie–level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays, finishing the year with a .316 batting average, one home run and 18 RBI.{{cite web|title=Norberto Obeso Minor, Winter & Mexican Leagues Statistics|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=obeso-000nor|website=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=4 March 2024}}

In 2017, Obeso was promoted to the Low–A Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League.{{cite web|first=Niall|last=O'Donohoe|title=C’s Recap – 2017 Media Day At The Nat|url=https://csplusbaseball.ca/2017/06/12/cs-recap-2017-media-day-at-the-nat/|website=C's Plus Baseball|date=12 June 2017|access-date=4 March 2024}} He finished the season with a .252 average, two home runs and 23 RBI. In 2018, he played for the Lansing Lugnuts of the Single–A Midwest League, recording a .227 average, three home runs and 37 RBI. In 2019, Obeso played for the Dunedin Blue Jays of the High–A Florida State League, finishing the season with a .262 batting average, one home run and 32 RBI in 82 games.

On 19 November 2019, Obeso was assigned to the Triple–A Buffalo Bisons and on 9 March 2020 he was assigned to the Double–A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web|title=2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/2020-minor-league-baseball-season-canceled|access-date=April 11, 2024|website=mlb.com|language=en}} On 2 November 2020, Obeso elected free agency.{{Cite web|title=Full List of 2020-2021 MiLB Free Agents|url=https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/full-list-of-2020-2021-milb-free-agents/|access-date=September 27, 2024|website=baseballamerica.com|language=en}}

=Leones de Yucatán=

On 3 February 2021, Obeso joined the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League, ahead of the 2021 season.{{cite web|title=Leones: Norberto Obeso reforzará a los Leones de Yucatán|url=https://www.milb.com/mexican/news/norberto-obeso-reforzara-a-los-leones-de-yucatan|website=MiLB.com|date=3 February 2021|access-date=4 March 2024|language=es}}{{cite web|title=Leones de Yucatán tiene nuevo jardinero: Norberto Obeso|url=https://yucatan.quadratin.com.mx/deportes/leones-de-yucatan-tiene-nuevo-jardinero-norberto-obeso/|website=Agencia Quadratín|date=23 February 2021|access-date=4 March 2024|language=es}} He finished the 2021 season with a .243 batting average, two home runs and 20 RBI. Obeso won the 2022 Mexican League championship, recording a .316 batting average, one home run and 23 RBI in 68 games.{{cite web|first=Tomás|last=López|title=Leones de Yucatán, campeones de la Serie del Rey 2022|url=https://www.milenio.com/beisbol/lmb/leones-yucatan-campeon-serie-rey-2022|website=Milenio|date=19 September 2022|access-date=4 March 2024|language=es}}

=Mexican Pacific League=

Obeso has played for the Naranjeros de Hermosillo and Águilas de Mexicali of the Mexican Pacific League. He debuted and played for the Naranjeros from 2014 to 2022, when he was traded to the Águilas de Mexicali in exchange for Isaac Paredes. Obeso officially joined the Águilas on 13 November 2022 and has since played for the Mexicali squad.{{cite web|first=Sergio|last=Caro|title= Norberto Obeso quiere destacar en Mexicali|url=https://www.lavozdelafrontera.com.mx/deportes/norberto-obeso-quiere-destacar-en-mexicali-9202280.html|website=La Voz de la Frontera|date=16 November 2022|access-date=4 March 2024|language=es}}{{cite web|title=Recuerda Norberto Obeso su paso por Naranjeros|url=https://www.elimparcial.com/sonora/hermosillo/Recuerda-Norberto-Obeso-su-paso-por-Naranjeros-20240112-0025.html=|website=El Imparcial|date=12 January 2024|access-date=4 March 2024|language=es}}

International career

In 2018, Obeso was selected as part of the Mexican squad that competed in the 2018 U-23 Baseball World Cup held in Barranquilla, Colombia. Mexico won the gold medal, defeating Japan 2–1 in the final game.{{cite web|title=Arriba, Mexico! Beats Japan, wins U-23 Baseball World Cup|url=https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2018-u23-baseball-world-cup/news/arriba-mexico-beats-japan-wins-u-23-baseball-world-cup|website=wbsc.org|publisher=World Baseball Softball Confederation|date=29 October 2018|access-date=4 March 2024}}{{cite web|title=México, Campeón del Mundo U-23|url=https://www.milb.com/news/mexico-campeon-del-mundo-u-23-299903348|website=MiLB.com|date=29 October 2018|access-date=4 March 2024|language=es}} Obeso won the tournament's Leading Hitter award, with a .591 batting average, and was named to the championship's All-World Team.{{cite web|title=II U-23 Baseball World Cup Daily Report Final|url=https://static.wbsc.org/uploads/federations/0/documents/20181029042215-ii-u-23-baseball-world-cup-daily-report-final.pdf|publisher=World Baseball Softball Confederation|access-date=4 March 2024}} That same year, Obeso was awarded as the Professional Baseball Player of the Year by the Mexican Baseball Federation.

In June 2023, Obeso was selected to represent Mexico at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games, where the team won the gold medal.{{cite web|title=Roster de México para los Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe

|url=https://www.milb.com/mexican/news/roster-de-mexico-para-los-juegos-centroamericanos-y-del-caribe|website=MiLB.com|date=7 June 2023|access-date=4 March 2024|language=es}}{{cite web|title=Central American and Caribbean Games: 'El Che' Reyes to manage Mexico; Watch baseball and softball plus 36 other sports on GameTime|url=https://www.wbsc.org/en/news/central-american-and-caribbean-games-el-che-reyes-to-manage-mexico-watch-baseball-and-softball-plus-36-other-sports-on-gametime|website=wbsc.org|publisher=World Baseball Softball Confederation|date=23 June 2023|access-date=4 March 2024}}{{cite web|title=Mexico champion, Cuba and Venezuela on the podium at the Central American Games|url=https://www.wbscamericas.org/en/news/mexico-campeon-cuba-y-venezuela-en-el-podio-en-los-juegos-centroamericanos|publisher=WBSC Americas|date=2 July 2023|access-date=4 March 2024}} Later, in October 2023, he was part of the Mexican team that won the bronze medal at the 2023 Pan American Games contested in Santiago, Chile.{{cite web|title=MEX: Triunfo sobre Panamá y medalla de bronce para la Novena México|url=https://www.milb.com/mexican/news/mex-triunfo-sobre-panama-y-medalla-de-bronce-para-la-novena-mexico|website=MiLB.com|date=28 October 2023|access-date=4 March 2024|language=es}} He played six games, batting .250 with one RBI.{{cite web|title=Obeso González, Norberto|url=https://www.wbscamericas.org/en/events/xix-pan-american-games-santiago-2023-mens-baseball/teams/27727/players/348206|website=WBSC Americas|access-date=6 February 2024}}