Alex Cintrón

Playing career

Cintrón was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 36th round (1,103rd overall) of the 1997 MLB draft. He started his pro career with the Arizona League Diamondbacks, batting .197 with six doubles, a triple, and 20 RBI in 43 games, and also went 1-for-3 in one game for the Lethbridge Black Diamonds. In 1998, he hit .264 with 11 doubles, four triples, three home runs, and 34 RBI in 67 games for Lethbridge. The next season, with the High Desert Mavericks, he batted .307 with 25 doubles, four triples, three home runs, and 64 RBI in 128 games, earning a California League All-Star nod.

In 2000, playing for the El Paso Diablos, Cintrón hit .301 with 30 doubles, six triples, four home runs, and 59 RBI in 125 games, finishing fourth in the Texas League in hits (157), fifth in at-bats (522), and tenth in average, and was named to the Texas League All-Star team. He spent 2001 with the Tucson Sidewinders, hitting .292 with 24 doubles, three triples, three home runs, and 35 RBI in 107 games before being recalled to the Diamondbacks on July 23.

He made his MLB debut on July 24, 2001, and collected his first hit on August 3 off Donne Wall. He batted .286 with a triple in eight games and was optioned back to Tucson on August 6. In 2002, Cintrón appeared in 38 games for Arizona over four stints, batting .213 with 4 RBI. He had a breakout in 2003 after being recalled on May 6, leading Arizona with a .317 average, ranking second with 26 doubles, and third with 70 runs and a .489 slugging percentage.

He hit his first MLB home run on May 14 off Brett Myers, and his first walk-off homer on June 20 off Scott Williamson. In 2004, he led the Diamondbacks in games (154) and at-bats (564), finished second in doubles (31), and third in hits (148). On July 8, he became the first player in franchise history to homer from both sides of the plate, hitting a solo shot off Dustin Hermanson and a three-run homer off Wayne Franklin. In 2005, he appeared in 122 games, batting .304 with three doubles, three home runs, and 12 RBI as a pinch-hitter, sharing the MLB lead among pinch-hitters in home runs and tying for third in the NL in RBI.

Chicago White Sox

He had four walk-off hits, the most in MLB in 2005. On March 8, 2006, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Jeff Bajenaru. That season, he stole a career-high 10 bases, batted .288, and hit two triples on April 13 against the Detroit Tigers, the first White Sox player to do so since 2004. In 2007, he batted .243 with two home runs and 19 RBI in 68 games.

Baltimore Orioles

He was waived on November 28, 2007. After a minor league deal with the Cubs and a release, he signed with the Baltimore Orioles on March 31, 2008. He went 4-for-4 in his first start with Baltimore on May 17 against the Nationals. He hit .352 at Camden Yards and filed for free agency after the season.

Later career

He signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals for 2009, went 2-for-26 in 21 games, and was designated for assignment on May 19. He later signed minor league deals with the Mariners, Mets, Nationals again, and Padres. On May 24, 2011, Padres minor league broadcaster Tim Hagerty tweeted that Cintrón had retired. In early 2012, he came out of retirement to play for the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League.

Coaching career

Cintrón managed the Azucareros de Yabucoa in Puerto Rico's Superior Baseball League. The Houston Astros hired him as Spanish-language interpreter, advance scout, and assistant coach for the 2017 season. He served as first base coach in 2018 and was reassigned as hitting coach after the 2019 season.

On August 11, 2020, he was suspended 20 games for inciting a brawl with Ramón Laureano on August 9, after stepping onto the field and taunting Laureano. Cintrón was announced as the first manager of RA12 before their inaugural 2020–21 season but withdrew in late October due to health concerns. In 2022, the Astros won 106 games and the World Series; during Game 6, Cintrón and fellow hitting coach Troy Snitker noticed a hitch in Yordan Alvarez's swing, and Alvarez hit a go-ahead home run.

Did You Know?

• Cintrón became the first player in Diamondbacks franchise history to hit a home run from both sides of the plate in a single game, doing so on July 8, 2004 against the San Francisco Giants.
• Cintrón hit two triples on April 13, 2006 against the Detroit Tigers, the first White Sox player to do so since José Valentín in 2004.