Obituary: Carlos Pulido (1971-2023)

RIP to Carlos Pulido, who had stints with the Twins nine years apart and played around the world in the time between. He also was part of a bit of Venezuelan baseball history. Pulido died in his native Venezuela on December 28. He was 52 years old. Pulido played for the Minnesota Twins in 1994 and again in 2003-04.

Juan Carlos Pulido was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on August 5, 1971. He came to the United States straight from high school in Venezuela, arriving in professional baseball in 1989 when he was 17 years old. He was signed by Minnesota Twins scout Enrique Brito. He would go by his middle name while pitching in the U.S., but when he returned to Venezuela for winter ball, he was called Juan Carlos Pulido. According to a 1991 baseball questionnaire, Pulido did not play ball in school but rather played for an amateur team called Las Piñas (The Pineapples). When asked about his most memorable baseball highlight, he stated that he once struck out 7 batters in 4 innings in a game against Cuba. In his first three seasons in Rookie ball and Class-A, he posted ERAs of less than 2.50. The left-hander was particularly dominant with Class-A Visalia in 1991. Used as a closer, he was 1-5 but saved 17 games and had a 2.01 ERA. Pulido was named the Twins minor-league pitcher of the month for July when he was 1-1 with 5 saves, a 1.80 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 30 innings. He finished the year with 102 strikeouts in 80-2/3 innings and he walked just 23.

Pulido retained his good control as he rose through the Twins organization, but he didn’t see that same level of success. He reached Triple-A Portland in 1993 and won 10 games as a swingman with a 4.19 ERA. In the Pacific Coast League championship series, he threw a complete game 4-1 win over the Tucson Toros, losing the shutout on a meaningless ninth-inning home run. Toros pitching coach Brent Strom must have felt mixed emotions. On one hand, his team lost. On the other, he had been the pitching coach in Venezuela for Magallanes, and Pulido was one of his pupils. “He has rapidly become a good pitcher,” Strom said of Pulido. “He painted the outside half [of the plate] all night long.”

After being named to the PCL All-Star Team, Pulido came to spring training in 1994 as a candidate to win a starting pitching job, and he beat out a number of other candidates to be the Twins fifth starter. He made his major-league debut against Oakland on April 3, but he didn’t make it out of the fourth inning. After two scoreless innings, the A’s tagged him for 4 runs in the second inning, with the big blow being a 3-run home run by Terry Steinbach. After Pulido surrendered a 2-run homer to Ruben Sierra with one out in the fourth inning, he was taken out of the game. He was charged with 6 runs and took the loss. He did manage to pick Rickey Henderson off first base, which was a nice accomplishment.

Pulido struggled through the first month of the season, with an 0-3 record and 7.36 ERA in April. He then won his next 2 starts, beating Kansas City on May 10 for his first career victory. He threw 8 innings and only allowed an unearned run, and then he held the Red Sox to 1 run in 7 innings on May 20. Pulido’s third win of the season, on June 12, had some historical significance to it. His opponent on the mound that day was Wilson Alvarez of the Chicago White Sox. Alvarez was born in Maracaibo, and it was the first game in MLB history that featured two Venezuelan starting pitchers. Pulido made it through 6 innings, scattering 6 hits and 4 walks while allowing 2 runs. The Twins scored 5 runs off Alvarez and one off reliever Jose DeLeon to win 6-2. It was the final victory of Pulido’s season. A series of short starts left him with a 3-7 record and 5.98 ERA by the time the season ended in August due to the players’ strike. He struck out 32 batters in 84-1/3 innings and walked 40, and he also surrendered 17 home runs.

Pulido pitched for the Iowa Cubs after his first stay with the Twins. Source: *The Des Moines Register*, April 8, 1996.

The 1994 season would be Pulido’s last one in the majors for nearly a decade. The Twins waived him in the spring of 1995, once baseball resumed, and he spent all season in Salt Lake City, Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate in the Pacific Coast League. He had a 4.67 ERA as a reliever, but he had an excellent 8-1 record thanks to his knack for getting into tie games right before his teammates scored the go-ahead or winning run. He then spent 1996 with the Cubs and ’97 with the Expos, pitching in the high minors but not well enough to merit consideration for a promotion to the majors. In 1998, Pulido pitched for the Mercuries Tigers of the Chinese Professional Baseball League, where he was teammates with several other former major leaguers, including Melvin Mora, Chuck Carr and Wally Ritchie. He also joined the fledgling Atlantic League, where he was acquired by the Somerset Patriots. Working mostly in relief, he picked up 3 saves and fanned 33 batters in 35-1/3 innings. The New York Mets signed him to a minor-league deal in September, much to the pitcher’s surprise. “They only have seven games left. You never know what’s going to happen,” he said. Patriots general manager Dave Gasaway was happy for Pulido, who was the tenth player to go from the new league to affiliated baseball. “It’s great for Carlos, good for us and good for the league. It will help us keep attracting high-caliber talent,” he said. Pulido didn’t join the Mets but pitched 5-1/3 innings for Triple-A Norfolk. He returned to Somerset in 1999 as a starter and fashioned a 9-4 record in 22 starts, with a 3.31 ERA. All during this time, Pulido returned to Venezuela during the winter to play. According to the LVBP, he was at his best between 1991 and 1997, when he won 32 games with a 2.55 ERA.

Pulido signed with the Orix Blue Wave of Nippon Professional Baseball, and he spent 2000 and 2001 in Japan. Used as a swingman, he won 7 games in 2000 with 4 saves and a 5.26 ERA. His time with the Blue Wave ended after 11 games in 2001, with an ERA over 8. Pulido then moved to the Guerreros de Oaxaca of the Mexican League in 2002. Now 30 years old, the lefty won 13 games in 23 starts and was re-signed by the Twins in November. He started the season in Triple-A Rochester and became an unexpected ace of the staff. He won 12 games for the Red Wings, with 10 of them coming on the road. Minnesota brought Pulido back to the majors in late August. When Twins pitcher Rick Reed had to go on the disabled list, Pulido was summoned back to the major leagues. “It’s been a long time,” he told ESPN. “I was having a great year in Triple-A,” Pulido said. “I knew if something would happen, I’d be back.”

Pulido with the Atlantic League’s Somerset Patriots. Source: *The Courier-News*, July 1, 1999.

“I guess perseverance pays off. He had many opportunities to pack it in,” added Twins general manager Terry Ryan. “One of the reasons he’s been able to have such a long opportunity in baseball is he’s such a good person.”

When he entered the game in the fourth inning against Texas on August 29, 2003, it was his first major-league appearance in 9 years. It was, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the longest stretch between pitching appearances since Satchel Paige appeared in 1953 and then 1965. And Pulido was fantastic. He threw 2 scoreless innings against Texas on the 29th and then 2-2/3 more on the 31st. Then on September 3, Pulido threw 3-2/3 innings against Anaheim and allowed just 1 unearned run to preserve a 6-5 win. The Twins needed every one of those innings, too. Not only was the team fighting for a Central Division title, but the pitching staff was riddled by injuries. Pulido’s success, along with a lack of healthy starters, led to manager Ron Gardenhire giving him a start against the first-place White Sox on September 9. After 9-2/3 scoreless innings, Pulido’s magic wore off in the bottom of the second inning, as he allowed 3 runs. It didn’t help that center fielder Torii Hunter made a rare misjudgment of a fly ball, allowing Joe Crede’s fly to land for an RBI double to start the scoring. Pulido took the loss in that game, and while Minnesota rallied late in the season to knock the White Sox out of first place, the pitcher allowed a couple of runs in each of his last 2 outings to finish with a 4.02 ERA in 15-2/3 innings.

Pulido remained with the Twins to start 2004, but he allowed runs in 5 of his 6 relief appearances. He was returned to the minors at the end of April with an 8.74 ERA in 11-1/3 innings, and after a few disastrous starts with Rochester, he was released. Pulido returned to Mexico in 2005 and 2006 and continued to pitch in Venezuela until 2008-09. But he entered into the coaching ranks in the U.S. in 2007, taking the job of pitching coach in the Texas Rangers organization for a few years. He eventually returned home to Venezuela.

In parts of 3 seasons with Minnesota, Pulido appeared in 32 games, 15 of which were starts. He had a 3-8 record and a 5.98 ERA. In 111-1/3 innings, he struck out 47 batters and walked 47, too. He allowed 19 home runs and had a career 1.482 WHIP. Pulido also won 55 games in 11 seasons in the minors, with 28 saves, and he added 2 victories in Taiwan, 8 in Japan and 29 in Mexico. When it comes to Venezuela, Pulido is one of the most successful lefty pitchers in the league’s history. His 72 wins are the most of any southpaw pitcher, and his 3.15 ERA is the lowest among lefties. Pulido pitched for multiple teams but is associated the most with the Navegantes de Magallanes. He was so successful against their chief rival, the Leones del Caracas, that he was nicknamed “El Domador de Leones” — the Lion-Tamer. Pulido won five championships in Venezuela, three with Magallanes and two with Aragua. He was voted the pitcher of the year in 1993-94 when he went 11-1 with a 2.24 ERA.