Sports stats



WhiteWings Aquire Veteran Catcher and Infielder

July 15, 2009 - United League Baseball (ULB)
Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings News Release


Harlingen - United League Baseball's Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings announced today they have signed 29-year old catcher Sandy DeLeon and 35-year old infielder Eddie Lantigua.

To make room on the roster, the WhiteWings released first baseman Rafael Zorrilla and deactivated outfielder Stephen Ward.

DeLeon has been catching in independent baseball since 2000, spending the majority of his time in the Atlantic League in addition to stops in the Golden League, the Can-Am League and the Frontier League. A career-.256 hitter with two home runs, the WhiteWings signed DeLeon for his game-calling ability.

DeLeon last played for the Bridgeport Bluefish (Atlantic) during the 2007 season. He has also played for Newark, long Island, Somerset, Atlantic City and Lehigh Valley in the Atlantic League.

Lantigua joins the WhiteWings after starting the season with the Quebec Capitales (Can-Am). He was hitting .243 with six home runs and 25 RBI in 39 games (24 at first base, five in leftfield and 10 at designated hitter). Lantigua had been playing Quebec since 2002 in three different leagues.

Signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1991, Lantigua began his career as a third baseman in rookie ball (Gulf Coast and Pioneer Leagues) in 1992. He also played in the organizations of the Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Florida Marlins and Chicago Cubs.

His best season was in 2005, when he hit .324 with 31 home runs and 112 RBI in 90 games for Quebec. He followed that up with a career- high .343 batting average in 2006 and another 21 home runs and 82 RBI in 2007. Lantigua hit .307 with nine home runs and 60 RBI in 85 games last season.

Lantigua is a career-.289 hitter with 192 home runs and 938 RBI in 1,367 games. He is primarily a corner infielder, but has experience in the outfield as well.

Zorrilla was 3-for-20 (.150) with one RBI in seven games.

Ward is hitting .135 (7-for-52) with two RBI.

The WhiteWings are members of United League Baseball, an independent league of six professional baseball teams located in Texas. In its fourth season, the United League is in the midst of a great summer with teams located in Amarillo, Edinburg, Coastal Bend, Laredo, Harlingen and San Angelo.

• Discuss this story on the United League Baseball message board...

United League Baseball Stories from July 15, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central