View source for Gerónimo Gil

{{short description|Mexican baseball player (born 1975)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name        = Gerónimo Gil
| image       = 
| caption     = 
| team        = Dorados de Chihuahua
| position= [[Catcher]] / [[Manager (baseball)|Manager]] / [[Coach (baseball)|Coach]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date and age|1975|8|7}}
| birth_place  = [[Oaxaca]], [[Mexico]]
| bats        = Right
| throws      = Right
|debutleague = MLB
| debutdate   = September 8
| debutyear   = 2001
| debutteam   = Baltimore Orioles
|finalleague = MLB
| finaldate   = August 22
| finalyear   = 2007
| finalteam   = Colorado Rockies
|statleague = MLB
| stat1label  = [[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
| stat1value  = .230
| stat2label  = [[Home run]]s
| stat2value  = 19
| stat3label  = [[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
| stat3value  = 88
| teams       = 
* [[Baltimore Orioles]] ({{mlby|2001}}–{{mlby|2005}})
* [[Colorado Rockies]] ({{mlby|2007}})
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport | Men's [[baseball]]}}
{{MedalCountry|{{flagu|Mexico}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Pan American Games]]}}
{{MedalBronze| [[Baseball at the 2007 Pan American Games|2007 Rio de Janeiro]] | [[Mexico national baseball team|Team]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Central American and Caribbean Games]]}}
{{MedalBronze| [[2006 Central American and Caribbean Games|2006 Cartagena]] | [[Mexico national baseball team|Team]]}}
}}
'''Gerónimo Gil''' ({{IPA|es|xeˈɾonimo ˈxil}}; born August 7, 1975) is a Mexican former professional [[baseball]] [[catcher]] and [[coach (baseball)|coach]] who currently serves as [[manager (baseball)|manager]] for the [[Dorados de Chihuahua]] of the [[Mexican League]]. He played in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) from 2001 to 2007 for the [[Baltimore Orioles]] and [[Colorado Rockies]]. He batted and threw right-handed.

==Playing career==
Gil began his baseball career with the Red Devils of the Mexican League. He had played in only four games for Mexico City in {{Baseball year|1995}} when his contract was purchased by the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] on Feb. 15, {{Baseball year|1996}}.

===Los Angeles Dodgers===
Gil played for the Single–A [[Savannah Sand Gnats]] in 1996. The Sand Gnats came back from seventh place and won the [[South Atlantic League]] championship that year.

In {{Baseball year|1997}}, Gil played for the Single-A [[Vero Beach Dodgers]]. The next year, he was promoted to the Double-A [[San Antonio Missions]], playing catcher as well as in the [[outfielder|outfield]] and at [[first baseman|first base]]. Gil played for San Antonio until {{Baseball year|2000}}. The highlights of his career with San Antonio included ranking 4th in [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] and tying for third place in [[Double (baseball)|double]]s with 17 in {{Baseball year|1998}}, tying for the Missions' team lead with 15 [[home run]]s in {{Baseball year|1999}}, and being named the best defensive catcher in the [[Texas League]] in 2000. In 1999, he played catcher and outfield, and in 2000, he caught and also played [[third baseman|third base]].

Later in the 2000 season, Gil was promoted to the Triple-A [[Albuquerque Dukes]]. With the Dukes, he played 15 games, batting .380 with two home runs and 22 [[runs batted in]]. He also had a .600 [[slugging average]] and a .421 [[on-base percentage]].

Despite the fact that he played nearly his entire minor league career on Los Angeles farm teams, Gil never played a Major League game for the Dodgers. He began the {{Baseball year|2001}} season in the Dodgers farm system with the Triple-A [[Las Vegas 51s]], but was traded to the [[Baltimore Orioles]] on July 31, 2001, after batting only .222 with Las Vegas.

===Baltimore Orioles===
After the trade, Gil played for the Triple-A [[Rochester Red Wings]]. He batted .313, collecting a [[Hit (baseball)|hit]] in 13 of his last 17 games with Rochester. He also had only eight [[stolen base]]s against him in 31 attempts. The highlight of his short stint with Rochester was an eight-game hitting streak, from Aug. 7-15. On September 7, the Orioles purchased Gil's contract from the Red Wings. He made his major league debut the next day. Of the final 22 games of the season, Gil started at catcher in 17 of them.

In {{mlby|2002}}, Gil started for the O's on Opening Day. He was the first Orioles rookie to start at catcher on Opening Day since [[Andy Etchebarren]], in {{mlby|1966}}. He caught 33 out of 91 baserunners stealing, second in the [[American League]] to [[Bengie Molina]]. He hit his first big league homer on April 11, off [[Tampa Bay Devil Rays]] [[pitcher]] [[Travis Phelps]]. His first multi-homer game was on April 23, both off the [[Boston Red Sox]] pitcher [[Frank Castillo]]. He also hit another home run off Castillo on April 29. Gil hit 12 home runs that year, the most ever by a Mexican-born rookie. The previous record was held by [[Vinny Castilla]], who hit 9 for the [[Colorado Rockies]] in {{mlby|1993}}. An interesting fact about Gil's 2002 season is that of his 12 home runs, 4 were against the Red Sox, the most he hit against any team that year. 3 of those 4 homers he hit against Boston were off Frank Castillo. He was selected as the catcher on the Topps' All-Rookie team after the season was over. Gil played for the [[Yaquis de Obregón|Obregón Yaquis]] in the [[Mexican Pacific League]] during the 2002 off season, batting .266 with 6 home runs and 20 runs batted in. He played mostly first base, outfield and [[designated hitter]]. He also played 6 games as a catcher and a game at third.

In {{mlby|2003}}, Gil spent most of the season with Baltimore, but he also played for six weeks with the Triple-A [[Ottawa Lynx]]. He started the season as the everyday catcher for the O's, and started 12 of the first 16 games. Gil batted only .173 with a home run and three runs batted in during the first 22 games, and with only 1 game in which he had more than one hit in that span. He batted .339 with 2 home runs and 9 runs batted in during May, and in June he batted only .139 with 2 runs batted in and no home runs. In July, he only started 2 games before being optioned to Triple-A Ottawa on July 20. With the Lynx, he hit safely in 30 out of 36 games. Gil also had an 11-game hitting streak, from August 2–13. During this hitting streak, he batted .400. While with Ottawa, he had 17 runs batted in, 13 of which he hit in the final 18 games of the minor league season. After Ottawa was eliminated by the [[Pawtucket Red Sox]] in the [[International League]] playoff series, in which Gil batted 1 for 16, Baltimore brought Gil back up from the minors. He had two hits in his first major league game back, but only played in three games. During the season, he threw out 10 of 48 base stealers. Gil played again for Obregón in the Mexican League after the season, playing 50 games and batting .277 with 4 home runs and 29 runs batted in.

Gil spent almost the whole {{Baseball year|2004}} season with Ottawa, after being sent to Ottawa during spring training, a decision he infamously reacted to by smashing trash cans in the clubhouse with his bat. He hit .287 in the first half with the Lynx, and was their only player at the Triple-A All-Star Game. In the second half, he hit .278 in the end of July, and only .198 in August. Gil was called up by the Orioles in September when rosters expanded. He played in 12 games for the O's during the last month of the season, batting .281, and was the only Orioles backup catcher that hit over .170. He had a 2-run batted in double in his first game back against the Devil Rays on September 2. Gil also had a season-high 2 hits against the [[Detroit Tigers]] on the September 26. He also threw out 3 of 16 baserunners.

In {{mlby|2005}}, Gil batted .192, with four home runs, 17 runs batted in and no stolen bases in 64 games. The Orioles placed him on the 15-day [[disabled list]] on July 4 with a strained left [[thumb]].

Before the {{Baseball year|2006}} season, the Orioles placed Gil on waivers, which he cleared. On March 29, 2006, Gil was released by the Orioles. 

===Colorado Rockies===
Gil signed with the [[Colorado Rockies]] on December 14, 2006. Before the start of the season, he was loaned to the Red Devils of the Mexican League where he batted .396 in 75 games and was named to the mid-season All-Star team. He was returned and called up by the Rockies on August 9, {{mlby|2007}}.

Gil is notable for having 820 career [[at-bat]]s without a [[Triple (baseball)|triple]].

===Return to the Mexican League===
Gil started {{Baseball year|2008}} playing for the [[Guerreros de Oaxaca]], but after 54 games, he was sent to the Red Devils. Combined, Gil batted .298 with 11 home runs and 51 runs batted in. After that, he played with the [[Diablos Rojos del México]] and [[Naranjeros de Hermosillo]], and also participated in the Baseball Fest 2010 in [[Tijuana]] with Hermosillo. He played with the Diablos Rojos del México for the 2016 season.

==Coaching career==
Gil accepted his first manager position with the [[Marineros de Ensenada]] of the [[Liga Norte de México]] in June 2018, joining the team midseason and leading them to a league title.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.elvigia.net/deportes/beisbol/2018/8/20/aprovecha-gil-la-oportunidad-310842.html|title=Aprovecha Gil la oportunidad|work=El Vigía|date=20 August 2018|access-date=24 May 2023|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524013646/https://www.elvigia.net/deportes/beisbol/2018/8/20/aprovecha-gil-la-oportunidad-310842.html|archive-date=24 May 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> He was hired by the [[Leones de Yucatán]] in 2019, serving as their manager until he was fired during the [[2021 Mexican League season|2021 season]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.septimaentrada.com/liga-mexicana-de-beisbol/lmb-2021-leones-de-yucatan-despide-a-geronimo-gil|title=LMB: Leones de Yucatán se queda sin manager al despedir a Gerónimo Gil|work=Séptima Entrada|date=21 June 2021|access-date=23 May 2023|language=es}}</ref>

On May 21, 2025, Gil was named as the manager for the [[Dorados de Chihuahua]] of the [[Mexican League]], following the firing of [[José Valentín]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=LMB: Movimientos en listas de reserva - 21 de mayo de 2025|url=https://lmb.com.mx/noticias/lmb-movimientos-en-listas-de-reserva-21-de-mayo-de-2025|access-date=May 22, 2025|website=lmb.com.mx|language=es}}</ref>

==Personal life==
He is married to Adriana Ortiz Cordova. She is from [[Mexico City]] and studied hearing and language at Normal de Especializacion University and has two children, Gerónimo and Angelo, both of them with the last names "Gil Ortiz". The family lives in [[Lagunas, Oaxaca]], Mexico.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball|Mexico}}
{{Baseballstats |mlb=282594 |espn=4972 |br=g/gilge01 |fangraphs=142|brm=gil---001ger}}

{{Mexico roster 2006 World Baseball Classic}}
{{Mexico baseball roster 2007 Pan American Games}}
{{Leones de Yucatán managers}}
{{Guerreros de Oaxaca managers}}
{{Dorados de Chihuahua managers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gil, Geronimo}}
[[Category:1975 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Águilas de Mexicali players]]
[[Category:Albuquerque Dukes players]]
[[Category:Baltimore Orioles players]]
[[Category:Baseball players at the 2007 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Oaxaca]]
[[Category:Bowie Baysox players]]
[[Category:Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Mexico]]
[[Category:Colorado Rockies players]]
[[Category:Competitors at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games]]
[[Category:Diablos Rojos del México players]]
[[Category:Dorados de Chihuahua managers]]
[[Category:Guerreros de Oaxaca managers]]
[[Category:Guerreros de Oaxaca players]]
[[Category:Las Vegas 51s players]]
[[Category:Leones de Yucatán managers]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball players from Mexico]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball catchers]]
[[Category:Mexican expatriate baseball players in Canada]]
[[Category:Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States]]
[[Category:Naranjeros de Hermosillo players]]
[[Category:Ottawa Lynx players]]
[[Category:Pan American Games bronze medalists for Mexico]]
[[Category:Pan American Games bronze medalists in baseball]]
[[Category:Piratas de Campeche players]]
[[Category:Rochester Red Wings players]]
[[Category:San Antonio Missions players]]
[[Category:Savannah Sand Gnats players]]
[[Category:Vero Beach Dodgers players]]
[[Category:Yaquis de Obregón players]]
[[Category:2006 World Baseball Classic players]]
[[Category:Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in baseball]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:World Baseball Classic players of Mexico]]