View source for Omar Moreno

{{short description|Panamanian baseball player (born 1952)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{family name hatnote|Moreno|Quintero|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Omar Moreno
|position=[[Center fielder]]
|image=Omar Moreno 1984.jpg
|caption=Moreno in 1984
|bats=Left
|throws=Left
|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1952|10|24}}
|birth_place=[[Puerto Armuelles]], [[Panama]]
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=September 6
|debutyear=1975
|debutteam=Pittsburgh Pirates
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=October 5
|finalyear=1986
|finalteam=Atlanta Braves
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.252
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
|stat2value=37
|stat3label=[[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
|stat3value=386
|stat4label=[[Stolen base]]s
|stat4value=487
|teams=
*[[Pittsburgh Pirates]] ({{mlby|1975}}–{{mlby|1982}})
*[[Houston Astros]] ({{mlby|1983}})
*[[New York Yankees]] ({{mlby|1983}}–{{mlby|1985}})
*[[Kansas City Royals]] ({{mlby|1985}})
*[[Atlanta Braves]] ({{mlby|1986}})
|highlights=
* [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1979}})
* 2× [[List of Major League Baseball annual stolen base leaders|NL stolen base leader]] (1978, 1979)
}}

'''Omar Renán Moreno Quintero''' (born October 24, 1952) is a Panamanian former [[center fielder]] who played from 1975 through 1986 in [[Major League Baseball]]. He was best known for his years with the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]], and was the starting center fielder and leadoff hitter on their [[1979 World Series]] champion team.

==Career==
Moreno made his first appearance with the Pirates in September 1975, and became the team's starting center fielder in 1977.  He had great speed and led the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] in [[stolen base]]s in 1978 and 1979.  In 1980, he set the Pirates' single-season record for stolen bases with 96.  Although he had no stolen bases in the 1979 World Series, he hit .333 in the leadoff spot during the Series.

Moreno played every game of the 1979 and 1980 seasons and led the National League in [[at bats]] both years.

His 96 stolen bases in 1980 are the most by any player not to lead the majors in steals on the season. [[Ron LeFlore]] edged him out by stealing 97 bases.

After the 1982 season, Moreno signed as a free agent with the [[Houston Astros]].  He was traded midway through the 1983 season to the [[New York Yankees]] in exchange for [[Jerry Mumphrey]]. After the Yankees released him in August 1985, he signed with the [[Kansas City Royals]] for the last month of the season, and finished his career with the [[Atlanta Braves]] in 1986.

==Personal==
Moreno has returned to Panama since his retirement. He and his wife Sandra have run the Omar Moreno Foundation, a youth baseball charity for underprivileged kids in Panama. Moreno assumed the title of Secretary of Sports, a position created by then-President-elect [[Ricardo Martinelli]] in May 2009.<ref name="cnnsi">{{cite web | title=Omar Moreno:The swift centerfielder with the whistle-tooting wife is a figure to be reckoned with in his native Panama | author=Pablo S. Torre | publisher=sportsillustrated.cnn.com | url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1157674/index.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815031028/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1157674/index.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=August 15, 2009 | date=2009-07-13 | access-date=2011-04-17}}</ref>

He considered a whistle used by his wife Sandra to be his most valuable heirloom from his playing days. The whistle made a very loud noise and was a common sound during the 1979 World Series broadcasts.<ref name="cnnsi"/>

Moreno made a cameo appearance in the Mexican movie ''[[El Hombre de la Mandolina]]'', which was nominated for a [[Silver Ariel]] in 1985.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0218340/awards IMDB.com: El Hombre de la Mandolina, Award Nominations]</ref> He appeared in an uncredited role on the show ''[[Space Ghost: Coast To Coast]]'' along with fellow major leaguer [[Mookie Wilson]] in an episode called "Chinatown".

==See also==
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual stolen base leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Baseballstats |br=m/morenom01| brm=moreno002oma}}

{{1979 Pittsburgh Pirates}}
{{NL stolen base champions}}
{{Panama national baseball team managers}}
{{Panama roster 2003 Baseball World Cup}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moreno, Omar}}
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Águilas Cibaeñas players]]
[[Category:Panamanian expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic]]
[[Category:Atlanta Braves players]]
[[Category:Bradenton Explorers players]]
[[Category:Charleston Charlies players]]
[[Category:Daytona Beach Explorers players]]
[[Category:Gastonia Pirates players]]
[[Category:Gulf Coast Pirates players]]
[[Category:Gulf Coast Tourists players]]
[[Category:Houston Astros players]]
[[Category:Kansas City Royals players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball center fielders]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball players from Panama]]
[[Category:20th-century Panamanian sportsmen]]
[[Category:National League stolen base champions]]
[[Category:Navegantes del Magallanes players]]
[[Category:Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Venezuela]]
[[Category:New York Yankees players]]
[[Category:Niagara Falls Pirates players]]
[[Category:Panamanian expatriate baseball players in the United States]]
[[Category:People from Barú District, Chiriquí]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Chiriquí Province]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Pirates players]]
[[Category:Salem Pirates players]]
[[Category:Thetford Mines Pirates players]]
[[Category:Tiburones de La Guaira players]]