Oscar Manuel Robles Arenas (born April 9, 1976) is a Mexican former professional baseball infielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.

Óscar Robles
Robles with the San Diego Padres during spring training in 2008
Infielder / Manager
Born: (1976-04-09) April 9, 1976 (age 48)
Tijuana, Mexico
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 10, 2005, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Last MLB appearance
October 1, 2007, for the San Diego Padres
MLB statistics
Batting average.286
Hits110
Home runs5
Runs batted in36
Teams

Professional career

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Robles spent much of the 2000s as a third baseman for the Diablos Rojos del México, and played briefly as an infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers from May 2005 through 2006. He graduated from Montgomery High School in San Diego, where he had his jersey retired as a pitcher, and set a then-record for San Diego Section career hits (143). As a senior in 1994, he was named the CIF San Diego Section co-Player of the Year after batting .560 and recording a 1.09 ERA.[1][2]

Robles was originally signed by Houston Astros scout Deron Rombach after being drafted in the third round of the June 1994 free agent draft. After being signed, he used some of his bonus money to buy a scoreboard for his high school field. However, the Astros had no use for Robles, so they sent him back to the Mexican Baseball League (LMB), where he batted around .400, until he was called up by the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he played 110 games in the 2005 season. On February 2, 2007, Robles was released by the Dodgers and his contract was sold to the Diablos Rojos del México. He was soon picked up by the San Diego Padres and invited to spring training.

On April 29, 2008, the Phillies claimed Robles off waivers from the Padres and assigned him to their Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Robles played from 2009–2013 with the Diablos Rojos del México, in 2014 with the Guerreros de Oaxaca, and with the Toros de Tijuana from 2015-2017. Following the 2017 season and after winning the Mexican League Championship with the Toros, he announced his retirement as a player.

Robles also spent 21 seasons in Mexico's winter league, the Mexican Pacific League (LMP), from 1995 to 2016, where he played for the Algodoneros de Guasave, Mayos de Navojoa, Águilas de Mexicali and Tomateros de Culiacán. He won the LMP Rookie of the Year Award in his debut season, 1995–96.[3][4]

Managing career

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After retiring, Robles accepted an offer to stay with the Toros de Tijuana as a hitting coach for the 2018 season. On August 6, 2018, Robles was promoted to manager of the team for the rest of the season after the departure of Lino Rivera.[5]

In June 2021, Robles was announced as manager for the Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Mexican League.[6] He led the team to a 32–33 record, and they qualified for the Wild Card as the 6th seed from the South division. However, they lost to the Diablos Rojos del México in the first round of the postseason. Robles was not brought back for the 2022 season.

On December 9, 2021, Robles was announced as new manager for the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League.[7] He was fired on May 26, 2022, after starting the season with a 9–20 record.[8]

On June 1, 2022, Robles was hired as the new manager for the Guerreros de Oaxaca of the Mexican League.[9] He was not retained following the season.

On December 20, 2022, Robles was announced as new manager for the Generales de Durango of the Mexican League.[10]

In November 2023, Robles was hired by the Dorados de Chihuahua of the Mexican League as the team's manager ahead of the 2024 season.[11] On 6 June, Robles resigned after five consecutive losses and a 16–28 record; he was replaced by the team's hitting coach Gerónimo Gil.[12]

References

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  1. ^ Maffei, John (June 12, 1994). "Torrey Pines' Hutchinson shares top player honor". North County Blade-Citizen. p. 34. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Brents, Phillip (October 22, 1994). "Local hero giving it back". The Star-News. p. 17. Retrieved October 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Óscar Robles, un elemento histórico para Algodoneros". LMP.mx (in Spanish). June 17, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  4. ^ "Está consciente Óscar Robles de responsabilidad con Águilas". Noroeste (in Spanish). November 6, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  5. ^ "Óscar Robles dirigirá a Toros de Tijuana". MiLB.com. August 6, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  6. ^ Montoya, Marco (June 18, 2021). "Tigres de Quintana Roo cambia de mánager". Esto (in Spanish). Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  7. ^ "Óscar Robles, nuevo manager del Unión Laguna". unionlaguna.mx (in Spanish). December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  8. ^ @AlgodonerosUL (May 26, 2022). "Agradecemos a Óscar Robles, su trabajo como manager de nuestra organización durante el arranque de la temporada 2022, deseándole éxito en sus siguientes planes. Ramón Orantes tomará el lugar de manager interino de nuestro equipo. Seguiremos informando" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved May 26, 2022 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "Oscar Robles es el nuevo manager de los Guerreros". guerreros.mx (in Spanish). June 1, 2022. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  10. ^ "Generales: Óscar Robles dirigirá a La Tropa". MiLB.com (in Spanish). December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  11. ^ Coronado, Daniel (November 25, 2023). "¡Tomará las riendas! Óscar Robles será el mánager de Dorados". El Heraldo de Chihuahua (in Spanish). Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  12. ^ Coronado, Daniel (June 6, 2024). "Deja Óscar Robles a Dorados tras cinco derrotas consecutivas". El Heraldo de Chihuahua (in Spanish). Retrieved June 8, 2024.
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