Omar Moreno

Omar Moreno
Center fielder
Born: October 24, 1952 (1952-10-24) (age 59) Puerto Armuelles, Panama
Batted: Left	Threw: Left
MLB debut
September 6, 1975 for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Last MLB appearance
October 5, 1986 for the Atlanta Braves
Career statistics
Batting average	.252
Hits	1,257
Runs batted in	386
Stolen Bases	487
Teams
Pittsburgh Pirates (1975–1982) Houston Astros (1983) New York Yankees (1983–1985) Kansas City Royals (1985) Atlanta Braves (1986)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (1979)

Omar Renan Moreno Quintero (born October 24, 1952, Puerto Armuelles, Panama) was a Major League Baseball outfielder from 1975 to 1986. 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-winning team.

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 in stolen bases 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. Moreno set a not-so-impressive record that year by making an out 560 times that year, which is a major-league record.

After the 1982 season, Moreno signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros. He was traded midway through that year to the New York Yankees, for whom he played until they released him in August 1985. He signed with the Kansas City Royals for the last month of the 1985 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^[1].

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^[1].

Moreno made a cameo appearance in the Mexican movie El Hombre de la Mandolina, which was nominated for a Silver Ariel in 1985^[2]. 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 stolen base champions
• List of Major League Baseball triples champions
• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Pablo S. Torre (2009-07-13). "Omar Moreno:The swift centerfielder with the whistle-tooting wife is a figure to be reckoned with in his native Panama". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1157674/index.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-17. 
2. ^ IMDB.com: El Hombre de la Mandolina, Award Nominations

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference

Preceded by Frank Taveras

National League Stolen Base Champion 1978-1979

Succeeded by Ron LeFlore

Persondata
Name	Moreno, Omar
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 24, 1952
Place of birth	Puerto Armuelles, Panama
Date of death
Place of death