Francisco “Paco” Figueroa was a top high-school prospect at Miami’s Gulliver Prep when he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 2001, but the native of the Magic City decided to attend the University of Miami. After a storied career at UM he was again drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2005.
In seven years in the minors with Baltimore he hit .285 with eight longballs, 155 runs batted, stole 72 bases and slashed .366/.370/.736 reaching as high as AAA in the birds farm system. After that played one more season in the Atlantic League with the Southern Maryland Bluecrabs in 2012 before calling it a career.
During his career he has also seen action with the Spanish National Baseball Team winning the best hitter award in the 2009 World Cup and also saw action with the European in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Today Figueroa is the Phillies first base coach. The Miamian has also managed the Spaniards in various international events.
El auxiliar cubanoamericano @paquifig nos habla sobre su regreso a Miami y su experiencia en el Clásico Mundial con España en el 2013.#pelotacubana #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/LBIfH3JzXY
— Yusseff305 🇨🇺🇺🇲 (@yusseff305) August 2, 2023
How does it feel to return to your hometown of Miami?
Well, I have all my family here, I was born here in Miami and I have family from Cuba here with me. When I come here to Miami to face the Marlins all my family comes to support me. This is already my fifth year with the Phillies, last year was good , but we’re here trying to get back to the World Series this season.
Being of Cuban descent like Nick Castellanos. How have you helped him acclimate to this city?
For me Nick is a tremendous baseball player. You know, we know each other quite a bit. When I played at Miami University, he was a kid and he would go there to watch me play and now we are here helping him play the outfield. Nick’s family is very supportive of him too. He has been in the Major Leagues for more than 10 years and is a very important part of our team. He plays the outfield well on defense and has a very good bat. Having him with us is tremendous.
Tell me about your experience in the World Classic with Spain.
It was a great experience for my family and I, my mother is Cuban and my father was born in Spain, but for me playing with the Spanish team in 2013 was a tremendous experience. It was also an awesome experience for my brother who played with us. I was later the manager of the team several times, including a World Cup. For me, it was something that I loved: putting on the Spanish flag and having my father see me were those colors was amazing.
Eleven players of Cuban heritage in the all-star game. how does it make you feel?
Oh great. This year the Phillies coaching staff went to Seattle and I took a picture with all the Cubans who were there. There was quite a lot of us and I was very happy with that. I was born here but my mother is Cuban, so it is in my blood.
If things ever changed in Cuba, would you like one day to be an assistant to the island team?
Yes, for me if all the Cubans who are playing here in the United States could play on the Cuban team, I would love to be the coach.