In Miami Paco Figueroa is a native son. The former minor league infielder was born in the city and played high school ball a Guilliver Prep, while also starring at the University of Miami as well. Figueroa was drafted twice by MLB in 2001 out of high school by the Braves, but chose to go to college.
He was once again drafted, this time by the Baltimore Orioles in the 9th round of the 2005 draft. He played five seasons in the team’s farm system slashing 285/.366/.370/.736 with eight longballs and 72 stolen bases in 1,798 at-bats. He also played for the Spanish National Team in the 2009 World Baseball Cup, where he won the “Best Batter” award, and the 2013 WBC.
Figueroa was named the first base, outfield, and base running coach for the Philadelphia Phillies prior to the 2019 season, where he has been ever since. Eventually the Cuban-American strives to be a manager on the grand stage and could be well on his way to doing so.
How did being a coach for Spain, help you develop your coaching skills ?
Actual, you know, Spain, I had the the privilege to manage. I also did Also, one thing that I never had done in my career coaching. In the minor leagues I hitting coach, hitting coordinator. So being able to manage, helped my career out and helped me understand what I want to do eventually, you know. It also gave me the opportunity to, you know, just speak to the team, be more of a of communicator , you know, you take your hat off being like a defensive guy , you’re communicating more with players and checking them in, talking to them. So yeah, I I was fortunate that I was able to do it and it was a good experience.
Being from Miami, how does it feel to come home?
It’s the best, you know, born and raised here, it’s always nice to see family and friends, you know, they really support me a lot. They’ve seen my career, where I’ve come and gone. I’m very blessed to come home and and see them.
You’re a few games out of first.What do you guys have to do to win a division time?
Well, just be consistent. You know, I mean, the game of baseball is on the Major League level, it’s a, it’s a long year, but we know that every game counts. You’re going to go through ups and downs. It’s part of it.A lot of times, you know, guys ride the roller coaster. You try to remind them not to and just compete whenever things are going rough. Baseball’s a grind, so you just have to stay positive and keep working.
Nick Castellanos is also of Cuban descent like yourself. Tell us about your influence on him?
He lives not that far away from me. So we’re together a lot in the offseason and, you know, we bounce a lot of things off each other and that’s what I do with all the players here. Wepush each other, and you know, that’s what makes us better.
If Cuba was ever a free country, would you ever like to be part of that coaching staff?
Yeah, of course, because, you know, I take pride in where my parents came from. My dad’s from Spain, my mom’s from Cuba. So there’s a lot of people that I know born and raised in Cuba that are very close to me, family and friends. So yeah, it’s one thing that, you know, I take pride in.