Humberto Quintero is a former Venezuelan professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for over a decade. He was born on August 2, 1979, in Maracaibo, Venezuela, and began his professional baseball career in 1997 when he signed with the Houston Astros as an amateur free agent.
Quintero spent several years in the Astros' minor league system before making his MLB debut on September 13, 2003. He played in 10 games that season and hit .333 with one home run and three runs batted in (RBIs). Over the next few years, Quintero split time between the Astros and their Triple-A affiliate, the Round Rock Express.
In 2007, Quintero became the Astros' primary catcher, playing in a career-high 97 games and hitting .226 with four home runs and 28 RBIs. He continued to be the team's starting catcher for the next few seasons, but his offensive production declined. In 2010, he hit just .194 with one home run and 13 RBIs in 57 games.
After the 2011 season, the Astros traded Quintero to the Kansas City Royals. He played in 43 games for the Royals in 2012, hitting .232 with two home runs and 19 RBIs. He also threw out 33% of attempted base stealers, which was above the league average.
Quintero spent the 2013 season with the Philadelphia Phillies, playing in 22 games and hitting .250 with one home run and four RBIs. He became a free agent after the season and signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners. He played in 22 games for the Mariners in 2014, hitting .224 with one home run and six RBIs.
After the 2014 season, Quintero became a free agent again and signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox. However, he was released during spring training and did not play in the majors that season. He played in the Mexican League in 2015 and 2016 before retiring from professional baseball.
Overall, Quintero played in 547 MLB games over 11 seasons, hitting .234 with 24 home runs and 148 RBIs. He was known for his strong arm behind the plate, throwing out 33% of attempted base stealers for his career. While he was never a star player, Quintero was a reliable backup catcher who played for several teams over his career.
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