Roberto Petagine was a Venezuelan professional baseball player who played for various teams in the Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league in Japan. He was born on June 2, 1971, in Nueva Esparta, Venezuela.
Petagine began his professional baseball career in 1990 when he signed with the Houston Astros as an international free agent. He spent several years in the Astros' minor league system before making his MLB debut in 1994. However, he only played in 11 games that season and was eventually traded to the San Diego Padres.
Petagine played for the Padres for two seasons before being traded to the Seattle Mariners in 1997. He had his best season in the MLB in 1999 when he hit .322 with 20 home runs and 66 RBIs in 89 games. However, he struggled with injuries and inconsistency in the following seasons and was eventually released by the Mariners in 2001.
After his release, Petagine signed with the New York Mets but only played in 11 games for them before being traded to the Boston Red Sox. He played for the Red Sox for two seasons and had a solid performance as a pinch hitter and backup first baseman. However, he became a free agent after the 2003 season and signed with the Yakult Swallows in the NPB league in Japan.
Petagine had a successful career in Japan, playing for the Swallows, the Chiba Lotte Marines, and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He won the Pacific League MVP award in 2007 and was named to the NPB All-Star team several times. He also set a record for the most home runs in a single season by a foreign player in the NPB league with 46 in 2004.
Petagine returned to the MLB in 2006 when he signed with the Mariners again. However, he only played in 23 games that season and was released by the team in August. He then signed with the Houston Astros but did not play in any games for them before retiring from professional baseball.
Overall, Petagine had a solid career in both the MLB and the NPB league in Japan. He had a career batting average of .254 with 31 home runs and 121 RBIs in 344 games in the MLB. In the NPB league, he hit .296 with 159 home runs and 464 RBIs in 634 games.
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