Mario Mendoza

Mario Mendoza Aizpuru (born December 26, 1950) is a Mexican former professional baseball infielder. Mendoza, a lifetime .215 hitter, is best known for being the source of the name for the threshold for batting ineptitude, the "Mendoza Line", meaning a batting average of .200. Mendoza managed in the minor leagues and in Mexico after his Major League Baseball (MLB) playing career. He is a member of the Mexican League Hall of Fame.\n', ' Mendoza first caught the eye of the Pittsburgh Pirates while playing for the Mexico City Red Devils (Diablos Rojos) of the Mexican League in 1970. His ability for picking grounders prompted the Pirates to purchase Mendoza\'s contract from Mexico City.\n', ' Mendoza played four seasons in the Pirates\' farm system before debuting with the Pirates on April 26, 1974 as a pinch runner for Willie Stargell. With the Pirates down 3–2 in the ninth inning to the Houston Astros, Mendoza scored the tying run in the Pirates\' 4–3 victory. For the season, Mendoza batted .221 in 91 games, but he had only 177 plate appearances as he was primarily a defensive replacement when starting Pirates shortstop Frank Taveras (who himself only had a .246 batting average in 1974) had been pinch hit for late in a game. He reached the postseason for the only time in his career during his rookie season. He started game three of the 1974 National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and went one for three with a walk and an RBI infield single.\n', '