Sport: Baseball
Born: January 26, 1978
Town: Paterson, New Jersey
Andres Yungo Torres Feliciano, Jr. was born January 26, 1978 in Paterson, NJ. His family moved to Puerto Rico when he was an infant and they did not return to the US until he was a teenager, when they moved to Miami. Although baseball was popular among his friends, Andres played only occasionally as a boy. He was more interested in track. His blazing speed and his difficulty focusing made racing a better sport. Later his condition was diagnosed as ADHD.
Andres starred for his high-school track team, recording a 10.37 in the 100 meters. He did not get serious about baseball until he was 18. Andres was immediately spotted by area scouts, including former major leaguer Jose Oquendo. They encouraged him to polish his skills in college, which he did locally at Miami-Dade. He did well enough to be drafted by the Marlins in 1997, but Andres decided to stay in school. He was selected in the fourth round by the Detroit Tigers in the 1998 draft and signed.
Andres put up huge stolen base totals in the minors and developed a decent batting stroke, but a lack of power kept him from finding regular work with the Tigers despite call-ups in 2002, 2003 and early 2004. Detroit finally released him, and he spent time in the White Sox, Rangers, Twins, Cubs and Tigers (again) systems before inking a deal with the San Francisco Giants prior to Spring Training in 2009.
Early in 2010, Andres finally won an everyday major league job with the Giants. He batted leadoff and responded with 43 doubles, 16 homers and a team-high 26 stolen bases. He led NL centerfielders in fielding and was 10th in extra-base hits despite missing much of September following an appendectomy. The Giants defeated the Texas Rangers in the World Series, and Andres batted .318 with 4 doubles and 3 RBIs. He had extra-base hits in Games 2 through 5 to tie a franchise record.
Andres saw his numbers drop during an injury-plagued 2011 campaign. The Giants traded him to the Mets for Angel Pagan and Andres continued to battle injuries during the 2012 season in New York. Andres returned to the Giants as a free agent in 2013. He was hobbled by an Achilles strain all year and had a third straight disappointing season.
With little chance of securing an everyday spot with San Francisco in 2014, 36-year-old Andres opted for free agency. He signed a minor-league deal with the Red Sox but, after going 6 weeks without a call-up, he opted out of his contract. Around that time, Andres’s wife, Soannie, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. She passed away in 2016.