Robert Andino

American baseball player

Robert Lazaro Andino (born April 25, 1984) is a Cuban American former professional baseball infielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Florida/Miami Marlins, and Seattle Mariners.

Andino was selected in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2002 MLB draft by the Florida Marlins out of Miami Southridge High School. He was promoted to the Marlins for the first time on September 2, 2005. He made his major league debut two days later when he replaced Álex González at shortstop in the eighth inning of a 7–1 loss to the New York Mets at Dolphins Stadium. His only at bat was a groundout to shortstop José Reyes to end the game. His first hit in the majors was a ground rule double off Vicente Padilla in the fourth inning of a 10–2 defeat at home to the Philadelphia Phillies on September 17. The Marlins initially saw him as their "shortstop of the future", but other players, including Hanley Ramírez, knocked him out of that role. On April 1, , Andino hit a walk off home run in the 10th inning off New York Mets reliever Matt Wise for his first career home run.

In an exchange of players out of minor league options, Andino was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Hayden Penn on April 1, 2009. He made his first appearance for the Orioles on April 9, , pinch hitting for César Izturis. He made a barehanded catch of a Justin Morneau pop fly in foul territory during the sixth inning of a 6–1 win over the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on August 24, 2011. He had slightly overrun the ball while approaching the tarpaulin roll parked against the fence on the third base side. During the last two weeks of the 2011 campaign, Andino had three clutch hits that helped prevent the Boston Red Sox from clinching the American League Wild Card. The first was a two out bases clearing double down the right field line off Jonathan Papelbon in the eighth inning of a 7–5 win at Fenway Park on September 20. Six nights later, on September 26, he became the first Oriole to achieve an inside the park home run at Camden Yards with a three run shot off Josh Beckett in the sixth inning of a 6–3 triumph. With runners on second and third and two outs, he sent the ball to deep straightaway center field where it initially landed in Jacoby Ellsbury's glove. It was jarred loose when Ellsbury collided with the fence. Andino was able to score standing up when the relay throw skipped past Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The feat was witnessed by his father, Robert Sr., who was attending a professional game involving his son for the first time. Andino struck against Papelbon again with a two out game winning single to left field in the ninth inning of the regular season ending 4–3 victory at home on September 28. This walk off hit ultimately resulted in the Red Sox losing a spot in the playoffs, as mere minutes later the Tampa Bay Rays won on a walk off home run by Evan Longoria against the New York Yankees, to clinch the playoff spot the Red Sox previously held. His clutch performances were dubbed by the Boston sports media as "The Curse of the Andino", an obvious pun on the Curse of the Bambino. On September 7, 2012, Andino hit his career high seventh home run of the season against New York Yankees pitcher Cody Eppley.

Andino was traded to the Seattle Mariners for Trayvon Robinson on November 20, 2012. On May 24, 2013, he was designated for assignment to make room for catcher Jesús Sucre. He was outrighted to the Tacoma Rainiers on May 27.

On July 31, 2013, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later or cash. He did not make the team and spent the season with their AAA affiliate in Indianapolis, becoming a free agent at the season's end.

On March 31, 2015, Andino signed with the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, where he spent the 2015 season.

On December 28, 2015, Andino signed a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins. He had his contract selected by the Marlins on August 14, 2016. He appeared in 13 games for the Marlins, and amassed a .292 batting average.

On February 6, 2017, Andino signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles organization. On May 31, Andino was suspended for 50 games for testing positive for Adderall. In 49 games for the Triple–A Norfolk Tides, Andino hit .234/.282/.375 with 6 home runs and 23 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 6.