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José Tábata (born August 12, 1988 in Anzoategui, Venezuela) is a Minor league baseball outfielder in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He was an international signee by the New York Yankees in 2005 and became the Yankees' No. 2 prospect, by 2008.

Baseball career

At the age of 17 and in his first year of professional ball, Tábata led the Yankees farm system in batting average when he hit .314 for the Gulf Coast Yankees in 2005.

In 2006, Tábata batted .298 for the Low A Charleston RiverDogs. The same year, he was selected to participate in the XM Satellite Radio All-Star Futures Game as a member of the World Team, which consisted of 25 highly touted prospects from across the globe. In the game, which was part of the festivities for the 2006 All-Star Game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he played center field while going 1-for-3 with a single off fellow Yankees prospect Phil Hughes.

In 2007, Tábata played for the Single-A Tampa Yankees.

On July 26, 2008, Tábata was acquired by the Pirates with Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, and Daniel McCutchen from the Yankees in exchange for Xavier Nady and Dámaso Marte. Sport Analysts compare him to the Next Manny Ramirez at the Plate.^[1] He is currently assigned to the triple-a Indianapolis Indians.

Personal

On March 23, 2009, Tábata's wife, Amalia Tábata Pereira, who is 23 years his senior, was arrested and charged with abduction after allegedly kidnapping a 2-month-old girl in Florida by posing as an immigration officer; the baby was found unharmed in a shopping center later the same day.^[2] Tabata told the media that Pereira, whom he married in January 2008, had told him that she had given birth and that the baby was his.^[3]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from The Baseball Cube
• Minor League Splits and Situational Stats
• MLB.com: Early Outburst Lifts U.S. Past World
• MLB.com: Yankees' Farm More Fertile For 2006