Esteban Loaiza
Pitcher
Born: (1971-12-31) December 31, 1971 (age 40) Tijuana, Mexico
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 29, 1995 for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Last MLB appearance
June 11, 2008 for the Chicago White Sox
Career statistics
Win–Loss record	126–114
Earned run average	4.65
Strikeouts	1,382
Teams
Pittsburgh Pirates (1995–1998) Texas Rangers (1998–2000) Toronto Blue Jays (2000–2002) Chicago White Sox (2003–2004) New York Yankees (2004) Washington Nationals (2005) Oakland Athletics (2006–2007) Los Angeles Dodgers (2007–2008) Chicago White Sox (2008)
Career highlights and awards
2× All-Star selection (2003, 2004)

Esteban Antonio Loaiza Veyna [lo-EYE-sa] (born December 31, 1971 in Tijuana, Baja California, México) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently signed by the Mexico City Red Devils of the Mexican Summer League.

Early career[link]

A graduate of Mar Vista High School in Imperial Beach, California, Loaiza was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an undrafted free agent on March 21, 1991. With the Gulf Coast Pirates in the Rookie leagues he started five games in 1991, finishing with a 5–1 record and a 2.26 ERA. He moved through the Pirates farm system with stops at Augusta (class A - 1992), Salem (class A - 1993) and Carolina (class AA - 1993-1994). He also played for the Mexico City Red Devils of the Mexican Summer League during the 1993 season. He is currently playing with the Mexicali Aguilas of the Liga Mexicana Del Pacifico.

Major Leagues[link]

Loaiza made the jump to the big league club in 1995, making his major league debut on April 29, 1995, for the Pirates against the Philadelphia Phillies. He worked 4 2/3 innings in the game, giving up five hits and one unearned run to get the first major league win of his career. He finished his rookie season with a 8–9 record and a 5.16 ERA in 31 starts.

He began the 1996 season back in the minors with the Triple-A Calgary Cannons, but was recalled to the majors on June 7.

The Pirates traded him to the Texas Rangers on July 17, 1998, for Todd Van Poppel and Warren Morris. He spent the next two seasons with Texas, pitching both as a starter and a reliever for the Rangers.

Traded again, to the Toronto Blue Jays by the Rangers on July 19, 2000 for Michael Young and Darwin Cubillan, he pitched with the Blue Jays through 2002.

Chicago White Sox (2003–2004)[link]

After signing with the Chicago White Sox as a free agent, Loaiza enjoyed a career season in 2003, leading American League pitchers in strikeouts (207), and was second in wins (21) and strikeouts per nine innings (8.23); third in ERA (2.90), and sixth in innings pitched (226.3). Considered for the Cy Young Award, Loaiza finished second behind Roy Halladay, ahead of Pedro Martínez and Tim Hudson. He was an All-Star selection both in 2003 and 2004. Loaiza's 21 wins in 2003 are tied for the most ever in a season for a Mexican pitcher; Fernando Valenzuela won 21 games in 1986.

Journeyman[link]

Loaiza pitching for the Washington Nationals on April 27, 2005.

In 2004, Loaiza was traded to the New York Yankees mid-season for José Contreras. He did not perform well in New York and was banished to the bullpen during the regular season. During the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox, he pitched well in two relief outings despite recording the loss in Game 5. That off-season he signed a one-year contract with the Washington Nationals as a free agent. He went 12–10 with a 3.77 ERA for the Nationals in 2005.

Prior to the 2006 season, Loaiza signed a three-year, $21.4 million dollar contract with the Oakland Athletics.^[1] He had a disastrous start to his Oakland career, which led many fans to question his acquisition. Loaiza went 0–3 in April with an 8.35 ERA and opponents batted .385 against him. His early season troubles reached a nadir on April 29 when he gave up 10 runs in two innings to the Kansas City Royals, who had the worst record in baseball at the time; the game was not official since it was later rained out, or his statistics would have been even worse. Loaiza's poor performance was at least partly due to injury, as he seemed to have very little velocity on his fastball early in the season (throwing it at as little as 82-83 mph)^[2] and was placed on the disabled list with back and shoulder problems on May 2. When he returned on June 8, he was inconsistent, but appeared to be much healthier, due to his ability to demonstrate a much harder 95 mph fastball.^[3] On June 25, 2006, Loaiza pitched his first complete game in over two years in a 10–4 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Loaiza finished the 2006 regular season with a 4.89 ERA and a record of 11 wins and 9 losses.^[4] His injuries may have played a role in his sub-par ERA for that season.

During the 2007 regular season, Loaiza spent a large amount of time on the disabled list due to spasms in his right trapezius. The A's activated him and moved him back to the 25-man roster on August 22, 2007.

Los Angeles Dodgers[link]

Loaiza (far left) with fellow Dodgers pitchers Scott Proctor, Jonathan Broxton, Joe Beimel and Takashi Saito in 2008.

On August 29, 2007, the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed Loaiza off waivers from the Athletics. Instead of trading for Loaiza, the Dodgers purchased the remainder of his contract.^[5]

He made an impressive debut for the Dodgers, working seven innings and getting the win in a 11–3 victory over the Chicago Cubs, but struggled during the rest of the season, losing his last four decisions.

Going into the 2008 season, he had fully recovered from his injuries and regained his spot as the fifth starter in the Dodgers rotation. Loaiza struggled at the beginning of the season, and as a result lost his starting position to lefty Hong-Chih Kuo. After a stint on the DL, Loaiza was designated for assignment on May 24 and subsequently released.

Chicago White Sox (2008)[link]

On June 4, 2008, Loaiza was signed by the Chicago White Sox.^[6] After 3 relief appearances and 6 weeks on the disabled list, he was released.^[7]

DUI arrest[link]

On June 14, 2006, Loaiza was arrested after being pulled over by police who clocked his Ferrari doing 120 MPH on a California freeway near San Lorenzo. He subsequently failed a sobriety test. He appeared in court on July 14, 2006. After the incident, GM Billy Beane banned alcohol in both the home and visitor clubhouse, citing liability issues.^[8]

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Esteban Loaiza

• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
• List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions

References[link]

External links[link]

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube

Esteban (born 1948 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is the stage name of guitarist Stephen Paul.^[1] Recognizable by his bolero hat and sunglasses, Esteban has gained commercial success by selling his CDs and guitars on QVC and HSN.^[2][3]

History[link]

Paul was the oldest of four children. He recounts that he began playing guitar at the age of eight when his uncle brought him a nylon-stringed guitar.^[1] He attended South Hills Catholic High School (since absorbed into Seton-La Salle Catholic High School) in Mt. Lebanon.^[3] He then attended Carnegie Mellon University, where he double-majored in music and English. At this time, he was teaching approximately 150 students a week and playing in nightclubs.^[1]

Segovia[link]

Esteban states that at this point in his studies of the guitar, he felt a strong desire to study with Andrés Segovia. According to Esteban, after a long period where he pursued Segovia by sending notes to the hotels he was staying at, he at last met Segovia in Los Angeles in 1972 and studied with him intermittently for the next five years, splitting his time between Spain and California. The extent of the connection between Segovia and Esteban, however, is heavily disputed. Although Esteban did meet Segovia, Esteban is not mentioned in any biography of Segovia, and Esteban never received the public acknowledgment Segovia gave students such as John Williams and Eliot Fisk. Segovia autographed one of his books for Esteban in 1978 with a flattering message, but Segovia is known to have signed hundreds or thousands of such messages.^[1]

Musical transformation[link]

Esteban moved from Southern California to Phoenix with his wife and daughter, Teresa Paul in 1978. During the next two years, he toured playing classical music. In 1980, while driving his mother home from the airport, Esteban was involved in a collision with a drunk driver. He was left with broken ribs, missing teeth, and a light-sensitive eye. He recovered but was left with nerve damage in his hands. Unable to play the guitar, he sold solar energy systems for Reynolds Aluminum. During his long recovery, he decided to move away from playing only classical music. After recovering some of the use of his fingers in 1988, he had begun playing again by the end of 1989.^[1]

Commercial success[link]

At this time, Esteban was playing at a Hyatt Regency hotel. He released his first album in 1991.^[4] He hired a keyboardist in 1992 and has subsequently added a five-piece band including drummer Joe Morris. Audiences responded well to Esteban's charisma and frequently bought his albums.^[1] In 1999, Esteban came to the attention of Joy Mangano at Ingenious Designs, inventor of the Miracle Mop and other household accessories sold on QVC. She recognized Esteban's charisma and he was invited to play on QVC in November 1999. Soon after, Ingenious Designs was bought out by HSN and Esteban achieved commercial success. He sold 132,000 CDs after two appearances on HSN in the summer of 2000, and two of his albums reached the top 54 entries in the Billboard 200.^[1] Esteban quit playing at the Hyatt in 2000.^[5] He has since been featured in The Wall Street Journal and People Magazine.^[6] From 2001 to 2003, Esteban released over a dozen additional albums, four of which placed in the lower half of the Billboard 200.^[7] He has also been featured in various infomercials advertising his guitars and instructional DVDs.^[2] Esteban landed his first major CD distribution deal (with Sony RED Distribution) with the release of The Best of Esteban in October, 2006.^[8][9]

Criticism[link]

Esteban has used Segovia heavily in his marketing, citing himself, for example, as being "one of 14 guitarists in the world endorsed by the legendary Andrés Segovia." Critics have pointed out that Esteban began making these claims only after Segovia had died, making them impossible to verify, and that it is unlikely that Segovia, a classical purist, would have approved of Esteban's form of popular music.^[1] Also, given Segovia's known reputation as a very strict and intimidating instructor, it seems highly unlikely that he would have taken a student whose focus was not entirely on the performance of classical music.

Discography[link]

• The Best of Esteban (2006)
• The New Flamenco Y Rosas (2006)
• Father/Daughter (2004)
• Celebrate the Memories (2004)
• Back 2 Back (2003)
• Esteban & Friends: Live in Sedona (2003)
• Happy Holidays (2003)
• Live in Sedona (2003)
• Eternal Love (2003)
• Walk Beside Me (2002)
• Flame, Flamenco & Romance, Vol. 2 (2002)
• Esteban By Request (2001)
• Flame, Flamenco & Romance, Vol. 1 (2001)
• Esteban Live (2001)
• Joy to the World (2001)
• Holiday Trilogy (2001)
• At Home With Esteban (2001)
• All My Love (2001)
• Duende (2001)
• What Child Is This (2001)
• Spirits of the West (2001)
• Heart of Gold (2001)
• Passion (1999)
• Enter the Heart (1998)
• Flamenco Y Rosas (1995)
• Songs From My Heart (1995)

References[link]

Further reading and external links[link]

• Official Website
• Esteban, entry at Allmusic.
• Even on aisle 9, Esteban rocks on, Jim Abbott, January 1, 2007, Orlando Sentinel,.
• The Tao of Esteban, Gilbert Garcia, Phoenix New Times, September 21, 2000.
• Who is Esteban? And what's up with his guitars? at Music Thing
• South Hills Catholic reunion with Esteban, Al Lowe, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 8, 2007.
• Product reviews of various models of Esteban Guitars at Harmony central.

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Tagged since May 2011. It includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Tagged since May 2011. It relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Tagged since May 2011. It may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view. Tagged since May 2011.

Dolores "Jenni" Rivera (born July 2, 1969) is a Mexican-American singer, better known for her work within the banda and norteña music genres. She's been active in the music scene since 1992 and her recordings include many topical songs and material dealing with social issues, infidelity, and relationships. Her tenth studio album, Jenni in 2008, became her first number-one album in the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart in the United States.

Jenni Rivera plans to record her first Pop song in early 2012 which will feature music produced by Manny and Gil THE LATIN. The new material will be recorded in English and target the general market.

Early Life and Career[link]

Rivera was born Dolores Janney Rivera in Long Beach, CA. Her parents were Mexican immigrants who raised Jenni and her four brothers and sister (including Lupillo Rivera) in a tight-knit musical household. While still in high school she became pregnant with the first of her five children, and eventually married the child's father, José Trinidad Marín.^{[1][unreliable source?]} When she first started singing she was Jenni Rivera. In 1996 she released her first album Chacalosa, on the Capitol/EMI label, which became popular in Mexico and the American Southwest.

Family[link]

Jenni Rivera currently lives in Encino, California with her 5 children, husband and grand-daughter. Her 5 children are Janney Marin(Chiquis), Jacquie Marin, Michael Marin(Trinidad), Jenicka Lopez and Johnny Lopez. Her grand-daughter's name is Jaylah Hope Yanez, who's mom is Jacquie. Jenni Riveras is married to Major League Baseball Player Esteban Loaiza

Achievements[link]

Jenni Rivera is a Mexican-American singer/songwriter raised in Long Beach, has sold over 20 million albums worldwide. Rivera was nominated at the 2003, 2008 and 2010 Latin Grammys. A successful Regional-Mexican artist and entrepreneur, including Divina Realty, Divina Cosmetics, Jenni Rivera Fragrance, Jenni Jeans, Divine Music and The Jenni Rivera Love Foundation. Jenni Rivera became the first female Banda artist to sell-out a concert at the world famous Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, CA and most recently became the first artist up-to-date to sell-out two back-to-back nights at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California on August 6, 2010 and August 7, 2010. On August 6, 2010, Jenni Rivera was named spokeswomen for the National Coalition against battered women and domestic violence in Los Angeles. A proclamation was given "officially naming" August 6 “Jenni Rivera Day” by the LA City Council for all her charity work and involvement in the community. Jenni Rivera was also the producer to her oldest daughter's (Janney Marin) reality TV show on the cable network MUN2, "Chiquis & Raq-C",and is all around the world, and now stars in her sequel/spin-off show called I Love Jenni.

Discography[link]

Studio Albums[link]

• 2003 Homenaje A Las Grandes
• 2004: Simplemente La Mejor
• 2005: Parrandera, Rebelde y Atrevida
• 2006: En Vivo Desde Hollywood
• 2006: Besos y Copas Desde Hollywood
• 2007: Mi Vida Loca
• 2007: La DIva En Vivo
• 2008: Jenni
• 2009: Jenni: Super Deluxe
• 2009: La Gran Señora
• 2010: La Gran Señora En Vivo
• 2011: Joyas Prestadas (Banda)
• 2011: Joyas Prestadas (Pop)

References[link]

2006- En Vivo Desde Hollywood

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jenni Rivera

• Official website
• Jenni Rivera at the Internet Movie Database