Name (Japanese): ラウル・アルカンタラ
Date of Birth: December 4, 1992
Hometown: Barahona, Dominican Republic
High School: Liceo Emabal Anguel (?)
Family Status: Married, 3 sons
Height: 193 cm (6’4″)
Weight: 100 kg (220 lbs)
Throws/Bats: Right/Right
Position: Pitcher
Wore #: 44
Originally signed by: Boston Red Sox, 2009
MLB Experience with: Oakland Athletics (2016-17)
KBO Teams: KT Wiz (2019), Doosan Bears (2020)
Signed with Hanshin on: December 23, 2020
Made Tigers Debut on: May 16, 2021 @ Giants (6 IP 7 H 0 BB 5 R 5 K, W)
Social Media: Twitter / Instagram
Career Stats:
| Yr | Team | ERA | GP | GS | CG | SO | No BB | GC | W | L | HLD | HP | SV | W% | IP | BF | H | HR | K | K/9 | BB | HBP | WP | BK | R | ER | AVG vs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Tigers | 3.49 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 59.1 | 243 | 55 | 6 | 48 | 7.28 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 23 | .246 |
| 2022 | Tigers | 4.70 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 18 | 1 | .250 | 38.1 | 156 | 38 | 5 | 29 | 6.81 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 20 | .266 |
| Career | 3.96 | 63 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 23 | 25 | 1 | .400 | 97.2 | 399 | 93 | 11 | 77 | 7.10 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 46 | 43 | .253 |
Brief Biography
Raul Alcantara started his professional career in the Boston Red Sox organization in 2009 (when he was still 17 years old), but was involved in a trade after the 2012 season, moving into the Oakland Athletics’ farm system in 2013. He required Tommy John surgery in 2014, but steadily worked his way through the A’s minor league teams until he got called up for his first career start on September 5, 2016. The game did not go particularly well, though, as he hit three Angels batters (including future teammate Jefry Marte and Mike Trout), lasting just 3 innings and allowing 5 runs. He stayed on the top squad and earned his first career MLB win on September 17 against the Texas Rangers as his mates tore up Yu Darvish for 7 runs in 5 innings. That would be his lone win in 2016 and he would wait just over a year for his next one. In parts of two seasons with the A’s, Alcantara sported a career 7.19 ERA. He was released prior to the 2018 season, and for that year, he did not play in continental North America.
During the 2018 offseason, Alcantara signed with the KT Wiz of the KBO. He amassed 11 wins on a 4.01 ERA in 27 games with the Wiz, but left the team that offseason. In 2020, he signed on with the Doosan Bears, where he really started to show what he was capable of. He started 31 games and won 20 of them (against just 2 losses) and threw 198 ⅔ innings while posting a strong 2.49 ERA, with 182 strikeouts. He also won a Golden Glove that season. All of these gaudy numbers in a hitter-friendly league were enough to get the full attention of the Hanshin Tigers, who signed him to a two-year deal starting in 2021.
Due to a late arrival in Japan (because of visa limitations during the Covid-19 pandemic), Alcantara did not make his top-squad debut until May 16, 2021 at Tokyo Dome. He started the game relatively strongly, though he served up an early home run and then got tagged for a few runs in the sixth, his final inning. Nevertheless, he earned himself a win in his very first game as a Tiger, and captured fans’ hearts when, on the hero’s podium, he said “ohayo gozaimasu.” He would remain in the rotation for a few more starts, and earned more respect by recording his first NPB hit and RBI against Roki Sasaki during interleague play. However, due to an inability to go deep and keep the score low, he was relegated to the bullpen after the Olympic break, where he made 17 relief appearances the rest of the way.
In 2022, Alcantara had hoped to make the Opening Day starting rotation, but also said he was open to helping the team wherever he was needed. Unfortunately, he sprained his knee during spring training, and was unable to make the top squad until March 31, six games into the year. Ultimately, he made 39 mound appearances, including his first NPB save on June 17 against the Yokohama DeNA Baystars at Koshien Stadium. Though Alcantara had decent velocity (max 158 km/h) and control (8 BB in 38 ⅓ innings), he also got lit up a fair amount, and did not make any top squad appearances in the last month of the 2022 season. At the end of the year, on December 2, the team officially announced his release.
Alcantara is reportedly returning to Korea in 2023 to play for the Doosan Bears again.
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