Pictured above is Paco Figueroa, playing second base for Spain in the 2009 Baseball World Cup as he avoids a head first slide by Elvis Andrus of Venezuela. His face is obscured in a sadly appropriate representation of Spain’s anonymous presence on the international baseball stage.
Figueroa, too, is likely not known to you, even though yesterday evening it was announced that he has been hired by the Phillies as an outfield and base running coach. The 35-year-old had been drafted by the Orioles out of the University of Miami in 2005 at a late enough round that you had stopped paying attention.