Franklin Gutierrez was born on February 21, 1983, in Caracas, Venezuela. Gutierrez is married to his wife Vivian and currently resides in Caracas. His favorite player growing up was Andres Galarraga. He bats and throws right handed and is regarded as one of the game’s best defensive outfielders.

Gutierrez was signed by Dodgers scout Camilo Pascual on November 18, 2000. Gutierrez was acquired by the Cleveland Indians prior to the 2004 season with a player to be named later in exchange for Milton Bradley, now a fellow teammate of Gutierrez.

In 2005, he posted a .261 batting average, had 11 home runs, along with 42 RBI for Akron. He hit .254 with seven RBI in 19 games with Triple-A Buffalo, the AAA affiliate of the New York Mets.

In 2006, after batting .278 in 90 games for Triple-A Buffalo, Gutierrez played 43 games in the majors after being called up on June 16 and he stayed in the majors for the remainder of the season.

In 2007, Gutierrez once again began the season in Triple-A Buffalo, but after batting .341, he was called up for good on May 6.

Last season, Franklin Gutierrez was a member of the Seattle Mariners in the American League. He hit a decent .283 in 153 games. Gutierrez had 565 at-bats; in those at-bats, Gutierrez smacked 18 home runs and drove in 70 runs. He scored 85 runs during the season. Gutierrez had 160 hits, a career high. He had 46 walks along with a total of 122 strikeouts.

His 16 stolen bases also was a career best for Gutierrez. He only had 24 doubles and one triple. These stats, compared to his 2008 season, where he had less at-bats, aren’t nearly as good.

During the 2008 season, Franklin Gutierrez, in 134 games with the Cleveland Indians, hit only eight home runs and drove in only 41 runs.

In 399 at-bats, Gutierrez had 99 hits, scored 54 runs, smacked 26 doubles, and had a batting average of .248. Nine stolen bases were also on Gutierrez’s 2008 season resume.