Benji Gil
Romar Benjamín Gil Aguilar is a Mexican former professional baseball infielder and coach. He played in Major League Baseball for the Texas Rangers and the Anaheim Angels with whom he won the 2002 World Series. He was the infield coach for the Los Angeles Angels.
Gil has served as manager of the Mexico national baseball team in the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He has also managed the Tomateros de Culiacán and Charros de Jalisco, both in the Mexican Pacific League.
Early career
Gil was a star pitcher for Castle Park High School in Chula Vista, California. In, he went 6–3 with 89 strikeouts and a San Diego County leading 0.52 earned run average. As a senior in, Gil pitched a no-hitter. Gil was also a good hitter, however, and when the Texas Rangers selected Gil nineteenth overall in the 1991 Major League Baseball draft, it was as a shortstop.Professional career
Texas Rangers
Gil displayed decent power, clubbing nine home runs for the South Atlantic League's Gastonia Rangers in. He made his major league debut in the season opener at twenty years old, going 0-for-3 with a walk in four plate appearances. By late May, however, he was back in the minors with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers after batting.123 with two runs batted in for the Rangers.He would not return to the majors until the season. On May 3, his first major league home run accounted for the Rangers' lone run in a 5–1 loss to the Seattle Mariners. He followed this up with home runs in his next two games on his way to a career best nine for the season. He also appeared in a career high 130 games, and posted career highs in runs batted in, runs, hits and extra-base hits, while also providing a steady glove at short.
A herniated disc in Spring training kept Gil off the opening day roster. By the time he was ready to return, off-season acquisition Kevin Elster had won the starting job, and Gil found himself back in the minors with the Oklahoma City 89ers. He received a call up to the majors that September, and was 2-for-5 in seven plate appearances. He was once again the Rangers' starting shortstop in.
Calgary Cannons
Gil was traded following the 1997 season to the Chicago White Sox for pitchers Al Levine and Larry Thomas. Gil spent his one season in the White Sox organization with the Pacific Coast League's Calgary Cannons, where he batted.248 with fourteen home runs and 69 RBIs. Coincidentally, Gil also spent the season with Calgary after they became a Florida Marlins affiliate, and he was drafted by the Marlins in the minor league draft.Anaheim Angels
Just as spring training was set to begin, Gil signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Angels. Slated to be the backup to incumbent Gary DiSarcina, Gil soon found himself starting when an injury ended DiSarcina's season. David Eckstein became the Angels' starting shortstop in, with Gil sliding into a backup middle infielder role.In, Gil actually saw more playing time at second base than he did at short. He had a far more limited role than he had his previous two seasons in Anaheim, however, he made it to the postseason for the only time in his career. In game two of the 2002 American League Division Series against the New York Yankees, Gil had an RBI single off Andy Petitte. In game four, he was 3-for-3 with a run scored. In the Angels' 2002 World Series victory over the San Francisco Giants, Gil went 4-for-5 with a double and a run scored.
Minor League journeyman
Gil's season got off to a slow start, going 0-for-14. The Angels released him in early August with a.192 batting average, one home run and nine RBIs. Shortly afterwards, he signed with the Cleveland Indians. He was released at the end of the season after batting.139 for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. Over the next two seasons, Gil spent time in the Colorado Rockies, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners and New York Mets organizations, but failed to make the Major League roster of any of these teams. Along the way, he also landed on the Mexican League's Tijuana Toros.When the Mets released Gil in July, it would turn out to be his final stint with a major league franchise. After finishing out the 2005 season with the New Jersey Jackals of the Canadian-American Association, Gil would spend the next six seasons playing ball in Mexico. In, he won the Mexican League Championship with Sultanes de Monterrey. He spent one last season with the Fort Worth Cats of the North American League before retiring.