Magglio Ordonez only played for two teams throughout his MLB career, and he had success playing for both teams. Ordonez played for the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. Individually, Ordonez collected multiple awards as a player.

The Venezuela native was a fan favorite, and he came up clutch in situations where his team needed a big hit.

Magglio Ordonez coming to the league

The White Sox decided to take a shot on Ordonez. He spent the first eight seasons of his MLB career in Chicago. In his first season in 1997, he played in 21 games and hit .319 with 22 hits and 11 RBIs. The next season Ordonez saw a lot more playing time with the White Sox. He played in 145 games and finished the season with a .282 batting average with 14 home runs and 151 hits.

Ordonez was a good hitter at the plate. He had power and could hit the ball to both gaps of the field. In his third season, he made his first all-star team. At the end of the 1999 season, he hit .301 with 30 home runs. Ordonez made the all-star team the next two seasons and also won a Silver Slugger award in 2000. He quickly became one of the top hitters in the game. During his time in Chicago, he batted over .300 for five straight seasons. He played in a total of four all-star games and won two Silver Slugger awards while playing for the White Sox.

After his time with the White Sox, he signed with the Detroit Tigers in 2005 as a free agent. Ordonez continued to have success playing in Detroit. In his first season with the Tigers, he played in 82 games and had a batting average of .302. His numbers continued to improve in the next few seasons.

Magglio Ordonez becoming a top player in Detroit

Ordonez quickly became a fan favorite while he played in Detroit. The Tigers were one of the top teams in the American League, while Ordonez played for them. Ordonez would make the all-star team again in 2006 and 2007, and he won another Silver Slugger award in 2007. In 2006, Ordonez had one of the biggest hits of his career. In the 2006 ALCS playoffs, the Tigers took on the Oakland Athletics. The Tigers needed one more win to advance to the World Series, and Ordonez was up to bat in a tie game. He would hit a walk-off home run to give the Tigers the win and send them to the World Series.

The 2007 season was Ordonez’s best season of his career. He had a career-high batting average of .363, which led the league, and he was crowned the AL batting champion. He continued to have success during his final seasons playing in Detroit. His last season was in 2011, and he finished his career with a .309 batting average with 2,156 hits, 294 home runs, and 1,236 RBIs.

Life after baseball for Magglio Ordonez

Ordonez officially retired from baseball in 2012 in a ceremony at Comerica Park. The next year he became the co-owner of the Venezuela professional team Caribes de Anzoategui. He played for the team for a short period before he played in the MLB.

Later in the year, Ordonez announced that he was running for public office in Venezuela, and he would become the mayor of the Juan Antonio Sotillo Municipality on December 8, 2013. Ordonez went from playing baseball to become a political leader in his native home of Venezuela.