Orioles' Salazar Takes the Long Way in His Return to the Major Leagues

Four years after his major league debut, Baltimore Orioles infielder Oscar Salazar arrived in the tiny European nation of San Marino, home to an Italian league baseball team, the only one in the world willing to pay him to play.

The scouting reports on Salazar once raved about his raw "tools," scout-speak for his all-around abilities, which were so highly regarded that the Oakland Athletics signed him out of Venezuela at age 16 even though he wasn't eligible to play professionally for another year. He never rose past Class AAA.

He caught on with the Detroit Tigers -- where he had a brief major league stint in 2002 -- but he found himself on the waiver wire there, too. By the time he reported as an outfielder with T&A San Marino for the 2006 season, he already had made a stop in the Mexican League the year before and had been released by his sixth professional organization.

For all his tools, Salazar appeared destined to end his career with eight games in the major leagues.

"Everybody thought that I was out of baseball because everybody that goes to Italy, it's kind of like a last chance," said Salazar, who turns 30 on June 27.

Even his official major league bio stated as much. Listed in his stat lines for the 2005 and 2006 seasons were the words "out of professional baseball."

But while he had fallen off the grid, Salazar used his time in baseball's hinterlands to reinvent himself, going from toolsy washout to quality hitter. Ultimately, it was the reason that the Orioles rediscovered Salazar, putting him on the path back to the major leagues.

"The big thing is I'm here right now," said Salazar, who was called up by the Orioles last Tuesday. "It's a huge moment for myself, my career, to come back six years after playing in the big leagues."

It's been an active week for Salazar, whose game-tying homer in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday helped the Orioles to their 19th come-from-behind victory of the season.

"You feel great for those kind of guys," Manager Dave Trembley said. "Great for our team, great for anyone who has hit a crossroads in their life and have to decide whether to continue or get out. He looked like a big league hitter right there."

The crossroads for Salazar came after he hit .273 for Cancun in the Mexican League, a respectable average, though it was not good enough to attract any other job offers. After speaking with his family -- who urged him to take one more shot at a baseball career -- Salazar made the desperate move to San Marino, a nation roughly the size of the District, bordered on all sides by Italy.

"You have to be patient," Salazar said. "When you go to Italy, you can't go over there and say 'play and have fun.' You've got to go over there and work."