Kansas City Royals: Father of Raul Mondesi Sentenced for Corruption

The father of Kansas City Royals shortstop Raul Mondesi was sentenced on corruption charges in the Dominican Republic. The charges stem from his time as the mayor of San Cristobal.

Former major leaguer Raul Mondesi—the father of Kansas City Royals backup shortstop Raul Mondesi—received an eight-year prison sentence after being found guilty on corruption charges. According to a report from ESPN, the elder Mondesi is also accused of mishandling public funds.

All charges stem from his time spent as mayor of his hometown—San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. The ESPN report also states that a three-judge panel slapped Mondesi with a fine equivalent to $1.27 million for his transgressions, which took place during his six-year term as mayor.

In 2010, the people of San Cristobal elected him to be their mayor. According to a Sports Illustrated report, Mondesi ran as a member of the Dominican Liberation Party but—soon after winning the election—switched his affiliation to the Dominican Revolutionary Party.

Kansas City Royals

Mondesi, 46, spent 13 seasons in the majors, mostly with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He won National League Rookie of the Year during the abbreviated 1994 season. Mondesi made his only All-Star team the following season. 1995 also saw “The Buffalo” earn his first of two Gold Gloves while with the Dodgers. (The other came in 1997.)

After leaving the Dodgers prior to the 2000 season, Mondesi began to hop around the league. He made stops with the Blue Jays (2000-02), Yankees (2002-03), Diamondbacks (2003), Pirates (2004), Angels (2004) and Braves (2005).

Mondesi accumulated a career WAR of 29.4. His career triple-slash line was .273/.331/.485. He totaled 271 home runs, 860 RBI and 229 stolen bases. Mondesi joined the 30-30 club in 1997 and again in 1999.

The Other Raul Mondesi

His son, Raul Mondesi, made modern MLB history by becoming the first player to make his big-league debut in the World Series. Mondesi pinch-hit in Game 3 of the 2015 series. The Kansas City Royals, of course, won the series in five games.

The younger Mondesi, whose brother Raul Mondesi Jr. played in the Brewers’ minor league system, began the 2017 season as the starting second baseman for the Kansas City Royals. He was sent down to Triple-A Omaha after just a couple of weeks before being recalled on Sept. 1. (Mondesi did get a brief recall for a doubleheader in May.)

In his abbreviated career, the 22-year-old Mondesi has just 33 hits in 206 plate appearances. However, since being recalled, Mondesi has done well in limited action. He has four hits in eight plate appearances since the start of September. That matches the number of knocks he accumulated over his other 49 plate appearances with the Kansas City Royals in 2017.

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He made an appearance against Toronto on Wednesday. Mondesi had an RBI-single in his lone at-bat. His single helped set a Kansas City Royals record for most players (13) with hits in the same game. Many expect Mondesi to start at shortstop in 2018.