Juan Bautista Berenguer (born November 30, 1954, in Aguadulce, Panama) was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins and other teams. He had a career record of 67 wins and 62 losses. He signed with the Mets as an amateur free agent in 1975.

Berenguer went 8-1 (3.94) for the 1987 World Champion Minnesota Twins and 8-4 (3.96) in 1988. Extremely wild as a youngster, he learned to harness his 90-plus-mph fastball, which he liked to throw inside, and added a forkball. His effectiveness was aided by his intimidating appearance and disposition. A mean-looking, husky Panamanian with long hair and a mustache, he was called "Pancho Villa" by his teammates. Twins fans admiringly referred to him as "Senor Smoke" or "El Gasolino," due to his mid-90s mph fastball.

In 1987, Berenguer also started a local craze due to his on-field dance, which fans dubbed "The Berenguer Boogie."

Berenguer suffered one of Major League Baseball's oddest off-field injuries while pitching for Atlanta in 1991. On an off day, while he was home wrestling with his kids, he broke his pitching arm and ended up missing the remainder of the season, also missing out on the Braves' Cinderella run to the World Series that year. After retiring from MLB, he pitched for the Northern League Baseball club Duluth-Superior Dukes.

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube

• 1987 "Berenguer Boogie" video

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