Plácido Enrique Polanco (pronounced: plɑsiːdoː ɛnriːke poːlɑŋkoː) (born October 10, 1975) is a Dominican Major League Baseball player who has played for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Detroit Tigers. He is primarily a second baseman, but occasionally plays shortstop and third base.
Drafted on June 2, by the Cardinals in the 19th round of the 1994 Major League Baseball Draft, Polanco was promoted to the major leagues in 1998. His first major league hit was a single off Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Brett Tomko on July 5, 1998. Earning the starting third base job in 2001, his low strikeout-walk ratio and extra-base hits numbers established Polanco as a contact hitter. His career at-bats per strikeout ratio (14.19) ranks second only to Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Juan Pierre among active players.
On July 29, , Polanco, Mike Timlin, and Bud Smith were acquired by the Phillies for Scott Rolen, Doug Nickle and cash. Polanco was shifted to second base as David Bell was signed from free agency to play third base. He began to develop power while playing for the Phillies as he hit 14 and 17 home runs in the following two years, compared with just nine in 2002. He became a free agent following the season and was rumored to be returning to the Phillies.
The Phillies did sign Polanco for 2005, but sent him to the Tigers in June 2005 in a trade for veteran right-hander Ugueth Urbina and infielder Ramon Martinez, allowing the Phillies to play Chase Utley every day at second base. Polanco finished the 2005 season batting .338 with the Tigers, and also having a career year with regards to OPS, finishing the season at .847. In addition, he led the majors in lowest strikeout percentage (5.0%) for the season.blank">http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=1&season=2005
Polanco was a key player in the 2006 Division and Championship series for the Tigers, being named _Most Valuable Player of the ALCS. However, he did not record a single hit in the 2006 World Series, in which the Tigers lost to the Cardinals in 5 games.
