Magglio Ordóñez has moved from right field in Detroit to a leftist political campaign in Venezuela, his birthplace.
The 39-year-old former Tiger (2005-11) is running for mayor in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela with the Socialist party, Crain's reports in a news brief.
The former American League batting champion moved to Puerto La Cruz after his retirement from baseball in 2011 and has been positioning for a career in politics. The oil-centric city has a population of more than 450,000.
Magglio Ordóñez in his current uniform as a candidate.
Ordóñez is from the capital city of Caracas and supported President Hugo Chavez, a Socialist who died March 5. After he appeared in TV ads for Chavez, Venezuelan fans booed the Tigers slugger in Miami when he played for his homeland in the 2009 World Baseball Classic Miami.
After playing for the Chicago White Sox from 1997-2004, Ordóñez joined Detroit as a free agent. His five-year, $85-million contract was the Tigers' second-largest ever at the time.
He was an American League All-Star team player in 2006-07. During the 2007 season, his best, "Maggs" finished second in the league's MVP race with a .363 batting average, 28 homers and 139 RBIs.
The Tigers re-signed Ordóñez to a 1-year, $10-million contract at the end of 2010. He retired from baseball in a June 2012 ceremony at Comerica Park.
[Career background from Wikipedia.]
