Luis Durango

Luis A. Durango (born April 23, 1986) is a Panamanian former professional baseball outfielder.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and Houston Astros and was also a member of the Panama national baseball team.

Durango was born in Panama City.

In 2006, he was clocked at 3.4 seconds from home plate to first base on a bunt.

Durango made his professional debut that same year, playing for the San Diego Padres Rookie-level affiliate.

He was named an Arizona League All–Star for his performances that season.

He made his minor league baseball debut in 2006, and spent the year with the Arizona League Padres, hitting for a .378 batting average and stealing 17 bases in 39 games.

His batting average was the highest of any hitter in at the Rookie-level.

He was named to the Arizona League All–Star team after the season, along with teammates Cedric Hunter and Rayner Contreras.

After the season, the Padres reportedly considered Durango to be one of the better prospects in their organization.

He spent all of 2007 with the Eugene Emeralds of the Northwest League in Low-A, later being named the Co–Most Valuable Player of the league.

In 2007, Durango spent the year with the Eugene Emeralds, playing in 69 games, hitting .367 with 17 stolen bases.

He also hit two home runs, one of which was a walk-off against the Yakima Bears on July 7.

During the year, he had a 19-game hitting streak that was broken up on August 2, against the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes.

He was named Co–Most Valuable Player of the Northwest League after the season.

Following the season, Durango joined the Tigres de Cartagena of the Colombian Professional Baseball League for the upcoming season, which plays during the MLB off-season.

In Cartagena, he was named to the All–Star team.

In 2008, he split time between Class-A, with the Fort Wayne Wizards, and High-A, with the Lake Elsinore Storm, before being added to the Padres' 40-man roster after the season.

Durango started the 2008 season with the Fort Wayne Wizards of the Midwest League, playing in 93 games for the club and hitting .305 with 14 steals.

He remained with Fort Wayne until August 12, when he was called up to the Lake Elsinore Storm, San Diego's High–A affiliate.

In his second game with the Storm, he tallied three hits, helping the team to a 16–4 win over the Inland Empire 66ers.

He finished the year with a .431 batting average in 17 games with the Storm.

Following the season, he joined the Algodoneros de Guasave of the Mexican Pacific League after Kit Pellow, a first baseman, was kicked off the team.

He hit his first home run for Guasave on December 6, helping them to a 3–2 win.

Three days later, the Padres added him to their 40-man roster, in order to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.

Durango began 2009 with the San Antonio Missions in Double-A, but ended up working his way up to the majors, making his debut with the Padres on September 15.

He recorded his first career hit the following day.

Prior to the 2009 season, Grady Fuson, the Padres vice president of scouting and player development, said about Durango, "He's our little Juan Pierre. He can absolutely fly. And he's really mastered, in the last couple of years, the ability to get the bat on the ball and keep it out of the air."

Durango began the season with the Double-A San Antonio Missions.

At the All–Star break, he was batting .319, with a league leading 26 steals, 43 walks, and 46 runs.

He was named a starter for the All–Star game.

Durango also represented Team World at the All-Star Futures Game, going 1–for–2 with one stolen base.

On August 19, the managers of the teams in the Texas League named him the fastest baserunner in the league for the season.

He was called up by the Padres on September 14, making his debut the next day as a pinch hitter against the Arizona Diamondbacks, going 0–for–1.

The next day, he recorded three hits, two of which were bunt singles, and also stole his first base in the Major leagues.

After the game, Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero said about Durango, "He [Durango] played the game with us however he wanted to. He never hit the ball out of the infield and got three hits. I know he's fast and has good speed, but we should have played him a little better."

On October 4, 2009, Durango got a bunt hit in the bottom of the 7th against future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson.

He split 2010 between Triple-A Portland and the Padres, playing in a combined 134 games.

To begin 2011, Durango played for the Padres new Triple-A affiliate in Tucson before being designated for assignment in late June.

He was later claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros, but was later designated for assignment again.