Jhonny Antonio Peralta (born May 28, 1982, in
Santiago, Dominican Republic) is a baseball player
who is currently the starting shortstop for the
Cleveland Indians. He signed with the Indians in
1999 as an undrafted free agent.
Peralta made his major league debut with Cleveland
on June 12, 2003 filling in for the injured Omar
Vizquel. He would go on to hit .227 with 4 home runs
and 21 RBI in 2003. In 2004, despite great triple-A
numbers, Peralta only saw 25 at-bats in 8 games with
the Indians due to the presence of perennial Gold
Glover and fan favorite Vizquel. Vizquel left the
Indians as a free agent after the 2004 season.
By this time, Peralta had established himself as one
of the minor league's best hitters in his time with
the Akron Aeros and Buffalo Bisons. He was the 2004
Player of the Year in the International League,
helping Buffalo win the International League
championship.
Peralta became Cleveland's full time starting
shortstop early in the 2005 season.
Peralta is establishing himself as one of the best
young hitters in baseball. In the 2005 season,
Peralta batted .292; his 24 HR and 78 RBI were
Indians records for a shortstop. Peralta entrenched
himself in the third slot in the batting order in
the potent Indians lineup and showed a knack for
clutch late-inning hits.
In an interview with the Santo Domingo Times on
March 11, 2007, he claims that he is the only person
named "Jhonny" with the name spelled correctly; all
other "Johnnies" are misspelled. He has refused to
have it changed. The letter combinations "Jh" or
"Gh" are sometimes used in the Spanish language to
represent the English "J" sound, as the "J" in
Spanish is normally pronounced as an English "H".
On March 10, 2006, Peralta agreed to a five-year
contract with an option for a sixth year to stay
with the Indians until the 2011 season. The base of
the contract is worth approximately $13 million,
while the option will bring Jhonny $7 million.
His 2006 season saw a decline both offensively and
defensively from 2005. At the start of spring
training in the 2007 season, it was revealed that
Peralta suffered from vision problems in 2006 and
had corrective LASIK eye surgery to deal with it.
