Early life.

Coming from a middle-class family in the Dominican Republic that placed great importance on education, Bautista began studying English at age eight. His mother was an accountant and financial planner, and his father, who had earned a master's degree in agricultural engineering in Hungary, ran poultry farms. Bautista attended a private high school, De La Salle High School, in Santo Domingo. He was aided by the Latin Athletes Education Fund, designed for players from Spanish-speaking countries aspiring to play college baseball in the United States. Although he invested much time in pursuing professional baseball, Bautista studied business at Mother and Teacher Pontifical Catholic University in the event a career in baseball did not materialize.  After working out with various Major League Baseball (MLB) clubs, he turned down offers of $5,000 from the New York Yankees and $42,000 from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Cincinnati Reds offered him $300,000, which Bautista accepted; however, before the contract could become official, the team changed ownership and subsequently rescinded the offer. Bautista then created a highlight tape of himself using a camcorder and sent it to various colleges in the United States. There was no response until he received a call from Oscar Pérez, whom he had known from the Quique Cruz League in the Dominican Republic. Pérez informed him of the Latin Athletes Education Fund, designed for players from Spanish-speaking countries aspiring to play college baseball in the United States. He connected Bautista with Don Odermann, a businessman in the San Francisco Bay Area. Odermann, who assisted baseball players from Latin America desiring to play baseball in the US, knew that Chipola College, a junior college in Marianna, Florida, was seeking an everyday player. There, Bautista played for two years until being drafted.

Professional career.

Early career.

The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted José Bautista in the 20th round of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Pirates for a $500,000 signing bonus. Bautista played for the Williamsport Crosscutters of the Class A-Short Season New York-Penn League in 2001 and the Hickory Crawdads of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2002. In 2003, he played for the Lynchburg Hillcats of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League.  After the 2003 season, the Baltimore Orioles selected Bautista in the Rule 5 draft and carried him on their Opening Day roster. He made his MLB debut with Baltimore on April 4, 2004. After playing 16 games with the Orioles, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays claimed him off waivers on June 3. Twenty-five days later, the Kansas City Royals purchased him from Tampa Bay after a 12-game stint with the Devil Rays. He played 13 games for the Royals before they traded him to the New York Mets on July 30 for Justin Huber, who then traded him minutes later to Pittsburgh with Ty Wigginton and minor leaguer Matt Peterson for Kris Benson and Jeff Keppinger. This series of transactions made him the first player to appear on five different Major League Baseball rosters in one season, only since matched by Oliver Drake in 2018. (Drake, however, actually played for all five teams, while Bautista only played for four; he never actually suited up or played for the Mets.)  Bautista played in 11 games for the Pirates in 2005. In 2006, his first full season in the major leagues, Bautista hit.235 with 16 home runs (HR) and 51 runs batted in (RBI). The following season in 2007, he posted similar numbers in 142 games, finishing the season with a batting average of.254, 15 home runs and 63 RBI. That same year, he became the starting third baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He took over for reigning National League batting champion Freddy Sanchez, who moved to second base.  Bautista was to be the Pirates' starting third baseman and backup outfielder in 2008. From June 14 to 24, he hit five home runs in a span of nine games against interleague opponents Baltimore, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and the New York Yankees. However, he struggled offensively for most of the year, and after the 2008 trade deadline Bautista lost his starting job to the newly acquired Andy LaRoche. Bautista was optioned to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians on August 13.

Toronto Blue Jays.

2008.

On August 21, 2008, the Pirates traded Bautista to the Blue Jays for a player to be named later, who eventually was Robinzon Díaz. The Blue Jays needed a third baseman due to an injury to Scott Rolen. Bautista batted.214 in 21 games for Toronto after the trade.

2009.

Starting the 2009 season on the bench, manager Cito Gaston assigned Bautista to back up Rolen and outfielders Alex Ríos and Adam Lind. Bautista started the season with a.317 batting average,.404 on-base percentage (OBP) and.463 slugging percentage (SLG) in 49 plate appearances in April. However, his numbers fell off, as he batted between.167 and.231 each month from May through August with two total home runs. At times he showed marked plate discipline; in the month of May, he walked 14 times for a.403 OBP despite batting just.231. Eventually, the Chicago White Sox claimed Rios off waivers, the Blue Jays assigned Lind to the role of designated hitter, and an injury to Marco Scutaro led to an increase in Bautista's playing time and making him the leadoff hitter.  As the season drew to a close, the Blue Jays made changes to their coaching staff. One was to move first base coach Dwayne Murphy to replace the retiring Gene Tenace as hitting coach. Formerly a Blue Jays' minor league roving hitting instructor and hitting coach, Murphy had already spent nearly one year working with Bautista, teaching him to leverage his pull power by starting his swing with his now-familiar high leg kick. In September, he finally broke through, hitting 10 home runs with 21 RBI, a.257 batting average and a.606 slugging percentage (SLG). He hit 13 total HR in 2009 with 40 RBI, a batting average of.235, and 79 hits in 113 games. Originally considered to be a non-tender candidate, he re-signed with the Blue Jays on a one-year, $2.4 million US contract for the 2010 season.

2010.

Bautista began the 2010 campaign as the starting right fielder and leadoff hitter. On May 17, he was named AL Player of the Week after hitting.444 (8-for-18) with 20 total bases, four home runs, eight RBI, eight runs scored, a.565 OBP, and an MLB-best 1.111 SLG. Bautista hit his 20th home run as part of a two-home run night against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 22, setting a new career high for a single season in just two months.  Bautista was selected as a reserve for the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Bautista entered the game as a pinch runner for Josh Hamilton and finished the game 0-for-1.  For the month of July, Bautista batted.347, with 11 home runs, 29 RBI, and an AL-leading.765 slugging percentage, sharing American League Player of the Month honors with Twins outfielder Delmon Young. Bautista was also named Blue Jays' Player of the Month, which is selected through voting by the Toronto chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. With his 12 home runs in May and 11 in July, Bautista became only the third Blue Jay player in franchise history to have two months with at least 10 home runs.  Bautista was named co-winner of the American League Player of the Week award for the period ending August 1. Bautista hit.545 with five homers and 13 RBI during that span. On August 26, Bautista hit his 100th career home run against the Detroit Tigers. Bautista was again named player of the week for the week ending August 29; in seven games that week, Bautista led the American League with a.500 batting average (10-for-20) and hit four home runs. Bautista became the only Blue Jays player to ever win the award three times in one season. Bautista won AL Player of the Month for the month of August, in which he hit he led the AL in home runs (12), RBI (24), slugging percentage (.724) and total bases (72), while tying for the lead in extra-base hits (18). He finished tied for second with 23 runs and was third with 23 walks. He also won the Honda Player of the Month Award, his second such award in as many months.  On September 17, Bautista set the new Blue Jays single-season home run record with his 48th home run, breaking the record set by George Bell. On September 23, Bautista became the 26th player in Major League Baseball history to reach the 50 home run club in one season, and the first Blue Jays player to do so. His 52nd home run set a new MLB record for the largest single-season increase in home runs, eclipsing Davey Johnson's 38 home run increase from 1972 to 1973. Bautista finished the 2010 season with an MLB-leading 54 home runs, the highest total since Alex Rodriguez hit 54 in 2007. Bautista won the AL Hank Aaron and a Silver Slugger Awards for his offensive performance. and finished fourth in the AL Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) voting, behind Hamilton, Miguel Cabrera and Robinson Canó. The Toronto chapter of the BBWAA named Bautista the Blue Jays' Most Valuable Player, the Blue Jays' Most Improved Player, and presented him the John Cerutti Award for displaying "goodwill, cooperation and character".

2011.

Bautista agreed to a five-year contract extension worth US$64 million before the 2011 season. He began the season as the starting right fielder for the Blue Jays, with Edwin Encarnación playing third base. Bautista walked 28 times in the month of April, breaking a club record that was set when Carlos Delgado collected 26 bases on balls in April 2001. Bautista was unanimously selected for the Blue Jays' Player of the Month award, and was also named the AL Player of the Month for the month of April (his third such award in four months, dating back to the 2010 season).  On May 15, Bautista hit three home runs against the Minnesota Twins, the first three-home run game of his career. On May 28, in a home game against the Chicago White Sox, Bautista hit his 20th home run, a three-run shot to left field, becoming the first player to reach 20 home runs in 2011 as well as the fastest player to reach 20 home runs (44 games) in Blue Jays franchise history. Bautista won the AL Player of the Month award for May, his fourth such award in five months. He also became the first player to have the highest number of home runs in a single month for five consecutive months since Jimmie Foxx did so from June 1933 to April 1934. Bautista also won the Blue Jays' Player of the Month award for the second consecutive month. On June 23, the Blue Jays shifted Bautista to third base and recalled Eric Thames to play the outfield.  Bautista was selected for the 2011 MLB All-Star Game, receiving a record 7,454,753 votes. At the time of his selection, he led the MLB in home runs (26), walks (70), OBP (.471), slugging percentage (.679), OPS (1.150), times on base (160) and was also in second place for runs scored (64), total bases (182) and extra base hits (41). He became the first Blue Jay in history to lead the league in All-Star voting. He was also the first Blue Jay to be voted into the All-Star game as a starter since Carlos Delgado in 2003. Bautista participated in the Home Run Derby; he hit four home runs and was eliminated in the first round.  On August 5, with the debut of prospect Brett Lawrie to play third base, Bautista returned to right field. In a game against the Oakland Athletics on August 20, Bautista walked three times, which brought his season total to 102 walks in 113 games, the fastest a player reached 100 walks since Barry Bonds in 2007. During a game against the New York Yankees on September 5, Bautista hit his 40th home run of the season, a solo homer off reliever Rafael Soriano. He became the second player in franchise history with back-to-back 40 home run seasons. Two games later on September 7, against the Boston Red Sox, Bautista stole home plate on a double steal in which Lawrie took second base, becoming the first 40 home run hitter to steal home plate since Adam Dunn in 2004.  After leading the major leagues in home runs for the second consecutive season with 43, Bautista became the first player to do so since Mark McGwire in 1998 and 1999. Baustista also led the majors in slugging percentage (.608), OPS (1.056) and walks (132) and the AL in intentional walks (24). He placed second in OBP (.447) behind Cabrera. He batted.302 and also placed in the top ten in the league in runs scored (105), total bases (312) and times on base (293). Defensively, he led AL right fielders with five double plays turned and placed fourth in assists with 13 and fifth with six errors. His walk total was the highest in the league since Jason Giambi collected 137 in 2000, while setting a new Blue Jays franchise record, which Delgado previously held with 123, also in 2000. He also set new Blue Jays' single-season records with 8.1 total Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and 8.3 offensive WAR according to Baseball-Reference.com, edging John Olerud's 7.7 total in 1993, and Delgado's 8.1 offensive WAR in 2000. Bautista held the record for total WAR until Josh Donaldson rated at 8.8 in 2015; however, as of 2015, Bautista still holds the record for offensive WAR. He was the American League winner of the Hank Aaron Award for the second consecutive season, becoming just the third player in the award's history, after Rodriguez and Barry Bonds, to win the award in back-to-back years. Bautista also received his second consecutive Silver Slugger Award.

2012.

On January 30, Bautista was announced as the cover athlete for the Canadian edition of "". In an interleague game against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 19, 2012, Bautista hit the second of three straight solo home runs by the Blue Jays, between Colby Rasmus and Edwin Encarnación, the first time since 2005 that the Jays went back-to-back-to-back with home runs. Bautista also took over the MLB lead in home runs for 2012, hitting his 25th on June 27 against the Boston Red Sox, which broke the Blue Jays club record for home runs in a month, with 13. He went on to finish the month with 14 home runs, one short of the American League record for June.  Bautista was voted an American League starter in the All-Star Game for the second consecutive year and his third overall All-Star selection. Hamilton surpassed Bautista's record vote total of the prior year. On July 2, Bautista was named American League Player of the Month for June. It was his fifth time receiving the honor in his career. He batted.274 with 14 home runs and 30 RBI in the month of June. His 14 home runs in June set a new Blue Jays franchise record for home runs in a month. Bautista competed in the Home Run Derby. At the time of his selection, he led all major league players with 26 home runs. Bautista finished second to Prince Fielder.  Bautista was placed on the 15-day disabled list on July 17 with inflammation in his wrist. He had started in all previous 90 games, and the Blue Jays called up prospect Anthony Gose to take his place after the game. Bautista was activated on August 24, but returned to the disabled list on August 26 after he re-aggravated the injury to his left wrist. On August 28, the Jays announced that he would undergo season-ending surgery on the wrist. In 2012, Bautista batted.241 with 27 home runs and 65 RBI in 92 games.

2013.

On January 21, 2013, it was announced that Bautista would once again be the cover athlete of the Canadian edition of "". Bautista hit his 200th career home run in a game against the Boston Red Sox on June 29. On July 6, he was elected to his fourth consecutive All-Star Game, and his third as the starting right fielder for the American League. At the time of his selection, he batted.264 with 20 HR and 52 RBI. In the All-Star Game, he recorded the game-winning RBI on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning as the American League won 3–0.  Playing against the Oakland Athletics on July 30, Bautista hit his 25th home run of the season. In doing so, he became the fourth player in Blue Jays franchise history to hit at least 25 home runs in four consecutive seasons, joining Bell (1984–1987), Carter (1991–1996), and Delgado (1996–2004). His season ended prematurely for the second consecutive time on September 4, when it was announced that he would be shut down with a left hip bone bruise. Bautista finished 2013 with a.259 batting average, 28 home runs, and 73 RBI.

2014.

Bautista opened the 2014 season with a streak of 37 games in which he reached base safely. His streak, the longest to open a season in Blue Jays franchise history, came to an end on May 11, when he went 0–4. On June 18, he recorded his 1,000 career hit in a game against the New York Yankees. Bautista was named as the American League Captain for the 2014 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby on June 23. On July 6, it was announced that not only was he elected to his fifth consecutive All-Star Game, but, for the second time, received the highest number of votes in the Majors, with 5,859,019.  On August 10, Bautista ended the longest game in franchise history by hitting an opposite field single to drive in Munenori Kawasaki in the 19th inning, and give the Jays the 6–5 win over the Detroit Tigers. On August 26, Bautista hit his 25th home run of the season, and in doing so, joined Carter and Delgado as the only Blue Jays players in franchise history to hit at least 25 in five or more consecutive seasons. Four days later, Bautista hit his 100th career home run at Rogers Centre, a two-run shot off Yankees starter Michael Pineda, and his fourth straight game with a home run which tied a career-high. He would go on to hit a home run on August 31, extending his home run streak to five games and establishing a new career-high.  In a home game against the Chicago Cubs on September 8, Bautista hit his 200th home run as a Blue Jay, joining Bell, Delgado, Carter, and Vernon Wells as the only players with 200 or more home runs in franchise history. Bautista finished 2014 with a.286 batting average, 35 home runs, and 103 RBI. He won his third Silver Slugger Award for his efforts.

2015.

In early 2015, Bautista earned 10-and-5 rights by having at least 10 years of service time in the big-leagues, with the last 5 being on the same team. These rights give Bautista the ability to veto any trade he would be involved in. In a home game against the Orioles on April 21, Bautista hit his 250th career home run. He injured his right shoulder during that game, attempting to throw out Delmon Young at first base. He was held out of the lineup for several days before returning, exclusively as the designated hitter. Bautista received a cortisone shot on May 24 and returned to the outfield on June 2, against the Washington Nationals. On July 6, Bautista was named to his sixth-consecutive All-Star team, as a reserve outfielder in Cincinnati. However, on July 11 it was announced that he would sit out the game due to a shoulder injury. Bautista tied Vernon Wells for second place on the Blue Jays' all-time home run list on July 21, when he hit his 223rd home run for Toronto in a 7–1 win over the Athletics. He surpassed Wells on July 24 in a 5–2 loss to the Seattle Mariners.  On September 30, Bautista surpassed the 40 home run mark for the third time in his career, hitting a solo shot in the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles to extend the Blue Jays lead to 11–1. The Blue Jays would win the game, 15–2, and clinch the American League East.  Bautista finished the 2015 regular season with a.250 batting average, 40 home runs, and 114 RBI. He also walked more than he struck out for the second consecutive year, totaling 110 walks to 106 strikeouts. For the season, he had the lowest line drive percentage of all major league hitters (13.9%). From 2010–15, he batted.268 with 153 doubles, 227 home runs, 582 RBI, 574 walks, 576 strikeouts,.390 OBP,.555 SLG,.945 OPS, and 156 OPS+. In that span, he hit more home runs than any other major leaguer – 28 ahead of second-place Miguel Cabrera – was second in slugging percentage and walks, third in OPS and OPS+ and fifth in OBP. On October 8, 2015, with just over 1,400 career games played, Bautista made his postseason debut against the Texas Rangers in the American League Division Series (ALDS). In the fifth and final game of the series on October 14, Bautista hit a three-run home run off Sam Dyson that gave the Jays a 6–3 lead that they would not relinquish, sending Toronto to the American League Championship Series (ALCS). Bautista watched the home run and flipped his bat high into the air before running the bases, a celebratory gesture that was applauded by Jays fans and media outlets, while drawing the ire of Rangers players as unsportsmanlike, in the midst of a 53-minute seventh inning laden with controversy. A vital symbol of Toronto's first postseason appearance since 1993, the bat flip was voted Esurance's MLB Award for Best Play on Offense for 2015. In the five games of the ALDS, Bautista batted.273 with two home runs and five RBI.  In Game 3 of the ALCS against the Kansas City Royals, Bautista had one hit and two walks, joining Keith Hernandez as the only players in MLB postseason history to reach base three times on their birthday. The Blue Jays would win the game, 11–8. In Game 6, Bautista hit two home runs, including a two-run game-tying homer at the top of the eighth inning to tie the game at 3–3; however Kansas City would win 4–3 to take the pennant.  On November 3, 2015, Toronto exercised Bautista's $14 million option for 2016.

2016.

During his final regular season plate appearance against the Texas Rangers on May 15, 2016, Bautista was hit by a pitch from Matt Bush, which many believed to be retaliation by the Rangers organization for Bautista's bat flip in the 2015 ALDS. Two batters later, Bautista, intending to break-up a double play, made a hard, but no longer legal (as of that season), slide into second basemen Rougned Odor. Although the slide didn't make any contact, Odor pushed Bautista, who shoved back, followed by Odor punching Bautista in the jaw. This ignited a bench-clearing brawl. Bautista was handed a one-game suspension by the league for his part in the melee, which he appealed. On May 27, MLB announced that they had upheld the suspension. During the day of his suspension, Bautista served as the public address announcer at Rogers Centre. On June 17, 2016, he was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to an injury to his left big toe. He returned from the disabled list near the end of July. On August 2, Bautista hit his 300th career home run, a solo shot off Houston Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr..  On November 7, the Blue Jays extended a $17.2 million qualifying offer to Bautista, which he declined on November 14.

2017.

On January 18, 2017, Bautista signed a one-year, $18 million contract with the Blue Jays. The contract included a $17 million mutual option for the 2018 season, as well as a $20 million vesting option for 2019. On August 11, Bautista reached the 20 home run mark for the eighth consecutive season.  Bautista ended the year batting.203 with 23 home runs and 65 RBIs. His.203 batting average was the lowest of all qualified major league batters. The Blue Jays declined Bautista's option for 2018 on November 4, 2017 marking the end of his career as a Blue Jay.

2018.

Atlanta Braves.

On April 18 2018, Bautista signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves. After playing a few games for the Gwinnett Stripers, the Braves promoted Bautista to start at third base for the first of a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants on May 4. On May 12, 2018, Bautista hit his first home run with the Braves. Bautista batted.143 with two home runs and five RBIs in 35 at bats over 12 games played before being released by the Braves on May 20.

New York Mets.

On May 22, 2018, Bautista signed a one-year deal with the New York Mets. Bautista hit a double in his first at bat with the Mets. He later scored on a sacrifice fly. On June 22, 2018 Bautista hit his first home run as a member of the Mets against the Dodgers making it his 3rd of the season (his previous two being with the Braves). On July 6, Bautista hit a walk off grand slam against the Rays, which was the first walk off home run of his career. In 2018, he batted.204 with the Mets with a.351 OBP.

Philadelphia Phillies.

The Mets traded Bautista to the Philadelphia Phillies for a player to be named later or cash on August 28, 2018. He batted.244 for the Phillies with a.404 OBP and.870 OPS. He was the 9th-oldest player in the National League. He elected free agency on October 29.

After the 2018 season.

In November 2019, Bautista expressed desire to continue his career after taking the 2019 season off.  In March 2020, he announced he was hoping to return as a two-way player.

International career.

Bautista represented the Dominican Republic national baseball team at the 2009 World Baseball Classic and 2017 World Baseball Classic.  On February 7, 2017, he was selected to play at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.  On March 12, 2020, he was selected to play for the Dominican Republic at the 2020 Summer Olympics Americas Qualifying. But, on the same day, qualifying was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Personal life.

Bautista's nickname is "Joey Bats".  Bautista's father is Spanish.  Bautista and his then-girlfriend, Neisha Croyle had their first daughter together, Estela, born April 2011. His second daughter, Ava, was born in November 2012. In 2011, Bautista set up a program to aid athletes to have the same opportunity he had to attend American universities. Initially focused on the Dominican Republic, it has expanded to Canada. Bautista and Neisha Croyle were married November 2017.  Bautista's younger brother, Luis played college baseball at Florida International University. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 32nd round of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft and played in their minor league system through 2008.  A species of weevil, "Sicoderus bautistai", was named for Bautista in 2018.

José Antonio Bautista Santos (born October 19, 1980) is a Dominican former professional baseball right fielder and third baseman. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies.

José Antonio Bautista (* 19. října 1980, Santo Domingo, Dominikánská republika) je dominikánský baseballista hrající americkou Major League Baseball za tým Toronto Blue Jays. V sezónách 2010 a 2011 dosáhl nejvyššího počtu homerunů v Americké lize i celé MLB. V roce 2010 to bylo 54 odpálených homerunů, čímž se stal jedním z 26 hráčů v historii MLB, kterým se podařilo za sezónu odpálit více než 50 homerunů.


Early life.

Votto was born to Wendy (née Howell) and Joseph Votto in Toronto, Ontario, and grew up in the district of Etobicoke. His mother is a sommelier and restaurant manager. His father was a chef and a baseball fan who died at age 52 in 2008. He is of Italian and English descent. As a child, he adorned his wall with a Ted Williams poster.  Votto enrolled in high school at Richview Collegiate Institute in 1997. In high school, he also played basketball—playing point guard and once scoring 37 points in a game—and hockey. He played for the Etobicoke Rangers baseball program. After high school, Votto signed a National Letter of Intent to play college baseball for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.

Professional career.

Minor leagues.

The Cincinnati Reds selected Votto out of high school in the second round with the 44th overall selection of the 2002 MLB draft. While playing for the Reds' rookie-level affiliate Dayton Dragons of the Class A Midwest League, he hit 26 doubles and 14 home runs with a batting average of.302. He was promoted to the Potomac Cannons of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League and hit 5 more home runs in 20 games to end the season with 19 round-trippers. In addition to playing first base in the minors, Votto made appearances in the outfield and as a catcher. During the 2005 campaign with the Sarasota Reds of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, he hit 19 home runs but struck out 122 times and his batting average dropped nearly 50 points to.256.  Votto rebounded in 2006 with the best season of his minor league career. Playing for the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Class AA Southern League, he improved his batting average to.319, and hit 46 doubles and 22 home runs. He led the Southern League in batting average and total bases and was third in home runs and runs batted in (RBI). He was selected to play in the 2006 All-Star Futures Game on the World Team. He was named to both the Mid-Season and Post-Season Southern League All-Star teams, and was voted a minor league all-star by "Baseball America". He culminated his season by winning the Southern League Most Valuable Player Award. During his five seasons in the minors, Votto carried Ted Williams' "The Science of Hitting" with him.

Cincinnati Reds.

2007 season.

Votto started the 2007 season playing for the Louisville Bats of the Class AAA International League. The Reds promoted Votto to the major leagues on September 1, 2007. He made his major league debut on September 4, striking out against Guillermo Mota of the New York Mets. In his second major league at-bat, he hit his first career home run. He went 3-for-5 and scored two runs as the Reds won the game, 7–0. On September 8, he went 1-for-3 with a home run and three runs batted in. His three RBI were the only Reds' runs as they lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 4–3. In his next game, he went 2-for-4. On September 14, he stole his first career base against the Brewers. He ended the season going 2-for-4 with a home run and 5 RBI in the Cincinnati Reds' final game of the 2007 season. He finished the season batting.321 with four home runs and 17 RBI.

2008 season.

Beginning with the 2008 season, Votto shared time platooning at first base with Scott Hatteberg until manager Dusty Baker began playing Votto as the Reds' starting first baseman in early April. On April 15, he hit his first home run of the season off Michael Wuertz. He drove in a career-high 5 runs against the Cubs two games later. On May 7, Votto hit three home runs in a game against the Chicago Cubs.  Votto hit his first career pinch-hit home run against Cleveland's Cliff Lee, who would go on to win the AL Cy Young Award. On August 31, Votto had his first career four-hit game against the San Francisco Giants. He knocked in 4 runs in a 9–3 Reds victory. On September 18, Votto and teammate Jay Bruce each homered twice. They became the fifth rookie teammates in the divisional-era to hit 20 home runs in the same season.  Votto finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting to the Chicago Cubs' Geovany Soto. He led all NL rookies in hitting (.297), hits (156), HR (24), total bases (266), multi-hit games (42), on-base percentage (.368) and slugging percentage (.506). Votto also broke the Reds' record for the most runs batted in by a rookie in a season. The previous record was held by National Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Frank Robinson with 83 in 1956. Votto drove in 84 runs during the 2008 season.

2009 season.

Votto played for Canada in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. In Canada's first game against the United States, he had four hits in five at-bats, one of which was a home run.  Votto began the 2009 season as the outright starter at first base. In the second game of the season, he went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBI in a loss to the New York Mets. In the next game against the Mets, he had another homer and four RBI. He had a six-game hitting streak from April 12–18. On April 23, he went 4-for-5 with a home run and 2 runs batted in against the Cubs. In April, he posted a.346 batting average, swatted 3 home runs, and racked up 20 RBI during the month of April.  Votto opened May with a five-game hitting streak. In a May matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals, he had two homers and four RBI. He finished the month with five home runs and a.378 batting average. However, he was placed on the DL to open June after missing time in May due to personal issues. Prior to his return game during the 2009 season, he indicated he had been suffering from depression and anxiety issues as a result of the sudden death of his father in August 2008 and had sought treatment. He had previously missed time because of dizziness related to an inner ear infection.  Votto made his return against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 23. In his third game back, he went 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. After going hitless in his fourth game back, he had a 14-game hitting streak. During that stretch, he batted.389 with three home runs and 14 RBI. His hitting streak ended against the Mets on July 12 when he went 0-for-2. Votto was named the National League Player of the Week for September 21–27, 2009, after hitting 10 doubles in a 5-game span, a feat not accomplished in 77 years since Hall of Fame outfielder Paul Waner of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1932. Despite missing 31 games overall, Votto finished the 2009 season among the National League leaders in batting average (.322), on-base percentage (.414) and slugging percentage (.567), and he hit 25 home runs.

2010 season: NL MVP.

Votto started the 2010 season by going 3-for-5 with a home run and a run batted in. By the end of April, he had four home runs and 12 RBI. His average was.275, but his on-base percentage was.400 because of 18 bases on balls. In the month of May, he batted.344 with 6 home runs and 21 runs batted in. However, he missed the last six games that month because of a sore neck. He would be back on June 1 in a game against the Cardinals. He went 4-for-5 with a home run and 1 RBI. The Reds won the game to regain the NL Central lead.  Votto was not initially voted to the 2010 All-Star game in Anaheim, California, but he made the roster via online fan voting through the National League's Final Vote. He was named on 13.7 million of the 26 million ballots submitted. Votto went 0-for-2 in the game. On August 25, Votto went 4-for-7 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI. He also drove in the tie-breaking run with a single off Giants pitcher Barry Zito. Votto made the cover of "Sports Illustrated" on the August 30, 2010 edition.  On September 11, Votto hit his first career walk-off home run off Pirates relief pitcher Justin Thomas. For the season, Votto hit.324 with 113 RBI, 106 runs scored and 37 home runs, including a grand slam off Tommy Hanson of the Atlanta Braves on May 20. He finished the season leading the Major Leagues in On-Base Percentage (.424) and led the National League in Slugging Percentage (.600) and On-base plus slugging (1.024). The Reds made the postseason but lost to the Phillies in the National League Divisional Series in a three-game sweep. Votto struggled in the series, batting.100 with one run batted in.  Votto won the 2010 Hank Aaron Award in the National League. Votto was announced as the 2010 NL MVP, coming within one vote of winning unanimously as Albert Pujols received the other first-place vote. He was only the third Canadian to win the MVP award, after Larry Walker and Justin Morneau. He became the first Reds player to win the National League MVP since Barry Larkin won it in 1995. "Not to be dramatic or anything, but after I was told, I couldn't help but cry because I know how much at some point this meant to me and would have meant to my (late) father," Votto remarked after being named MVP. He added, "I did some pretty good things, and most importantly, we won. We went to the playoffs – it's been a long time since we'd been to the playoffs—and I think those all together were the reason I won."  In 2016, looking back on his MVP peak, Votto told the Cincinnati Enquirer, "Until Trout came into the league, I thought every year that I would be in the conversation for best player in the game. And he fucked that up for everybody. Babe Ruth and Ted Williams included. He’s ruining it for everyone."

2011 season.

On January 16, 2011, it was announced that the Reds and Votto had agreed to a three-year, $38-million deal. Votto homered in the Reds' first game of the 2011 season—a solo homer off Kameron Loe of the Brewers. He recorded his first 4-hit game of the season against the Arizona Diamondbacks and raised his average to.455. By the end of April, he had a.370 batting average, 4 home runs, and 14 runs batted in. He posted a.500 on-base percentage. He began the season by reaching base in 27 consecutive games dating back to the previous season. The club record was set by Dave Collins with 34 in 1981.  On June 25, Votto hit his 100th career home run against Brian Matusz of the Orioles. He later added another home run in the game. That was also his first multi-homer game of the season. He also drove in five runs, his most in a game during the season. On July 3, Votto was voted in by the players for the 2011 All-Star Game as a reserve. He went 0-for-2 with a strikeout.  On August 28, Votto hit a walk-off home run against the Nationals in the 14th inning. On September 24, he drove in 2 runs against the Pirates for his 100th and 101st RBI of the season, becoming the first Reds player to drive in 100 runs in back-to-back seasons since Dave Parker in 1985–1986.  Votto finished the season with a.309 batting average, 29 home runs, and 103 RBI. He also led the NL in doubles (40), bases on balls (110), and on-base percentage (.416). On November 1, Votto won his first Gold Glove Award. He finished sixth in the NL MVP voting.

2012 season.

On April 2, 2012, Votto signed a 10-year, $225 million contract extension with the Reds, which runs through the 2024 season. The deal includes the two years that remained on his previous contract and pushes the total worth of the contract to 12 years and $251.5 million—the longest active deal in baseball at the time. The deal (including the one-year team option), is the 13th-largest deal in MLB history. At the time, it was the longest guaranteed contract in MLB history. Also, the contract made Votto the highest paid athlete from Canada.  On May 13, Votto went 4-for-5 with 3 home runs and 6 RBI, including a walk-off grand slam against the Washington Nationals in a 9–6 win. It was the first time in major league history that a player hit three home runs including a walk-off grand slam in a single game.  On July 1, Votto was selected by the fans as a National League team starter in the 2012 MLB All-Star Game. At the time of his selection, he was hitting.350 with 14 home runs and 47 RBIs.  On July 16, the Reds announced that Votto would need arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and was expected to miss three to four weeks. He originally hurt the knee June 29 sliding into third base. He left the next day before the bottom of the fifth inning and missed the next two games because of inflammation in his knee. At the time surgery was announced, he was leading the NL in walks, doubles, OBP, and extra-base hits. He was second in RISP average and third in slugging percentage.  On September 5, Votto returned to the Reds' lineup in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies. In his first at-bat since July 15, he lined a single off pitcher Roy Halladay in the first inning. He would finish the game 2-for-3 with a walk. After his return from the disabled list, he struggled with his power numbers. In 25 games, he hit 8 doubles and drove in 7 runs, but didn't hit any home runs. He still got on base at a high clip with an OBP of.505 and walking 28 times. In that span, he also batted over.316.  Votto finished the season having played in 111 games—the fewest he had played in a season since becoming the Reds' starting first basemen in 2008. He had a.337 batting average,.474 on-base percentage, and a.567 slugging percentage to go along with 14 home runs, 56 RBI, and 44 doubles. His 94 walks led the NL. (Eighteen of his walks were intentional, which led the majors.)

2013 season.

In late February, Votto was voted by fans as the "Face of the MLB," a contest that pits the "face" of every MLB team against each other and uses Twitter. He received more votes than Joe Mauer, José Bautista, Derek Jeter, Andrew McCutchen, and Matt Kemp.  Votto played for Team Canada in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.  Votto homered on consecutive days from April 20–21 against the Marlins, making it the first time since September 10–11 of 2011 he homered in consecutive games. In July, he was again voted as an All-Star starter for the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It was his fourth All-Star appearance, and in the game, he went 0-for-2, making him a career 0-for-9 in All-Star Games.

2014 season.

On May 21, 2014, Votto was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left quadriceps. He returned on June 10, but he went back on the DL with the same injury on July 8 and didn't make it back before the end of the season. In 62 games played, he hit a career-low.255 with a.390 on-base percentage,.409 slugging percentage, 6 home runs, 47 walks, and 23 RBI.

2015 season.

On May 6, 2015, Votto was ejected following a strikeout where he threw his helmet down in frustration. Speculation claimed that prior to his ejection, he had choice words with Gerrit Cole during his at-bat. After getting ejected, Votto appeared to have bumped Chris Conroy. It was only his fifth career ejection and first since 2010. He later received a one-game suspension, which he served when the Reds played the Chicago White Sox.  On June 9, Votto hit three home runs in a single game for the third time in his career in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies. The last Reds player to accomplish this feat was Johnny Bench. On August 2, Votto was ejected following a bench-clearing brawl between the Reds and the Pirates. On September 10, Votto was ejected for arguing balls and strikes. It was the third time during the season that Votto was ejected; coincidentally, all three were against the Pittsburgh Pirates. On September 11, MLB suspended Votto for two games with an option to appeal. On October 2, Votto tied a Reds record set by Pete Rose in 1978 when he got on base for his 48th straight game. In 158 games during 2015, Votto had an MLB-leading 143 walks, a.314 batting average, 29 home runs, and 80 RBI. He walked in 20.6% of his at bats (leading the major leagues), and he swung at only 19.1% of pitches outside the strike zone (the lowest percentage in the majors).  Following the season, Votto was awarded his fifth Tip O'Neill Award. He finished third in the National League MVP voting behind Bryce Harper and Paul Goldschmidt.

2016 season.

After hitting a season-low.213 on May 31, Votto became the first player in MLB since Ichiro Suzuki in 2004 to hit.400 after the All-Star Break. Votto hit.408/.490/.668 in the second half.  Votto's.326 season average was the second-best of his career, behind only his 2012 season, where he hit.337. Votto hit 29 home runs, second only to his 2010 MVP season.  Votto finished the season with a.326 (3rd in the NL)/.435 (leading the NL)/.550 (6th in the NL) line; he also had 108 walks, 29 home runs, and 97 RBI (10th in the NL), while playing 158 games for the second straight season. He was also among the NL league leaders in OPS (.985, 2nd), walks (T2nd), hits (8th), runs (9th), and total bases (306, 10th). He became the 10th player in Major League history to lead his league in on-base percentage at least 5 times; the only players who had done it more years were Barry Bonds (10) and Hall of Famers Ted Williams (12), Babe Ruth (10), Rogers Hornsby (9), Ty Cobb (7), Wade Boggs (6), and Stan Musial (6).

2017 season.

Votto finished the first half of the 2017 season with a slash line of.315/.427/.614 while slugging 26 home runs, which tied for the NL lead with Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. This performance earned Votto his fifth career All-Star appearance as a substitute. He was also known for his promise to buy teammate Zack Cozart a donkey for making the 2017 All-Star Game. After many interviews and an appearance in a donkey suit on MLB Network's "Intentional Talk", Cozart won the fan vote and made the cut as the National League starting shortstop. Votto upheld his end of the deal, buying Cozart a donkey shortly afterward. As the second half of the season passed, the Reds continued to struggle, but Votto did just the opposite. Late in the year, Votto had a streak of consecutive games reaching base multiple times, which spanned 20 games and was the second longest in MLB history behind Ted Williams' 1948 record of 21.  He finished the year with a stat-line that consisted of a.319 batting average (4th in the NL),.578 slugging percentage (7th), 106 runs scored (6th), 36 homers (6th), and 100 runs batted in (10th). He led the league in OBP at.454, OPS (at 1.032), in walks for the fifth season (134), in walk percentage (at 19%), and in walks per strikeout (at 1.61), while leading the majors in intentional walks (20). His WAR total equaled out to 7.5, his second-highest since his year in 2015 when he had 7.6 WAR. Votto's homer total was one under his 2010 season as well. Votto became just the first Reds player since Pete Rose in 1975 to start all 162 regular season games in a season and just the fourth player in franchise history to do so. He swung at only 15.8% of pitches outside the strike zone (the lowest percentage in the majors). Among all active players at the end of the season, he was first in career on-base percentage (.428), second in OPS (.969), third in batting average (.313), fourth in walks (996), and fifth in slugging percentage (.541).  End-of-season awards for Votto included selection as first baseman on "Baseball America"'s All-MLB Team and his second Lou Marsh Trophy. Votto also finished second in the National League MVP voting, narrowly losing out to Giancarlo Stanton by 2 votes in the fourth-closest vote in MLB history.

2018 season.

With eight home runs and 44 RBIs, Votto was named to the 2018 MLB All-Star Game. For the season, he batted.284/.417 /.419. For the third year running, he led the National League in on-base percentage. He swung at only 16.4% of pitches outside the strike zone (the lowest percentage in the majors).

2019 season.

In 2019, Votto batted.261/.357/.411 with 15 home runs and 47 RBIs. He swung at the lowest percentage of pitches outside the strike zone of all National League batters (21.1%), and had the lowest Soft Contact Percentage of all major league batters, at 10.1%.

Player profile.

Votto is known for being a clutch hitter. Through June 9, 2014, he had a career.312 batting average, 163 home runs, and 542 runs batted in. He has been known to show great patience at the plate. He led the NL in bases on balls with 110 in 2011; despite missing 51 games in 2012, he led the NL in that category. His career on-base percentage is.425. He led the NL in that category from 2010 to 2013 and 2016; he finished second in 2015, one point behind Bryce Harper's.460 OBP.  Votto has been recognized for his defensive play as a first baseman. He led the league in assists (with 136) for first basemen in 2008, a feat he repeated in consecutive seasons in 2011 and 2012. He finished fifth in 2009 with 101 assists and second in 2010 with 128 assists. In 2011, he also led all NL first basemen in putouts (1,341), and he was third in fielding percentage (.996). That year, he won his first Gold Glove Award.

Personal life.

Votto lives in Mount Adams, Cincinnati. He has three brothers: Tyler, and twin brothers named Ryan and Paul. Votto has a mastiff-golden retriever mix named "Maris," who was named after former baseball player Roger Maris. Votto is represented by sports agent Dan Lozano.

Career awards and honours.

Major League:  Minor League:

Joseph Daniel Votto (born September 10, 1983) is a Canadian professional baseball first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Reds in 2007.

Joey Votto (* 10. září 1983, Etobicoke, Ontario, Kanada) je kanadský baseballista hrající americkou Major League Baseball za tým Cincinnati Reds. V roce 2010 získal cenu MVP pro nejužitečnějšího hráče v Národní lize a byl též vyhlášen nejlepším sportovce Kanady.


Mission.

As stated in its institutional site, the mission of the Colombian Navy is:  “"Contribute with the defense of the Nation through the effective use of flexible naval power in the maritime, river and land spaces under its responsibility, in order to fulfill the constitutional role and participate in the development of sea power and the protection of the interests of Colombians"". In order to accomplish its mission, the Colombian navy establishes four strategic objectives:  In addition to functions of security and defense the Navy is called to participate in missions aimed to ensure the integral use of the sea by the Nation. For this purpose it must fulfill both military and diplomatic activities along with implementation and enforcement of law and order.  Its formal motto has been historically, "Plus Ultra" (); but more recently, and as part of a public media campaign in the 2000s, the additional slogan "Protecting the blue of our flag" () became known and has been adopted institutionally as well, perhaps as a result of being a more relatable catchphrase to the public than the formal Latin motto.  Its former slogan was "Sailing our pride" ().

History.

The history of the Colombian Navy is closely tied to, and somewhat reflects the history of Colombia itself: from its birth at the Declaration of Independence from Spain, the subsequent ups and downs throughout a later 19th century rife with civil wars, a 20th-century where it slowly starts asserting itself only to be challenged by the internal conflict and drug traffic of the later decades, to a Navy that is now reaching a more mature and modern shape, much like the country it protects.

19th century and origins.

The Colombian Navy celebrates its birthday on July 24, the anniversary of the Battle of Lake Maracaibo fought on July 24, 1823, which was the last large naval battle of the Spanish American wars of independence and helped cement the South American independence. But the roots of the Navy can be traced 13 years back, to 1810, just a few weeks after the Colombian Declaration of Independence of July 20, 1810. The president of the Supreme Board of Cartagena, José María García de Toledo, created the Naval Command Office () by means of a decree dated September 17, 1810. The Navy was placed under the command of Captain Juan Nepomuceno Eslava, junior son of the (former) Spanish Viceroy Sebastián de Eslava. During this period, the young navy operated mostly with small schooners, either acquired directly or by providing letters of marque to friendly captains which then operated as part or on behalf of the navy. Some of these captains would obtain later renown during the independence war, like Luis Brión and Renato Beluche. This small navy was effective in limited operations intercepting Spanish ships, but was not strong enough to attack port cities, as evidenced by the failed attacks to Santa Marta (1813) and Portobello (1814).  During 1815, a Spanish army headed by Pablo Morillo besieged Cartagena, as the first step of its "Pacifying Expedition" (). The five-month siege was so harsh that earned the city its title of "Heroic" (). The small independent navy was impotent against the large fleet commanded by Morillo, but nevertheless managed some daring actions, in particular that of Luis Brión, who attempted to run the blockade with his corvette "Dard" with a load of guns and powder to the city before fleeing again to Haiti. In 1816, Simón Bolívar attempted his first campaign, the Cayos expedition, sailing from Haiti with seven schooners and corvettes: "Bolivar", "Mariño", "Piar", "Constitución", "Brión", "Fénix", and "Conejo". But this expedition fizzled out due to infighting amongst its generals shortly after the liberation of Margarita Island.  It was only after the Liberation Campaign of 1819 that General Francisco de Paula Santander created the Naval School on June 28, 1822, and issued additional decrees for the provision of the navy. Admiral José Prudencio Padilla would go on reorganizing and building the fleet, to support Bolívar's plans for the campaign of Zulia and the complete liberation of the east. This fleet then engaged in the Battle of Lake Maracaibo, which crushed the Spanish naval aspirations in South America.  In 1824 the first – and only – eight cadet officers graduated from naval school. On March 3, 1826, the Ministry of the Navy was created, with Lino de Clemente as minister. By 1826, both from bought and captured vessels, the Colombian Navy had become a respectable force, commanding a relatively large number of ships, including a ship of the line, a frigate, six corvettes, five brigantines, 10 schooners, 13 gunboats, and many minor vessels.  But the fledgling government was strapped financially, and in a decree of December 7, 1826, Bolívar decommissioned the Naval school, abolished the Ministry of the Navy, and slashed the budget for all navy and marine affairs by more than half. The Navy would not recover from this blow for almost a hundred years. The incipient navy of 1825 saw its ships slowly sold, scrapped, or abandoned, and by the late 1830s there were no more than a handful of serviceable ships, mostly assigned to the Army.  Under President Tomás Cipriano de Mosquera, a sizeable naval force was acquired during 1866, with the steamers of war "Colombia", "Cuaspad" and "Bolívar" being purchased in England, and the "Rayo" acquired from America. "Rayo" was the largest, carrying four 9 inch guns, two smaller 30 pounders, and six torpedo launches, and was incorporated into the Colombian fleet after accusations she was due to be delivered to Chile or Peru for the war against Spain. It was not to last, congress decreed the ships of the navy should be sold on June 6, 1867. The "Rayo" was subsequently blown onto a reef September 12, 1867 and "Cuaspad" was wrecked on her delivery voyage just eleven days later. The "Colombia" was sold in 1868, and the "Bolívar", last of Mosquera's men-of-war, sold in 1872.  During the rest of the 19th century, there was no formal navy to speak of. Some vessels and naval units were assigned to the Army, and throughout the civil wars of the 1880s, some transport vessels were hurriedly bought, and similarly disposed of, but no formal navy appeared. On January 11, 1895, an important step was made in re-establishing the formal Colombian Navy when the three gunboats of the coastguard and the Magdalena were transferred from the Ministry of the Treasury to the Ministry of War.

Early 20th century.

By 1907, when President Rafael Reyes Prieto created the Naval Academy, through decree 783 of July 6, 1907 only to be closed off yet again by his successor, Ramón González Valencia on December 28, 1909.  The conflict with Peru in 1932 made the Colombian Navy reappear, this time to stay. New ships were acquired and the ""Escuela de Grumetes"" (Navy Sailors School) was founded in 1934 and the ""Escuela de Cadetes"" (Navy Officers School) was founded in 1935. Nowadays both schools continue their work of instructing the Colombian men and women of the sea.

World War II.

During World War II, Colombia initially declared its neutrality, but nevertheless leaned towards the Allied cause; between 1939 and 1941 nothing much changed either in political relations nor in the sea, as the war was seen as a mostly European issue. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 1941 changed things somewhat and prompted Colombia to break diplomatic relations with the Axis countries, but not to formally declare war. By 1942 the Colombian Navy found itself performing regular patrols in the Caribbean Sea-something that was only occasionally done in the years previous to the war-due to German U-boats marauding the Panama Canal access routes, mostly hunting for American and British vessels entering or leaving the canal. These German hunting runs, despite the Colombian Navy patrols, eventually resulted in the sinking of three Colombian ships during 1942–43, under circumstances that were never fully cleared up. The three vessels were: "Resolute", a 52-tonne schooner sunk on June 23, 1942, by ; "Roamar" (originally registered as "Urious"), a 110-tonne schooner sunk on July 27, 1942, by and finally, "Rubby", a 39-tonne schooner sunk on November 1, 1943, by the. "Rubby"s sinking led to Colombia formally declaring a 'belligerent status' against Germany and the other Axis powers on November 23, 1943 and as a result the Colombian Navy significantly stepped up its presence in the Caribbean after this date and throughout the rest of the war.  Perhaps the most well-known engagement of the Colombian Navy during the war occurred on March 29, 1944, as the tanker "MC Cabimas" was en route from Cartagena to Panama City escorted by the destroyer ARC "Caldas", the latter under the command of Captain Federico Diago Díaz. Around 8:00 pm, "Caldas" detected the periscope of a U-boat and proceeded to engage it with cannon fire and depth charges. Later accounts identified this U-boat as. While badly shaken and perhaps damaged, "U-154" managed to escape, and was sunk four months later in another engagement with and. For his quick reaction in defence of the national seas, Captain Diago Díaz was later decorated by the Colombian government.

Korean War.

Colombia was signatory to the Declaration by United Nations in 1943, and one of the original 51 signatory countries to the creation of the United Nations (UN) at the San Francisco Conference. As such, when the Korean War erupted, and the UN Security Council issued S/RES/83 : Complaint of aggression upon the Republic of Korea and decided the formation and dispatch of the UN Forces in Korea, Colombia was the only sovereign country in Latin America that offered support, by sending a frigate (afterwards, Colombia also provided an infantry battalion). This act, and the subsequent effort and sacrifice of the Colombian troops and sailors on the defense of South Korea have made the relationship between South Korea and Colombia much closer ever since. The Colombian forces deployed in Korea became known as the Colombian Battalion.  Perhaps not surprisingly, there were multiple opinions in the US about accepting this help: On the one side, the State Department wanted to make sure the UN-sponsored operation had indeed the collaboration of multiple countries, the Treasury viewed it with disbelief and worried about the underlying extra cost that such 'help' would likely represent and might need to be paid by the US in the end, and the Defense Department wanted as much external help as possible, while also losing sleep about the logistics nightmare of integrating foreign units with little knowledge of its standards and even the language. Finally, the Colombian offer was accepted, and with Government Decree 3230 of October 23, 1950, Colombia's participation becomes formal and the Navy Ops Chief would receive orders to incorporate the Colombian frigate to the Order of Battle, under the 7th Fleet's Task Force 95. Eventually, Colombia provided three frigates that would rotate their service throughout 1951–1955. The frigate ARC "Almirante Padilla" took to sea on November 1, 1950 under command of CC Julio Cesar Reyes Canal, stopping at San Diego, California for fitting and then at Hawaii for operations training with the US Navy, finally reaching its destination at the Korean coast on May 14, 1951. "Almirante Padilla" performed operations with the escort groups GT95.5 and Blockade GT95.2, participated in the coastal bombardment at Wonsan and patrol runs at Wonsan, Seongjin and the islands of Cho-Do and Seok-Do; it finished its first tour on January 19, 1952.  The frigate ARC "Capitán Tono", under command of CC Hernando Berón Victoria replaced "Almirante Padilla" in January, and performed patrol and coast operations also around Wonsan and Seongjin, and submarine patrol around the Sasebo naval base; it received the Republic of Korea Merit medal for its support to the naval operations in the area; it finished its first tour on November 12, 1952.  The frigate ARC "Almirante Brión", under command of CC Carlos Prieto Silva formally relieved "Capitán Tono" in November 1952. However, it only arrived in the area by June 1953, as it had to be refitted in Japan due to some damages during its previous tour as USS "Burlington". It performed patrols at the same areas as its sister ships and would finish its first tour on May 17, 1954.  An uncommon detail about the two newer frigates, "Capitán Tono" and "Almirante Brión" is that they were both already in the region after serving in World War II first with the US Navy and then the Soviet Navy under the Lend-Lease program and the secret Project Hula; they were returned to the US Navy at Japan in 1949; they sailed in the Korean theater with the US Navy during 1950–1951 before being acquired by the Colombian Navy at Japan under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program so their crews had to be sent to Japan by different means, and the ships themselves never saw the Colombian coast until their arrival to the country after the war effort in 1955, so the Colombian Navy started the campaign with only one frigate, but finished it with three.  All three frigates continued their service tours, until October 1955, and distinguished themselves in their duty along with other units from United States, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea and Thailand, amongst others.

21st century.

Anti-piracy operations in the Horn of Africa.

On 27 July 2015, the Colombian offshore patrol vessel ARC "7 de Agosto" set sail from the port city of Cartagena de Indias to take part in both Operation Atalanta and Operation Ocean Shield. During the operations, the Colombian Navy monitored over 400 watercraft near the coast of Somalia. The operations also saw an opportunity for the Colombian Navy patrol vessel to perform naval exercises with other navies taking part in the surveillance efforts; amongst them where "Hyanë" and "Erfurt" of the German Navy,,, and of the Spanish Navy, the destroyer of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and of the Royal Danish Navy. While stationed on Victoria, Seychelles, the crew aboard ARC "7 de Agosto" also instructed and shared information, with members of the Seychelles Coast Guard and Maritime Police, on structural and naval operations.

Organization.

The Navy is part of the executive branch of the Colombian Government, the President of Colombia being the commander-in-chief of all military forces, via the civilian Minister of Defense, and the General Commander of Military Forces (), who is a senior officer appointed by the president from any of the 3 services (Army, Air Force or Navy). The most senior officer organic to the Navy is the Commander of the Navy ().

Forces and Commands.

The Colombian Navy operates with 8 specialized forces or commands across the territory:

Naval educational institutions.

Along with the 7 operational commands above, the Colombian Navy maintains 3 major training schools for its personnel:  The Navy also has 12 other post graduate schools aimed at sharpening and intensifying the needed capacities and personnel of the various naval services and the Marine Corps.

Operating Bases.

The ARC maintains a number of major bases in both Caribbean and Pacific littorals, as well as multiple operational riverine bases scattered over the territory. The principal naval bases are: some of the more important operational bases are:  The Colombian Navy also plans to establish a naval base in Antarctica, to be called the "Almirante Padilla Summer Scientific Station".

Personnel.

In 2013, the Colombian Navy had approximately 35,000 personnel, including roughly 22,000 Marine Infantry, 8,000 sailors and NCOs, 2,500 officers, 1,300 personnel in training and some 2,000 civilians (these usually deployed to specialty technical or medical posts).

Ranks & Insignias.

The tables below display the rank structures and rank insignias for the Colombian Navy personnel.

Equipment.

Ships.

In keeping with its three major operational scenarios: blue-water operations, littoral/riverine operations and coast guard, the ARC maintains a mix of ships suited to each of those profiles. The scope of its operation has been historically oriented towards lightly armed coastal patrol, and as such, the majority of its vessels had been usually mid-size cutters. Traditionally, the ARC has had strong ties to the American and German navies and shipbuilders and much of its equipment traces its roots to them. Similar to other navies in the Latin-American region, the Colombian Navy acquired many vessels in the postwar years of the 1950s and 1960s, usually as war surplus from the US Navy, and then went through a somewhat dormant period during the 1960s to 1980s, during which few major acquisitions were performed.  In more recent years, the Colombian Navy has seen two major periods of upgrading and modernization of its equipment: The first period, as a result of the rise of the drug trade in the late 1970s and 1980s as well as, at the time, increased political tensions in the Caribbean due to territorial disputes with some of its neighbors -with Nicaragua over the San Andres archipelago and with Venezuela over the Los Monjes Archipelago- saw the need for a stronger Caribbean patrol force, and resulted in the acquisition of its biggest vessels to date, four missile corvettes (later upgraded to light frigates) in 1983 as well as some additional patrol craft.  The second period, as a consequence of the deepening in the internal Colombian conflict, started in the late 1990s and extended over to 2005–2006, provided strengthening of its riverine and littoral capabilities, involving research and development for new indigenous designs in collaboration with the state-owned Cotecmar shipyards that resulted in new types of vessels such as the state-of-the-art Riverine Support Patrol Boats (), also called "riverine mothership" () like (NF-613) which have drawn the eye of other navies with similar requirements.  Currently, the ARC is working on additional medium and long-term programs, including the development and acquisition of a number of coastal patrol vessels (Fassmer CPV-40)  7 October 2011, South Korea is to donate a recently retired to Colombia as part of a drive to boost arms exports to the South American region. "An-Yang" (PCC-755) was decommissioned by the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) on 29 September, having been active for some 28 years since entering service in 1983.

Aircraft.

The Navy Aviation Command operates approximately 17 fixed and rotary wing aircraft for naval surveillance and patrol, Search and Rescue (SAR), and logistical support of naval facilities and operations. Bell 412 EP 4

The Colombian Navy, officially the Colombian National Navy (), also known as the ""Armada Nacional"" or just the ""Armada"" in Spanish, is the naval branch of the military forces of Colombia. The Navy is responsible for security and defence in the Colombian zones of both the Atlantic (Caribbean) and Pacific oceans, the extensive network of rivers inside the country, and a few small land areas under its direct jurisdiction.

Kolumbijské námořnictvo (španělsky "Armada Nacional de la República de Colombia") je součástí ozbrojených sil Kolumbie. K roku 2008 tvořilo personál námořnictva 18 000 osob, z toho 8900 vojáků námořní pěchoty. Hlavní základnou na pacifickém pobřeží je Bahía de Malaga a na atlantickém pobřeží Cartagena. Jádro kolumbijské floty tvoří 4 fregaty, 1 korveta, 3 oceánské hlídkové lodě, 2 ponorky a řada hlídkových lodí pro službu u pobřeží či na řekách. Námořnictvo se soustředí zejména na pobřežní obranu, ochranu námořních ekonomických zón a boj proti pašování narkotik.


History.

Shantou was a fishing village part of Tuojiang Du (), Jieyang County during the Song dynasty. It came to be known as Xialing () during the Yuan dynasty. In 1563, Shantou became a part of Chenghai County in Chao Prefecture (Chaozhou). As early as 1574, Shantou had been called Shashanping (). In the seventeenth century, a cannon platform called Shashantou Cannon () was made here, and the place name later was shortened to "Shantou". Locally it has been referred to as Kialat.  Connecting to Shantou across the Queshi Bridge is Queshi () which had been known by the local people through the 19th century as Kakchio. It was the main site for the American and British consulates. Today the area is a scenic park but some of the structures from its earlier history are somewhat preserved. In 1860, Shantou was opened for foreigners and became a trading port according to Treaty of Tientsin.  It became a city in 1919, and was separated from Chenghai in 1921. 1922 saw the devastating Swatow Typhoon, which killed 5,000 out of the 65,000 people then inhabiting the city. Some nearby villages were totally destroyed. Several ships near the coast were totally wrecked. Other ones were blown as far as two miles inland. The area around the city had around another 50,000 casualties. The total death toll was above 60,000, and may have been higher than 100,000. In the 1930s, as a transport hub and a merchandise distribution centre in Southeast China, Shantou Port's cargo throughput ranked third in the country. A brief account of a visit to the city in English during this period is the English accountant Max Relton's "A Man in the East: A Journey through French Indo-China" (Michael Joseph Ltd., London, 1939). On 21 June 1939, Japanese troops invaded Shantou. Japanese forces occupied Shantou until 15 August 1945. The Communist People's Liberation Army captured Shantou on 24 October 1949, 23 days after the People's Republic of China was founded.  With higher-level administrative authority, Shantou governed Chaozhou City and Jieyang City from 1983 to 1989.

Geography.

Shantou is located in eastern Guangdong with latitude spanning 23°02′33′′ – 23°38′50′′ N and longitude 116°14′40′′ – 117°19′35′′ E; the Tropic of Cancer passes through the northern part of the city, and along it there is a monument, in fact the easternmost in mainland China, at. The highest peak in the city's administration is Mount Dajian () on Nan'ao Island, at ; the highest peak on the geographic mainland is (), at in Chenghai District. The city is located at the mouths of the Han, (), and Lian Rivers.  Shantou is east of Hong Kong.

Climate.

Shantou has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen "Cwa"), with short, mild to warm winters, and long, hot, humid summers. Winter begins sunny and dry but becomes progressively wetter and cloudier. Spring is generally overcast, while summer brings the heaviest rains of the year though is much sunnier; there are 8.2 days annually with of rainfall. Autumn is sunny and dry. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to in July, and the annual mean is. The annual rainfall is around, about 60% of which occurs from May to August. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 28% in March to 58% in July and October, the city receives 1,979 hours of bright sunshine annually.

Administration.

Shantou is a prefecture-level city. It has direct jurisdiction over six districts and one county.  As of 2003, the district of Haojiang was established out of Hepu and Dahao which had been merged, and the district of Jinping Shengping and Jinyuan; Waisha and Xinxi Town, part of former Chenghai City, was merged into Longhu District; Chenghai City became Chenghai District; Chaoyang City was divided and became Chaoyang and Chaonan District respectively.

Economy.

Shantou's economy is medium by Guangdong standards. Manufacturing accounts for a large and increasing share of employment. Canning, garments, lithography, plastic, and toys are some of the principal products. Toy manufacturing is the city's leading export industry, with 400 million U.S. dollars worth of exports each year.  Guiyu, a populous town in Chaoyang District, is the biggest electronic waste site on earth. Health-environmental issues incurred have concerned international organizations such as Greenpeace.  In 2000, the biggest tax fraud in the history of the People's Republic of China was uncovered, estimated worthy of 32.3 billion yuan.  In 2017, the analyzed data of Shantou GDP is approximately 230 billion yuan(US$35.4 billion).

Development zone.

With an area of, Shantou Free Trade Zone lies at the south part of Shantou city. It was ratified by the State Council of the People's Republic of China and founded in January 1993, and it formally came into use on December of the same year after its supervision installations were checked and accepted by the General Administration of Customs. It has been comprehensively developing export processing, storage, international trade, finance and information industry. Its goal is to establish a modernized international zone that is open to overseas by drawing experience from international free trade zones.

Demographics.

Shantou is one of the most densely populated regions in China. Former Chaoyang City was China's most populous county-level administrative region, with 2.4 million inhabitants. Shantou has direct jurisdiction over six districts and one county, and the six urban districts of Shantou have a population of 5,330,764.

Metro area.

With it and the surrounding cities of Jieyang and Chaozhou, the metropolitan area known as Chaoshan covers an area of, and had a permanent population of 13,937,897 at the end of 2010. Its built up area spread of 12 districts and Raoping county was home to 12,785,241 inhabitants as of 2010 census. The metropolitan area population was estimated by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) to be,, 12 million. This is de facto the fourth built-up area of China after Pearl River Delta, Shanghai-Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou megacity and Beijing.

Languages.

Most residents are linguistically Teochew. Teochew dialect is a variant of Min Nan (Hokkien-Taiwanese) spoken in the neighbouring Southern Fujian and Taiwan. There are also Hakka, popularly known as Half-Hakka (), living mainly in Chaoyang District and Chaonan District, although they speak Teochew on a daily basis and practise Teochew culture. The Mandarin-medium education system, widely promoted throughout China, has made most people, especially younger generations, speak Mandarin fluently. Cantonese language TV and labor migrations to the Pearl River Delta has also made Cantonese widely spoken as a third language by the younger generations.  Governmental statistics show that 2.16 million overseas Chinese have roots in Shantou, with significant populations of Teochew people residing in Thailand and Cambodia, which constitute a majority of Thai Chinese and a majority of Chinese Cambodians. This is demonstrated by the unusually high number of international direct flights between Bangkok and Shantou. In addition, there are at least two Teochew-speaking air hostesses on board each China Southern flight between Shantou and Bangkok. The Teochew presence, furthermore, is evident in Singapore and Malaysia; Johor Bahru, a coastal city situated at the latter's southernmost tip, is known as 'Little Swatow', due to the majority local Chinese populace is dominantly Teochew and as well as the second largest group of the local Chinese population in Singapore.

Culture and lifestyle.

Shantou people share the same culture with other Teochew. The tea-drinking tradition widely practised in town is a classic instance. According to "China Daily", Shantou people "drink more tea than anyone else in China, in total 700 million yuan (US$87.5 million) each year".

Religions.

Most of the population in Shantou is non-religious or practices traditional folk religions, Buddhism, Taoist rites, or worship of gods and ancestors. About 2% of the population belongs to an organised religion, with 40,000 Protestants, 20,000 Catholics and 500 Muslims. St. Joseph's Cathedral of Shantou is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shantou.

Infrastructure.

Health.

The public hospitals in the Shantou metropolitan area are operated by the Government of Shantou. Management of these hospitals and other specialist health facilities are coordinated by Shantou Board of Health.

Utilities.

Shantou's electricity is provided entirely by China Southern Power Grid, postal service operated by China Post.

Telecommunications.

Shantou is one of the most important international telecommunications ports in China. Four international submarine communications cables land at Shantou submarine cable landing station, including APCN 2, China-US Cable Network, SMW3 and South-East Asia Japan Cable System (SJC).  China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile provide fixed lines, broadband internet access and mobile telecommunications services there.

Transport.

Urban transport.

Public transportation is provided by bus, ferry, bike sharing system and taxi. Residents also travel by private car and motorbikes.  A metro system is planned with construction of 3 lines (Lines 1, 2, and 3) commencing in 2018 and opening of the system planned in 2020.

Air.

Shantou previously had its own civil airport, Shantou Waisha Airport. It was formerly the main airport serving the Shantou until nearby Jieyang Chaoshan Airport was opened on 15 December 2011. Shantou Waisha Airport became a military airbase since then and all civilian flights were transferred to the newly built airport in Jieyang. Taxi is the usual way to travel between the airport and the city proper. The taxi fare is around 60 RMB. Airport-Downtown Shantou shuttle charter is also suggested.  Based in Shantou, Shantou Airlines Co. operated by China Southern Airlines has a 15 aircraft fleet in service.

Railways.

There are 3 railway stations which serve Shantou: Chaoshan Railway Station and Chaoyang railway station which lie on the Xiamen-Shenzhen Railway line, and Shantou Railway Station which lies on the Guangzhou–Meizhou–Shantou Railway and is under construction for the Guangzhou-Shanwei-Shantou 350 km/h high speed railway.

Media.

In 1912 Swatow had four newspapers, all in Chinese. They were "Han Chao Pao", "Ming Chuan" (People's Rights), "Ta Fung Pao" (The Typhoon), and "Ta Tung Pao" (Eastern Times).  In 2018, Shantou Metropolis Daily Post and Shantou Special Economic Zone Evening News both stopped their traditional newspaper business and transform into e-newspaper newspapers. Meanwhile, the Shantou Daily (Municipal) keep providing both newspaper service and e-newspaper service for Shantou citizens and other readers.

Education.

Education is overseen provincewide by the Guangdong Education Bureau.

Primary and secondary.

Public primary and secondary schools provide education free.  A list of known schools:

Twin towns – sister cities.

Shantou is twinned with the following cities: Friendly exchanges:

Notable people.

Many notable Chinese come from Shantou or their ancestral home is Shantou.

Shantou, alternately romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,391,028 as of 2010 and an administrative area of.

Šan-tchou (, pchin-jinem "Shàntóu") je městská prefektura v Čínské lidové republice. Leží na východním pobřeží provincie Kuang-tung, má rozlohu 2064 čtverečních kilometrů a v roce 2010 v ní žilo přes pět milionů obyvatel. Město patří do Speciálních ekonomických zón ČLR, které jsou zpřístupněny zahraničním investorům.


History.

The band's initial line-up consisted of former Rainbow singer frontman Graham Bonnet, young Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, who had recently left the American band Steeler, Gary Shea and Jimmy Waldo from New England and Clive Burr of Iron Maiden fame. Burr was reportedly only in the band for a week, and left upon discovering the band was going to be based in the United States, as opposed to his native England. Burr was soon replaced by former Iron Butterfly drummer Jan Uvena, who had just left Alice Cooper's backing band. Shea dubbed the group "Alcatrazz". For the first album, the bulk of the material was written by Bonnet and Malmsteen, with Waldo contributing to several tracks.  The band's debut album, "No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll" was released in late 1983 on Rocshire Records. Decent support was given by MTV to the lead single, "Island in the Sun", which showed a heavy Rainbow influence. Despite the commercial nature of the song, it received little radio play. The album nonetheless spent 18 weeks on the Billboard charts and peaked at No. 128. A second video released in 1984 for "Hiroshima Mon Amour" became popular in Japan.  Rochsire then released "Live Sentence" (1984), a concert recording from with songs from both concerts of the recent tour of Japan at the Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo on January 28, 1984. Being discontent with the sonic qualities of the recording, Malmsteen tried to prevent the release of the album but failed. Some Rainbow covers were included, including "Since You Been Gone". The album peaked at No. 133 in the US. A live video concert was also produced. During this period, internal turmoil began surfacing within the band, between Malmsteen and Bonnet. According to Malmsteen, Bonnet had become fed up with the attention drawn to his guitar playing from fans over Bonnet's vocals. According to Malmsteen, their professional relationship ended with the two having an altercation on stage after Bonnet allegedly tampered with Malmsteen's amplifiers during a guitar solo and "Since You've Been Gone" at a show in Oklahoma. This resulted in Malmsteen yelling at and arguing with Bonnet, Bonnet poking Malmsteen in the stomach with his microphone stand, and finally with Malmsteen punching Bonnet, all taking place on stage. Following this, Malmsteen left Alcatrazz and created his own band called Rising Force, who signed with Polydor Records and released a successful self-titled debut album.  Waldo replaced Malmsteen with former Frank Zappa guitarist Steve Vai, despite resistance from Bonnet, and the band signed with Capitol Records after Rocshire was shut down following the owners being arrested for the embezzlement of millions of dollars. With Steve Vai, the group worked on new material and then headlined another tour of Japan, which introduced Vai to the fans and allowed them to play new material from the upcoming album. A concert video was filmed from these dates.  The band released "Disturbing the Peace" in the spring of 1985. The album was produced by Eddie Kramer who had worked with Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and Triumph, among others. "God Blessed Video" was the first single and video, yet MTV barely played it. The album peaked at No. 145 and charted for 16 weeks. Alcatrazz, however, could never break out of their small following, and had to cut a tour short due to financial problems.  Steve Vai left to join David Lee Roth's solo band in 1986. The split was on good terms, as it was an offer Vai could not refuse. He was replaced by guitarist Danny Johnson, who recorded what became Alcatrazz's final studio album, "Dangerous Games", released in the fall of 1986. The album had covers of the Animals' song "It's My Life" (one of the only rock-oriented tunes) and Marbles' song "Only One Woman". Bonnet had been a member of Marbles in the late 1960s when they had this hit in the UK. The "Dangerous Games" album failed to chart and shortly afterward, Johnson also quit to join the band Private Life. Disheartened by an ever-revolving door of guitarists, and dwindling album sales, they split up in 1987.  In 1998, the Renaissance Records label issued "The Best of Alcatrazz", a look back at the band's brief career. "God Blessed Video" appeared in the 2002 videogame soundtrack, playing on fictional rock station "".  Bonnet reformed his version of the band as "Alcatrazz featuring Graham Bonnet" with guitarist Howie Simon (Jeff Scott Soto Band, Talisman), drummer Glen Sobel (Impellitteri, Beautiful Creatures, Tony MacAlpine), and bassist Tim Luce and toured Japan in May and June 2007—sharing the headline with another ex-Rainbow vocalist, Joe Lynn Turner. Howie Simon revealed in a recent interview that it was his suggestion to bring back the Alcatrazz name. They also headlined the BerkRock festival in Berkovitsa, Bulgaria in July 2008 and have played various West Coast US dates including support slots for Y&T. Alcatrazz continued to perform live occasionally until 2014.  In March 2017, three-fifths of the original lineup (Bonnet, Waldo and Shea) reunited for three shows in Japan, which also included Conrado Pesinato and Mark Benquechea on guitar and drums respectively. The performances were recorded for the live album/DVD "Parole Denied - Tokyo 2017", which was released on December 7, 2018. In February 2019, Bonnet confirmed that he had once again resurrected Alcatrazz, with a new lineup featuring himself, Waldo and Benquechea, as well as guitarist Joe Stump and bassist Beth-Ami Heavenstone. She briefly became the band's first female member, having been in Bonnet's namesake band. This lineup had planned to record a new album together, which was also said to be including contributions from Chris Impellitteri, Bob Kulick, Dario Mollo and former Alcatrazz guitarist Steve Vai. Heavenstone was replaced on bass in January 2020 by a returning Gary Shea. Alcatrazz's first studio album in 34 years, "Born Innocent", is expected to be released on July 31, 2020.

Alcatrazz is an English-American heavy metal band formed in 1983 by Graham Bonnet, Jimmy Waldo and Gary Shea. They are best known for their songs "Island in the Sun" and "God Blessed Video", and have gone through a number of line-up changes, leaving Bonnet as the only remaining original member. The band is also notable for featuring a previously-unknown Yngwie Malmsteen, who was the guitarist of Alcatrazz during 1983–1984, and was subsequently replaced by Steve Vai and then by Danny Johnson.

Alcatrazz je americká heavy metalová skupina, založená v roce 1983 Grahamem Bonnetem po odchodu z Rainbow. Ve skupině hráli například také Yngwie Malmsteen (Steeler), Clive Burr (Iron Maiden), Steve Vai (Frank Zappa) a Jan Uvena (Iron Butterfly, Alice Cooper).


Service history.

Rothberg commanded the Flotilla 13 special forces unit from 2001 to 2004 and presided over some of its most notable operations, such as the raid on the Karin A arms smuggling ship in January 2002.  He later served as the Chief of Naval Intelligence during the Second Lebanon War and was reprimanded by then-Chief of Staff Dan Halutz for the 14 July 2006 attack on the Israeli corvette INS "Hanit". An Iranian-supplied C-802 anti-ship missile fired by Hezbollah hit the warship, whose crew was apparently unaware that the Lebanese group possessed such weapons. The strike left four sailors dead and the ship temporarily disabled. Rothberg was criticized over his contribution to the failure, but later was promoted to the position of commander of the Navy's Haifa base.  Afterwards, Rothberg served in the Israeli National Security Council.

Commander of the Israeli Navy.

On 4 August 2011, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved his appointment as the next head of the Israel Navy, after being nominated by IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz. He is to be promoted in rank to Major General (Aluf). He replaced Vice-Admiral Eliezer Marom, who retired after serving in the IDF for 37 years. He was not the front runner for the post and the appointment was received with surprise by military officials. On 10 October 2011, in a ceremony held at the Haifa naval base, Rothberg entered his role as commander of the Israel Navy.  Rothberg is being investigated for an April Fool's Day joke on 1 April 2012. On that day, Rothberg ordered senior commanders to prepare for a complex, 10-day exercise in Italy with the US and Italian navies. Intending to keep the joke among senior officers, he ordered the news be kept at the senior command level, but the information leaked to lower officers, who worked throughout the night to prepare. Three missile ships and their crews were readied at Haifa naval base, and officers worked to chart a course to Italy. Sailors' parents also rushed to the base to give them supplies and money. By the time Rothberg admitted that it was a joke, the three warships were ready to set sail, and crews were standing at attention on deck.  Rothberg personally led operation "Full Disclosure" of March 2014 from INS "Hanit".  On 27 September 2016, Rothberg ended his role as a commander of the Israel Navy.

Aluf Ram Rothberg (; born February 5, 1964) is a general in the Israel Defense Forces who was the head of the Israel Navy.

Ram Rotberg ( * 5. února 1964) je izraelský kontradmirál, který v letech 2011 až 2016 velel Izraelskému vojenskému námořnictvu.


Life.

Artigas was born in Barcelona on 16 June 1892. He went to Escola superior d'arts i indústries i belles arts. He worked as an art critic on the Barcelona-based newspaper "La Veu". Artigas went to France and he wrote a thesis on Egyptian pottery and their blue glazes at the Sorbonne. In 1924 he had a studio on the rue Blomet in Paris. There he joined the avant-garde joining a group originally started by Gustave Courbet. He met Albert Marquet, Raoul Dufy, Pablo Picasso, Luis Buñuel and Georges Braque.  In 1930 Buñuel created the surrealist film "L'Age d'Or" which included actors who were to be famous artists like Max Ernst. Llorens Artigas plays a governor who lays a foundation stone.  In 1936 he returned to Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War. He earned his living by teaching ceramics. In 1941 he began to extend his influence over ceramics when he became a teacher at the Escuela Massana in Barcelona. In 1944 he started his, and his families, long partnership with Joan Miró initially creating vases.  In 1953 Miró and Artigas worked at Artigas's studio in Gallifa near Barcelona. There they created "firestones" which they exhibited under their joint names including in 1956 a joint exhibition in New York. The following year the two worked on a mural for the UNESCO headquarters and for the University of Harvard. It was Artigas's role to render Miro's designs into the 585 ceramics plates. The tiles that made up the two murals for the UNESCO building were created in Gallifa and Miro supervised their installation in Paris. The murals are called "The Wall of the Sun" and "The Wall of the Moon". They were originally displayed outside but they are now contained within a building built to preserve them. Miro was to win a Guggenheim Prize for one of the murals in 1958.  The two worked together until Artigas's failing health meant that his son, Joan Gardy Artigas, took over his role.  Llorens i Artigas died in 1980 in his home city. In 1989 his son set up a foundation in the name of his father which exists to improve both artists and their art.

Josep Llorens i Artigas (16 June 1892 – 11 December 1980) was a Spanish ceramic artist known for his collaboration with Joan Miró. He is credited with relaunching ceramics as a European art form.

Josep Llorens i Artigas (16. června 1892 Barcelona – 11. prosince 1980 Barcelona) byl katalánský keramik a umělecký kritik. Je známý pro svou spolupráci s Joanem Miróem.