Alfonso Guilleard Soriano (born January 7, 1976) is a Dominican former professional baseball left fielder and second baseman.

Soriano began his professional career with Hiroshima in 1996, but signed with the Yankees as a free agent in 1998 and was assigned to play in minor league baseball.

The next year, he was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the All-Star Futures Game, and made his MLB debut for the Yankees, with whom he would win two American League championships.

[3] Like Hideo Nomo and Hideki Irabu, who had previously left Japan to play in the United States, Soriano hired Don Nomura to help his situation.

This prompted Carp executives to file an injunction against Soriano, and to send letters to MLB teams demanding that they cease all negotiations with him.

[4] Soriano signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees in 1998,[3] starting his career as an infielder, first as a third baseman, and then moving over to second base.

In 2002, Soriano became the second Yankee in franchise history to record 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in the same season (the first being Bobby Bonds in 1975), then repeated the feat in 2003.

[6] On December 7, 2005, Soriano was traded to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Brad Wilkerson, Terrmel Sledge, and minor league pitcher Armando Galarraga.

Soriano, who since 2001 had played exclusively at second base, refused to take the field, and the Nationals organization threatened him with disqualification, which would have meant forfeiture of his salary, and he would not have received credit for service time in fulfillment of the obligations of his contract.

As the season got underway, Soriano began to enjoy his new position, and by the All-Star break he led the league in outfield assists.

[16] On September 16, Soriano stole second base in the first inning to become the fourth player to join the 40–40 club, after Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez.

[18] The Nationals considered trading Soriano before the deadline on July 31, because he was in the last year of his contract, which would grant him free agency at the end of the season.

There were plenty of suitors, including sending Soriano back to the Yankees, and the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers were also interested.

[27] Soriano also played an integral part in the Cubs' offense during the team's annual Cross-town Classic with the Chicago White Sox at US Cellular Field.

[29] He was later selected as a reserve outfielder in the 2007 MLB All-Star Game,[30] where he hit a two-run home run for the National League in the bottom of the ninth inning.

[31] Soriano led the Cubs in home runs during their National League Central chase in June and July, during which they erased the Milwaukee Brewers' eight game lead over the division.

However, his defense was extremely poor, and after being placed on the DL early in the season, Soriano was encouraged to stop hopping as he caught fly balls.

[41] Later that month, he lost a ball in the sun and dropped what would have been the game's final out in the 9th inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates, allowing Jason Bay to reach safely and eventually costing the Cubs a win.

On August 22, Soriano accomplished one of baseball's rarest feats, as he stole home plate in a loss to his old team, the Washington Nationals.

[45] In early September, Soriano helped end the Cubs six-game losing streak by slugging out three home runs with five RBI against the Cincinnati Reds.

Soriano had an embarrassing moment in a day-night double header on Wednesday, August 13, 2008, where he hit a long ball which he thought was a home run.

[46] Soriano also hit a game-tying solo home run off LaTroy Hawkins in the 8th inning in the second game of the young season.

On April 11, Soriano hit a 2-run home run off of Carlos Villanueva in the top of the ninth giving the Cubs a 6 to 5 victory over rival Milwaukee.

On April 17 with one out in the bottom of the eighth, Soriano hit a two-run home run to give the Cubs an 8–7 lead over the St. Louis Cardinals.

[50] Shortly before the All-Star break, manager Lou Piniella dropped Soriano in the batting order and made it clear that it was not a temporary change.

For the first time in his career, Soriano seemed to accept not being a leadoff hitter and actually praised his manager for making the necessary decision, citing the fact that "I'm not doing my job."

Soriano's batting average and home run production for the Cubs was especially strong in June and July, making him a hot commodity as the trading deadline approached.

[57] On August 11, 2013, Soriano recorded his 2,000th career hit, a home run off of Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander.

[63] With the signings of Carlos Beltrán and Jacoby Ellsbury, Soriano started the 2014 season as the designated hitter and sometimes played at right field.

[68] Soriano and his wife, Carmen Isis Eusebio, have three daughters (Alisis, Angeline, and Alisha) and three sons (Allen, Angel, and Alfonso Jr.).