Raúl Ramón Mondesí Avelino (born March 12, 1971) is a Dominican former politician and baseball player.

He was the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year in 1994, an MLB All-Star, and a two-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner.

After baseball, Mondesí began a career in politics, gaining election to the Dominican Chamber of Deputies in 2006.

[1] Mondesí was originally signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1988 out of the Dominican Republic.

With the Great Falls Dodgers in 1990, he hit .303 with 30 stolen bases and was selected to the Pioneer League All-Star team.

[2] He hit his first home run, a two-run shot off Bob Scanlan in the 13th inning of a game against the Chicago Cubs on July 31.

Mondesí made the Dodgers opening day roster in 1994 and played in 112 games, hitting .306 with 16 homers, 56 RBI, and 11 stolen bases.

On November 8, 1999, Mondesí was traded by the Dodgers (along with Pedro Borbón Jr.) to the Toronto Blue Jays for Shawn Green and minor league player Jorge Nunez.

The Yankees traded Mondesí on July 29, 2003, to the Arizona Diamondbacks for David Dellucci, Bret Prinz and minor leaguer John Prowl.

[6] In November 2007, he switched sides, aligning himself with the Dominican Revolutionary Party after discrepancies with the government over humanitarian aid to be given to his province after Tropical Storm Noel.

[citation needed] In September 2017, Mondesi was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to pay a $1.3 million fine for corruption and mishandling of public funds during his term as mayor of San Cristóbal.