Vicente de la Cruz Padilla (born September 27, 1977) is a Nicaraguan former professional baseball pitcher. Padilla played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. Baseball career International competition Padilla pitched for Nicaragua in the 1998 Baseball World Cup, helping his team win the Bronze medal as the closer. He also appeared in the Central American Games the same year, as his team finished in second place. Arizona Diamondbacks After working with former MLB pitcher Dennis Martínez to improve his change-up, Padilla was signed as an international free agent by the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 31, 1998. He debuted in the minor leagues in , playing for the Class-A Advanced High Desert Mavericks and earning a promotion to the Class-AAA Tucson Sidewinders. Padilla made his Major League debut on June 29 against the Cincinnati Reds, pitching in the ninth inning and giving up four hits and three runs without recording an out, getting the loss and a blown save for the effort. Padilla appeared in four more games in 1999. He also appeared in 27 games in relief for the Diamondbacks in 2000, finishing 2–1 with a 2.31 ERA, with his first win coming on May 9 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Philadelphia Phillies On July 26, , Padilla was traded from the Diamondbacks to the Philadelphia Phillies along with three other players (Travis Lee, Nelson Figueroa and Omar Daal) for pitcher Curt Schilling. He was moved to the starting rotation in and made his first start on April 3 against the Atlanta Braves, working six innings and picking up the win. He finished the season 14–11 with a 3.28 ERA in 32 starts and was selected to appear in the All-Star Game. He battled injuries during the and seasons, posting a combined win–loss record of 16–19. After posting a 4.71 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP during the 2005 season, Padilla was traded to the Texas Rangers for Ricardo Rodríguez. Texas Rangers During the 2006 season, he also came under fire for his "lack of control" on the mound. Padilla caused a controversy in Chicago when he twice hit White Sox catcher A. J. Pierzynski, and later in the season again caused a benches-clearing brawl against the Angels when he repeatedly threw at Angels batters, showing