About José Contreras
José Ariel Contreras Camejo (born December 6, 1971) is a Cuban former professional baseball pitcher, who played in the Cuban National Series (CNS), Major League Baseball (MLB), and internationally for the Cuban national baseball team. He also played in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) for the Chinatrust Brothers. Contreras played for Pinar del Río Vegueros of the CNS, and competed for the Cuban national team in the Summer Olympics, the Pan American Games, the Baseball World Cup, and the 1999 exhibition series against the Baltimore Orioles. Recognized as the best Cuban baseball player, Contreras defected from Cuba in 2002. Contreras signed with the New York Yankees of MLB after defecting, and played for them in 2003 and 2004. He also played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox (2004–2009), Colorado Rockies (2009), Philadelphia Phillies (2010–2012), and Pittsburgh Pirates (2013).
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.