Orestes Destrade Cucuas (born May 8, 1962) is a Cuban former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Florida Marlins. Destrade also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Seibu Lions. He is now a broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Rays. Like Olympic Stadium, he was nicknamed The Big O. Destrade was born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba,[2] but emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of six. During his youth, he played in the Khoury League at Tamiami Park in Miami. He graduated from Coral Park High School in Miami, and later attended Florida College.After college, he played many seasons in the minor leagues before his career at the major league level. Destrade was called up in September 1987 with the New York Yankees. He played in 1988 with the Pittsburgh Pirates (where he was the victim of pitcher Randy Johnson's first major league strikeout), and 1993 and 1994 for the Florida Marlins. Destrade was a member of the Florida Marlins' 1993 inaugural season.Destrade played five seasons (1989–1992 and 1995) for the Seibu Lions of the Japanese Pacific League, where he led the league in home runs for three consecutive years. He was also the MVP of the 1990 Japan Series. Despite his short career in Japan, Destrade is considered one of NPB's best career switch-hitters.
Howell was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. He first attended Pima Community College and then the University of Arizona where he played baseball for the Arizona Wildcats. Howell played for three different MLB teams during his professional career. He started with the California Angels where he from 1987 to 1989 averaged hitting 20 home runs per season until being traded to the San Diego Padres. Howell next played Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and was a member of the Yakult Swallows (1992–1994), as well as the Yomiuri Giants (1995). He won the Central League Most Valuable Player award in 1992, when he led the league in home runs and batting average. On July 29, 1993, Howell hit for the cycle for the Swallows. He returned to MLB as a bench player with the California Angels during the 1996 Season. He then signed on as a free agent with the Houston Astros, with whom he ended his career in 1999Howell was the hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was fired by the Diamondbacks following the 2010 season. Howell is currently the Manager for the Burlington Bees of the Midwest League and Single-A affiliate of the Anaheim Angels.