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In the fifth inning of the Red Sox spring training opener against BC, a pinch hitter was called upon to replace David Ortiz. The hitter has never made the major leagues, despite putting up a respectable, albeit not great, .265/.367/.423 (AVG/OBP/SLG) in ten years of minor league service. Sounds like a typical spring training case, a guy trying to finally break through after years of toiling away, right? Well, not quite.

You see, this pinch hitter actually has two World Series rings. He also appeared in the Home Run Derby in 2004. Confused? This hitter is 48-year-old Red Sox batting practice pitcher Ino Guerrero.

Inocencio Guerrero played his entire career in the Braves organization. He even led the 1985 Greenville Braves in many categories, including triples, as hard as that might be to believe looking at him now. But after his career ended, Ino went right into coaching, staying in the Braves organization with the 1989 Durham Bulls, who were managed by Grady Little. In 2003, Little was the manager of the Boston Red Sox, and Guerrero had spent the previous season as hitting coach for one of the Red Sox single A affiliates. Ino joined the major league staff when Little, with whom he had ended up coaching a few years in the minors, thought he would be a good fit in the role of "friend of Manny."

It was before "Manny being Manny" was a common phrase, but the Sox thought that bringing in a personal coach who could buddy up to Manny Ramirez would be a good idea. On top of that, Manny took more batting practice than anyone else, so bringing in a guy who could be there to throw to him made sense.

So Ino worked with the Red Sox, becoming their regular batting practice pitcher. He was there for the heartbreaking end of the 2003 season in Yankee Stadium. He pitched to David Ortiz in the 2004 Home Run Derby and he earned two World Series rings as a member of the coaching staff in both 2004 and 2007.

Still, with this success, Ino remains a bit of a mystery to Red Sox fans. At the parade for the 2004 World Series winning team, when the Duck Boat drove by with the name Ino Guerrero on its side, I heard more than a few people wonder who he was. It isn't a total surprise, though, since his name is missing from the coaches section of RedSox.com. If they don't tell you who Ino Guerrero is, how are you supposed to know?

Manny Ramirez was traded away at the deadline in 2008, but Ino remains with the Red Sox. Now, Ino was the one getting the call to replace Big Papi in the Red Sox lineup, giving him one more plate appearance than the still-a-free-agent Ramirez this spring. It was only a plate appearance and not an at-bat as it turned out because he ended up drawing a walk. When ball four was called, he reacted as if he'd hit a home run, flipping his bat in a Manny-esque fashion before making his way to first base. Terry Francona called for a pinch runner, and Ino returned to his regular position in the dugout.

Francona joked after the game that he might give Ino another shot against Northeastern on Saturday, but I hope he doesn't. I know it's only spring training, but Ino Guerrero leads the Red Sox with a 1.000 on-base percentage. Maybe now people will know who he is.