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Eduardo Escobar

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Eduardo Escobar
Escobar with the New York Mets in 2023
Free agent
Infielder
Born: (1989-01-05) January 5, 1989 (age 35)
Villa de Cura, Venezuela
Bats: Switch
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 2, 2011, for the Chicago White Sox
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.253
Hits1,185
Home runs164
Runs batted in636
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Eduardo José Escobar (born January 5, 1989) is a Venezuelan-American professional baseball third baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, and Los Angeles Angels.

Early life

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Escobar grew up in the neighborhood of La Pica in Palo Negro in the Venezuelan state of Aragua with his four siblings.[1] They were raised by a single mother. Escobar began working a job at seven years old and was only able to get an education through the eighth grade.[2]

Professional career

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Chicago White Sox

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Escobar was a September call-up in 2011, playing in nine games and had two hits in seven at bats. In 2012, Escobar made the 25-man roster out of spring training as a utility infielder. In his first 97 plate appearances of 2012, Escobar had a .207 batting average with three runs batted in (RBIs).[citation needed]

Minnesota Twins

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Escobar with the Twins in 2013

On July 28, 2012, Escobar was traded to the Minnesota Twins with Pedro Hernández for Francisco Liriano.[3] In 49 more plate appearances, Escobar batted .227 with six RBIs. Overall in 2012, Escobar had 146 total plate appearances with a .214 average and nine RBIs.

On April 3, 2013, Escobar hit a walk-off 2-run double off of Phil Coke that lifted the Twins past the Detroit Tigers, 3–2, to its first win of the 2013 season.[4] On April 9, 2013, Escobar hit his first career home run in the top of the 5th inning off of Jeremy Guthrie of the Kansas City Royals. Playing 66 games in 2013, Escobar batted .236 with three home runs, and 10 RBIs.[citation needed]

In 2014, Escobar batted .275 and hit six home runs with 37 RBIs in 133 games. In 2015, Escobar played 127 games batting .262 with 12 home runs and 58 RBIs. In 2016, Escobar played 105 games batting .236 with 6 home runs and 37 RBIs.[citation needed]

On May 7, 2016, Escobar was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a left groin strain. He avoided salary arbitration with the Twins on December 3, 2016, by agreeing to a one-year, $2.6 million contract for the 2017 season.[5] In 2017, Escobar batted .254 and set career highs with 21 home runs and 73 RBIs.[citation needed]

Arizona Diamondbacks

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On July 27, 2018, Escobar was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor leaguers Gabriel Maciel, Jhoan Durán, and Ernie De La Trinidad.[6] He had the highest fielding percentage among major league third basemen, at .983.[7]

On October 23, 2018, the Diamondbacks signed Escobar to a three-year contract worth a reported $21 million.[8] In the 2019 season, he hit 35 home runs and 118 RBIs, batting .269/.320/.511. He also led the majors with 10 triples. In 2020, Escobar struggled offensively throughout the shortened MLB season, hitting just .212 with four home runs and 20 RBIs. Escobar bounced back strongly in 2021, posting a .246 average with 22 home runs and 65 RBI's in 98 games with the Arizona Diamondbacks and earning a trip to the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Milwaukee Brewers

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Escobar with the Mets in 2022

On July 28, 2021, Escobar was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Cooper Hummel and Alberto Ciprian.[9] On October 2, 2021, Escobar collected his 1,000th hit.[10]

New York Mets

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On December 1, 2021, Escobar signed a two-year, $20 million contract with the New York Mets.[11]

On June 6, 2022, Escobar hit for the cycle in an 11–5 win over the San Diego Padres, becoming the 11th player in Mets history to accomplish the feat, and the first since Scott Hairston in 2012.[12] He also became the first player to hit for the cycle at Petco Park.[12]

Los Angeles Angels

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On June 23, 2023, the Mets traded Escobar to the Los Angeles Angels for pitching prospects Landon Marceaux and Coleman Crow.[13] He was acquired by the team in the wake of several injuries to its infielders, including third basemen Anthony Rendon and Gio Urshela.[14] Escobar made his team debut on June 24 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, going 2-for-4 at the plate with a walk, RBI, and four runs scored before being substituted in the fifth inning of a 25–1 blowout win.[15] On June 26, he was away from the team to take the American Civics Test for U.S. citizenship.[16] Between the Mets and Angels, Escobar finished the 2023 season batting .226 with six home runs and 31 RBIs in 99 games. On November 3, the Angels declined the $9 million team option on Escobar's contract, making him a free agent.[17]

Toronto Blue Jays

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On February 16, 2024, Escobar signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.[18] He was released by Toronto on March 22, after being informed that he would not make the Opening Day roster.[19]

Personal life

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Escobar owns a home in Miami and resides there in the offseason with his wife and five children.[20] As of June 2021, his family was living with him in Arizona. He had four boys and a daughter. As of 2021, the oldest, his daughter, was 17 years old and the youngest was six years old.[1]

Escobar is afraid of cats. During his time with the Diamondbacks, teammates pranked him by startling him with a stuffed cat which gradually became the team's good luck charm.[21]

Escobar frequents the Brazilian steakhouse chain Fogo de Chão. He has taken teammates and team employees to different locations throughout the country.[22] While with the Twins in 2018, he told reporters that his power at the plate came from "a lot of Fogo de Chão."[23] The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in 2021 that Escobar would shout "Fogo power" after hitting home runs.[24] On the tenth anniversary of his Major League debut, the business donated $10,000 to his charity in the form of an oversized check.[22]

In June 2023, Escobar became a U.S. citizen.[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Father's Day Q&A with Diamondbacks Eduardo Escobar". North Phoenix Family Magazine. June 1, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  2. ^ Vernon, Brady (June 25, 2019). "Diamondbacks third baseman Eduardo Escobar driven to give back". Arizona Sports. KMVP-FM. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  3. ^ Smith, Matthew (July 29, 2012). "Chicago White Sox Acquire Francisco Liriano from Minnesota Twins". Bleacher Report. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  4. ^ "Tigers 2, Twins 3 (Final Score)". MLB Gameday. April 3, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  5. ^ Adams, Steve; Todd, Jeff (December 3, 2016). "Players Avoiding Arbitration: Friday". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  6. ^ Kelly, Matt. "D-backs acquire doubles machine Escobar". Mlb.com. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  7. ^ Major League Leaderboards » 2018 » Third Basemen » Fielding Statistics FanGraphs Baseball
  8. ^ "Escobar agrees to 3-year deal to stay in Arizona". Espn.com. October 22, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  9. ^ "Brewers pick up veteran Escobar from D-backs". July 29, 2021.
  10. ^ "Milwaukee Brewers infielder Eduardo Escobar reaches 1,000 career hits".
  11. ^ DiComo, Anthony (November 26, 2021). "Mets Add Versatile Eduardo Escobar, Mark Canha". Major League Baseball.
  12. ^ a b DiComo, Anthony (June 6, 2022). "Escobar first Met to hit for cycle in 10 years". Major League Baseball. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  13. ^ DiComo, Anthony (June 23, 2023). "Mets send Escobar to Angels, acquire pitching prospects". MLB.com. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  14. ^ Bollinger, Rhett (June 24, 2023). "Escobar highlights Halos' infield shakeup". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  15. ^ "Eduardo Escobar 2023 Batting Game Logs". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  16. ^ ESPN News Services (June 26, 2023). "Eduardo Escobar away from Angels to take U.S. citizenship test". ESPN. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  17. ^ RotoWire Staff (November 3, 2023). "Eduardo Escobar: Team option declined". CBSSports.com. Paramount Global. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  18. ^ "Blue Jays To Sign Eduardo Escobar". MLB Trade Rumors. February 15, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  19. ^ "Eduardo Escobar granted release by Toronto Blue Jays". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  20. ^ "Twins' Eduardo Escobar pursues his American dream". Star Tribune. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  21. ^ Buchanan, Zach (August 2, 2019). "Scaredy cat: Eduardo Escobar's feline fear and the purrfect hell the Diamondbacks put him through". The Athletic. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  22. ^ a b DiComo, Anthony (May 23, 2022). "How Mets celebrated respected teammate's rare milestone". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  23. ^ Clarey, David (June 22, 2018). "Fogo de Chao gets a big helping of free marketing from Twins' Eduardo Escobar". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  24. ^ Hart, Mike (September 13, 2021). "Fogo de Chão will fuel Brewers star Eduardo Escobar's fire with a pop-up restaurant in Milwaukee next Wednesday". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  25. ^ Sanchez, Noel (June 28, 2023). "Angels News: Eduardo Escobar Officially Becomes American Citizen". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eduardo Escobar.
Achievements
Preceded by Hitting for the cycle
June 6, 2022 		Succeeded by
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