Escobar hunting for an Arizona October
By Jose M. Romero
The night of Aug. 6 was turning into a long one for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Locked in a tie with the Philadelphia Phillies, the game had gone to the bottom of the 14th inning.
That’s when David Peralta struck for a walkoff home run. As is customary, the whole team swarmed Peralta at home plate in celebration of a key victory, and, for the moment, a move into first place in the National League West.
Eduardo Escobar didn’t shy away from that team celebration. He was front and center in joining in to congratulate his Venezuelan countryman. In fact, it seems Escobar — acquired July 27 in a trade with the Minnesota Twins — had been a Diamondback for much longer, given how he has fit in with his new teammates.
“It has been a seamless transition. What I am starting to see is a little bit of his personality pop out. He seems like he’s got a great sense of humor. He’s always smiling. He’s always engaged,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “For the first couple of days, he was probably coming in and trying to make an impression.
“And it was so new to him that he was catching up to what was going on, and he seemed like he was very quiet and reserved. But I now know that there’s this great personality in there that I’m watching play out every single day.”
Hard to say goodbye
Escobar was popular in the Twins’ clubhouse. Suddenly leaving Minnesota, where he developed into the player he is now, was difficult. But being traded gave Escobar a chance to say goodbye to the Twin Cities with a personal touch with a Twitter photo of his likeness looking out over Target Field, arms outstretched as a rainbow arcs above him.
In his first game for Arizona he got a hit. By his third day with the club he’d put together a pregame handshake with teammate Steven Souza Jr. Escobar keeps hitting doubles no matter where he is. Heading into the games of Aug. 13, he led Major League Baseball with 42 doubles, three more than Cleveland Indians All-Star Francisco Lindor.
“The heat is a little tough. They say it’ll get cooler in October,” Escobar said in Spanish. “But Phoenix, this city is great and I am so glad to be part of this team.”
He admitted that fitting in with his new team wasn’t easy at first.
“I didn’t know the guys. I didn’t know the clubhouse. But I landed in this wonderful place that God brought me to. The team is so united. They welcomed me with open arms,” he said.
October Opportunity
The chance to play for a postseason contender drives Escobar, who got a taste of it with two hits in the American League wild-card game last fall.
“I feel like they brought me here because winning is the most important thing to the organization,” Escobar said. “And that’s all I want to do, help us win.”
The Diamondbacks were interested in Manny Machado but couldn’t outbid the Dodgers. Escobar doesn’t seem like a fallback option, however. He has come in and hit, compiling a .333 batting average in his first 10 games as a Diamondback.
Arizona has lost former third baseman All-Star Jake Lamb for the season with a shoulder injury. Escobar might have split time at third, second base and possibly shortstop if were Lamb healthy, but he’s now playing every day on the hot corner.
“Our front office nailed it, and needs were huge at that particular time,” Lovullo said of the deal for Escobar. “We got the right guy.”
Escobar’s baseball IQ has also turned heads. Lovullo asked Escobar after a recent game why he took so many pitches in a particular at-bat after his first one.
“He said because the hitters ahead of me made quick outs, and if we were only four or five pitches into the inning then I wanted to see some pitches and extend the inning,” Lovullo said. “To me that’s a mature baseball player giving a great answer. He just has a really good feel for the game.”
Lovullo gave credit to the Twins. “They raise their players the right way,” he said. “When he gave me that answer, it didn’t surprise me.”
Escobar, 29, is making the most of his new opportunity and having fun along the way.
“I’m an emotional guy and I like to make it enjoyable. I’m always so happy to be on the field,” he said. “I like to share that with the fans, talk to them, show them my personality. I think that if I’m full of joy, the fans will support me.”
Featured Image: Norm Hall / Getty Images Sport