Edwin Encarnación

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Edwin Encarnación
Edwin Encarnación July 2013.jpg
Encarnación with the Blue Jays in 2013
Toronto Blue Jays – No. 10
First baseman / Designated hitter
Born: (1983-01-07) January 7, 1983 (age 41)
La Romana, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 24, 2005, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
(through 2015 season)
Batting average .266
Hits 1,281
Home runs 268
Runs batted in 815
On-base plus slugging .846
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Medal record
Representing Dominican Republic
Men's Baseball
World Baseball Classic
Gold medal – first place 2013 San Francisco Team

Edwin Elpidio Encarnación (born January 7, 1983) is a Dominican professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter[1] for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Cincinnati Reds, where he was primarily a third baseman.

Professional career

Cincinnati Reds

Encarnación was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the ninth round of the 2000 amateur draft and signed with them. On June 15, 2001, he was traded, along with Rubén Mateo, to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for pitcher Rob Bell. He made his big league debut on June 24, 2005 and played in 69 games. He finished with a .232 batting average, 9 home runs, and 31 RBI.[2]

In the 2006 season, Encarnación played 117 games for the Reds, and batted .276 with 15 home runs and 72 RBI.[2] Encarnación won the National League Player of the Week award for the week of August 7–13. During the week, he led the league with 4 home runs and 24 total bases, batting .440 with 8 RBI.[3]

In 2007 Encarnación started the year slowly, struggling to bat over .200. He was frequently benched in favor of Ryan Freel, which gave Josh Hamilton, who was attempting to resurrect his career after it was derailed by addiction to drugs and alcohol, more starts in center field. Encarnación was benched again at one point by then manager Jerry Narron for not running out a fly ball.[4] On May 10, 2007, Encarnación was demoted to the Reds' Triple-A affiliate in Louisville, Kentucky, the Bats. He was recalled to the Major Leagues on May 22, 2007. For the 2007 season, Encarnación batted .289 with 16 home runs and 76 RBI.[2]

In 2008, Encarnación set career highs in games played and home runs. He batted .251 in 146 games with 26 home runs and 68 RBI, and also struck out 102 times, the first time he had struck out more than 100 times in his career.[2]

For the 2009 season, Encarnación stated that he wanted to be more consistent as a hitter who did not try to hit home runs in every at bat: "I want to try to stay more to the middle. Last year, I tried to pull too many balls and hit more homers. That's why my average went down. I will be more consistent as a hitter. I know I can do it. I've done it before. I know I can hit better than that and I just have to keep working".[5] Encarnación played in 43 games with the Reds in the 2009 season, batting just .209 with 5 home runs and 16 RBI before being traded to Toronto.[2]

Toronto Blue Jays

2009–2011

File:Edwin Encarnacion, 2011.jpg
Encarnación shaking hands with Brian Butterfield after hitting a home run

Encarnación, along with right-handed pitchers Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart, was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Scott Rolen on July 31, 2009. It was reported that then Blue Jays General Manager J. P. Ricciardi was only interested in acquiring Roenicke and Stewart, but Cincinnati would not accept the trade unless the Blue Jays also took on Encarnación. The trade was later named the number 4 best in season trade in Blue Jays franchise history by Gregor Chisholm.[6] Encarnación would play in 42 games for the Blue Jays during the 2009 season, and bat .240 with 8 home runs and 23 RBI.[2]

File:Edwin Encarnación on June 4, 2011.jpg
Encarnación in 2011

During the offseason, Encarnación suffered first and second-degree burns to the forehead and the right side of his face when a rocket firecracker hit him in the jaw and exploded near his mouth. After initially being treated near his Dominican Republic home, Encarnacion was transferred to a Miami hospital. He was discharged less than two days after the incident.[7]

Encarnación missed 30 games through April and May 2010 with a right arm injury, before returning on May 18, 2010. He hit a home run in his first at bat since the injury against the Minnesota Twins. On May 21, he had three home runs against the Arizona Diamondbacks, homering in three straight at-bats.[8] On June 20, after a loss to the Giants, Encarnacion was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas.[9] However, in a surprise move, he was designated for assignment the next day by the Blue Jays.[10] Encarnación was eventually assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas on June 23, 2010, but was later called up to the Blue Jays again on July 2, 2010 after a struggling performance by Encarnacion's replacement, Jarrett Hoffpauir.[11] He hit his 100th career home run against the Minnesota Twins on the last day of the season, and also became the Jays' 7th player of the 2010 season with 20 or more home runs. Encarnación finished the 2010 season with a batting average of .244, 21 home runs and 51 RBI.[2]

On November 12, 2010, Encarnacion was claimed off waivers by the Oakland Athletics. On December 2, he was non-tendered by the Athletics, making him a free agent.[12] On December 16, 2010, he signed a one-year deal with the Blue Jays worth $2.5 million, with a club option worth $3.5 million in 2012. He began 2011 season playing third base for the Blue Jays and struggled offensively. His numbers improved significantly after he was moved to the designated hitter position. In a game against the Boston Red Sox on September 7, 2011, Encarnacion set a new career record for doubles in a single season with 34. On September 22, Encarnacion hit a walk-off home run off the Rogers Sportsnet One sign in the 12th inning against Angels rookie Garrett Richards. In 2011, Encarnación batted .272 with 17 home runs and 55 RBI.[2]

On October 31, 2011, the Jays picked up the $3.5 million club option for the 2012 season.[13]

2012–2013

In a game against the Seattle Mariners on April 28, 2012, Encarnación hit his fourth career grand slam in the 8th inning leading the Blue Jays to a 7-0 win.[14] His grand slam marked the first time that Encarnación held his arm out in his trademark "chicken-wing" fashion while rounding the bases.[15]

On April 30, 2012, in a home game against the Texas Rangers, Encarnación hit the first home run off of starter Yu Darvish.[16] In an inter-league game against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 19, Encarnación hit the last of three straight solo home runs by the Blue Jays, following Colby Rasmus and José Bautista, the first time in the 2012 season that the Jays went back-to-back-to-back with home runs, and only the sixth time in franchise history.[17] On July 12, Encarnación signed a 3-year, $27 million contract extension with Toronto.[18] The deal includes a $10 million club option for the 2016 season.[19]

On September 13, 2012, in a home game against the Seattle Mariners, Encarnación hit his 40th home run of the season (off starter Félix Hernández), and recorded his 100th RBI of the season, marking the first time in his career that he had surpassed 40 home runs and 100 RBI.[20] Encarnación was unanimously named by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) as the Blue Jays Player of the Year on November 28, 2012. He also received the Most Improved Player award for the Jays.[21]

On May 23, 2013, Encarnación hit his fifth career grand slam to give the Blue Jays an 8–3 lead over the Baltimore Orioles. The Jays would win the game 12–6.[22]

On July 6, 2013, Encarnación was named to his first all-star game as a reserve designated hitter for the American League. Encarnación was one of four Blue Jays to be named, the others being Jose Bautista, Brett Cecil, and Steve Delabar. Up to the All-Star break, Encarnación posted a triple-slash of .264/.353/.532 with 25 home runs and 72 RBI. In the All-Star Game, Encarnación entered as a pinch-hitter for David Ortiz in the seventh inning, and finished the game 0–2. In a game against the Houston Astros on July 26, 2013, Encarnación became only the second Blue Jay in franchise history to hit two home runs in one inning, joining Joe Carter who did so on October 3, 1993 – tying the Major League record for most home runs in an inning.[23][24] Leading off the 7th inning behind at 6–4, Encarnación hit a solo home run and would later hit his sixth career grand slam, receiving a curtain call afterwards as the Blue Jays would score 8 runs in the inning and lead 12–6.[25] He was named the American League Player of the Week on July 29, after batting .520 with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, and 8 RBI over the prior week.[26] Encarnación hit his 30th home run of the season on August 7, 2013, against the Seattle Mariners. In doing so, he recorded back-to-back 30 home run seasons for the first time in his career. Playing against the Kansas City Royals on August 31, 2013, Encarnación recorded his 1,000th career hit, a single off Kansas City starter Jeremy Guthrie. On September 2, he reached 100 RBI for the second consecutive season on a two-run home run against Brandon McCarthy of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He spent time on the bench in mid September with a wrist injury, but made a brief comeback before being placed on the disabled list on September 17.[27] He underwent successful surgery on September 19, and is expected to be fully recovered in time for 2014 spring training.[28] Encarnación finished the 2013 season with a .272 average, 36 home runs, and 104 RBI. He finished with more walks than strikeouts for the first time in his career, with 82 and 62 respectively.[2]

2014–present

Encarnación hit his 200th career home run on May 8, 2014, against A. J. Burnett of the Philadelphia Phillies.[29] On May 12, he was named the American League Player of the Week for May 5–11, when he recorded a league-leading 4 home runs and 10 RBI, and batted .321.[30] Encarnación continued his hot hitting in May by becoming the first player in Blue Jays franchise history to have 4 multi home run games in a month, and the first player in the Majors to do so since Troy Tulowitzki in September 2010.[31] On May 26 he established a new club record for home runs in May by hitting his 13th off of Álex Colomé of the Tampa Bay Rays.[32] The following day, Encarnación tied the team record for home runs in any month of the season, when he hit his 14th to help the Blue Jays extend their winning streak to 8 games.[33]

On May 29, in a home game against the Kansas City Royals, Encarnación hit 2 more home runs for a total of 18 on the season and 16 in the month of May, giving him the Blue Jays franchise record for home runs in any month of the regular season. He also tied Mickey Mantle for the American League record for home runs in May.[34] Though he would not break his tie with Mantle in the final two games of May, he was unanimously selected as the Blue Jays Player of the Month by the Toronto chapter of the BBWAA on June 2.[35] A day later he was named the AL Player of the Month of May by MLB.[36] Encarnación hit two 3-run home runs in a win over the Cincinnati Reds on June 20, to take the overall lead in the Majors with 23. His 6 RBIs were a key contribution in helping the Blue Jays to their second-largest comeback victory in franchise history, being down 8–0 after the second inning and going on to win 14–9.[37] In total for 2014, Encarnación batted .268 with 34 home runs and 98 RBI.[38]

On June 30, 2015, Encarnación earned 10-and-5 rights by having at least 10 years of service time in the big-leagues, with the last 5 being on the same team. These rights give Encarnación the ability to veto any trade he would be involved in.[39] He joined fellow Blue Jay José Bautista on the list of active players to hold this distinction.[40] Encarnación hit his 250th career home run on August 6, in a 9–3 win over the Minnesota Twins.[41] In an 8–5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on August 18, Encarnación surpassed Jesse Barfield on the Blue Jays' all-time home run list, hitting his 180th home run with the franchise. He also extended his hitting streak to a career-high 15 games.[42] Encarnación extended his hitting streak to 24 games on August 29, hitting 3 home runs against the Detroit Tigers, including his third grand slam of the season, and tied Roy Howell's franchise record with 9 RBI in a single game.[43][44] The following day, Encarnación broke the franchise record for RBI in a single month, when he hit a solo home run to give him 35 RBI in August.[45][46] He was named the American League Player of the Week on August 31, after batting .391 with 6 home runs and 17 RBI.[47] On September 2, Encarnación won the American League Player of the Month award for the second time in his career, after batting .407 with 11 home runs and 35 RBI in August.[48] He finished the 2015 regular season with a .277 batting average, 39 home runs, and 111 RBI.[2] Encarnación played in all 5 games of the 2015 American League Division Series, and batted .333 with 1 home run and 3 RBI. In the American League Championship Series, he hit .227 with 2 RBI in 6 games.[2] On October 27, Encarnación underwent successful sports hernia surgery.[49] Encarnación's $10 million option for 2016 was exercised by the Blue Jays on November 3.[50]

See also

References

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  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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