Alcides Escobar () (born December 16, 1986), is a Venezuelan

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

infielder who is currently a free agent. He previously played in MLB with the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals and

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

, and the

Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB).

Early and personal life

Escobar was born in La Sabana, Venezuela. Escobar is cousin to pitchers

Edwin Escobar Edwin José Escobar (born April 22, 1992) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox and Arizona Diam ...

and

Kelvim Escobar Kelvim José Escobar Bolívar (born April 11, 1976) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Toronto Blue Jays (1997–2003) and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2004–2007, 2009). He won 101 games, but his career ...

, as well as outfielder

Ronald Acuña Jr. Ronald José Acuña Blanco Jr. (born December 18, 1997) is a Venezuelan professional baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). After signing with the Braves as an international free agent in 2014, Acuña made hi ...

He is also the nephew of shortstop José Escobar. Escobar began playing baseball when he was four years old, stating how he idolized fellow Venezuelan shortstop

Omar Vizquel Omar Enrique Vizquel González (; born April 24, 1967), nicknamed "Little O", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. During his 24-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Vizquel played for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indi ...

Baseball career

Milwaukee Brewers

On July 9, 2003 (at age 16), Escobar signed with the Milwaukee Brewers as an international free agent for $35,000. Escobar made his professional debut in 2004 with the rookie-level

Helena Brewers The Helena Brewers were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pioneer League located in Helena, Montana, from 1978 to 2018. The team played their home games at Kindrick Legion Field, which was built in 1939. They were affiliated with the Milwauke ...

. In 2005, he played for the Single-A

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The ...

, batting .271/.305/.362 with 2 home runs and 36 RBI. The following season, Escobar slashed .257/.296/.306 in 87 games for the High-A

Brevard County Manatees The Brevard County Manatees were a minor league baseball team of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League from 1994 to 2016. They were based in Viera, Florida, and played their home games at Space Coast Stadium. The team left Brevard County af ...

. In 2007, he split time between Single-A and Double-A, playing 63 games for Brevard County in the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Florida State League and 62 games for the Double-A

Huntsville Stars The Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1985 to 2014. They competed in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics from 1985 to 1998 and Mil ...

of the Southern League. He batted a combined .306 with one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 53

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

. In 2008, Escobar played mostly for Huntsville. On September 1, 2008 (when rosters expanded), Escobar was called up to the Majors for the first time, and made his debut two days later as a defensive replacement at

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

. He picked up his first career

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

in his first at bat in the same game, a single against pitcher

Scott Schoeneweis Scott David Schoeneweis (; born October 2, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher who played for several teams between 1999 and 2010. In the five seasons from 2003 to 2007, Schoeneweis allowed only one home r ...

of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

Before the 2009 season, '' Baseball America'' rated Escobar the 19th best prospect in baseball. In 2009, Escobar appeared in the All-Star Futures Game as the starting shortstop for the World team. During the game, he went 2-for-4 and scored the go-ahead run. On August 12, Escobar was called up to the Brewers from the Triple-A Nashville Sounds to replace J. J. Hardy, who had been optioned down. He made his first major league appearance of the season that night, pinch running for

Prince Fielder Prince Semien Fielder (born May 9, 1984) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, and Texas Rangers. He was selected in ...

in the bottom of the 9th inning against the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

. Escobar stole second base, his first stolen base of his career. After the end of the 2009 season, the Brewers traded Hardy to the Minnesota Twins, making Escobar the starting

for the Brewers in 2010. Prior to the 2010 season, '' Baseball America'' rated Escobar as the best prospect in baseball.

Kansas City Royals

On December 18, 2010, the Brewers traded Escobar,

Lorenzo Cain Lorenzo Lamar Cain (born April 13, 1986) is an American professional baseball center fielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers and the Kansas City Royals. The Brewers drafted him in the ...

Jeremy Jeffress Jeremy Ross Jeffress (born September 21, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, and C ...

and

Jake Odorizzi Jacob Todd Odorizzi (born March 27, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins, Houston As ...

to the Kansas City Royals for

Zack Greinke Donald Zackary Greinke ( ; born October 21, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He made his MLB debut with the Kansas City Royals in 2004 and has also played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers, Los An ...

and Yuniesky Betancourt. In 2011 he batted .254/.290/.343 with 4 home runs and 46 RBI in 158 games. On March 15, 2012, Escobar signed a four-year, $10 million extension through 2015 with club options for 2016 and 2017 with the Royals. If both options were exercised, Escobar could earn $21.75 million. Escobar, who was slated to earn $519,500 in 2012, would instead earn $1 million in 2012 and $3 million a year from 2013 to 2015. His 2016 option was worth $5.25 million and had a $500,000

buyout In finance, a buyout is an investment transaction by which the ownership equity of a company, or a majority share of the stock of the company is acquired. The acquiror thereby "buys out" the present equity holders of the target company. A buyout ...

. His 2017 option was worth $6.5 million and had a $500,000 buyout. The extension covered his final pre-arbitration season and his three arbitration-eligible seasons. The club options covered his first year of free agency. In 2013, Escobar batted .234/.259/.300, and his .259 on base percentage was the lowest of all qualified MLB batters. His .300 slugging percentage was also the lowest among all qualified batters in MLB. In 2014, Escobar (along with

Evan Longoria Evan Michael Longoria (born October 7, 1985), nicknamed "Longo", is an American professional baseball third baseman who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2008 through 2017, and the S ...

Hunter Pence Hunter Andrew Pence (born April 13, 1983), nicknamed "The Reverend", is an American former professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, San F ...

and

Freddie Freeman Frederick Charles Freeman (born September 12, 1989) is an American-Canadian professional baseball first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, Freeman played for the Atlanta Braves for 12 seasons. He mad ...

) was one of the only players in the MLB to start in all 162 regular season games for their respective teams. He finished the season hitting .285, with 74 runs scored, 50 RBIs, and 31 stolen bases. In 2015, Escobar batted .257/.293/.320. He led the majors in with 11

sacrifice hit In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, an ...

s. His .320 slugging percentage was the lowest of all qualified major league batters. He also had the lowest

ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...

(isolated power) of all MLB players in 2015, at .064. During the

2015 ALCS The 2015 American League Championship Series (ALCS) was a best-of-seven playoff contested between the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals for the American League (AL) pennant and the right to play in the 2015 World Series. The series is th ...

, Escobar set a postseason record by getting a lead-off hit in four consecutive games. He was selected as the 2015 ALCS MVP as he batted .478 in the series. In Game 1 of the

2015 World Series The 2015 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2015 season. The 111th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion New York Mets and the American Leag ...

, Escobar hit an

inside-the-park home run In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a play where a batter hits a home run without hitting the ball out of the field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-park home run", or "in-the-park homer". Discussion To score ...

on the first pitch thrown by

pitcher

Matt Harvey Matthew Edward Harvey (born March 27, 1989), nicknamed The Dark Knight, is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, ...

. It was the first time a player had hit an inside-the-park home run in a World Series game since 1929. Escobar followed that with driving in two runs, and scoring once on two hits in Game 2. In Game 5, Escobar hit a double in the 12th inning, allowing Christian Colon to score and help the Royals defeat the Mets 7–2 in 12 innings, making the 2015 Kansas City Royals World Series Champions. In the 2015 postseason, Escobar hit .329 in 70 at bats. He had 23 hits including four doubles and three triples, 13 runs scored and 9 RBI. He received the 2015 AL Rawlings Gold Glove Award for shortstops. In 2016, he batted .261/.292/.350. He again led the majors in sacrifice hits, with 10. On June 3, Escobar got his 1000th career Major League hit against

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

pitcher Danny Salazar. On October 10, 2016, the Royals exercised Escobar's 2017 option. The Royals paid him $6.5 million in 2017. He batted .250/.272/.357 in 599 at bats, and shared the major league lead with 7 sacrifice hits. His .272 on base percentage was the lowest, and his .357 slugging percentage was the third-lowest, among all qualified batters in MLB. He stole four bases, but was caught seven times. On January 29, 2018, Escobar re-signed with the Royals with a one-year, $2.5 million deal. In 2018, he batted .231 (a career low)/.279/.313. His .313 slugging percentage was the second-lowest among all qualified batters in MLB.

Baltimore Orioles

On February 16, 2019, Escobar signed a minor-league contract with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

which included an invitation to spring training. On March 20, 2019, Escobar was granted his outright release from the Orioles.

Chicago White Sox

On March 22, 2019, Escobar signed a minor league deal with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

to begin the year. After hitting .286/.343/.444 with 10 home runs and 70 RBI, Escobar was released by the organization on August 2.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows

On October 30, 2019, Escobar signed with the

(NPB). On January 31, 2020, he held a press conference with

Gabriel Ynoa Gabriel Ynoa Gómez (born May 26, 1993) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Pericos de Puebla of the Mexican Baseball League. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles, in N ...

and

Matt Koch Matthew David Koch (born November 2, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Colorado Rockies organization. He previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners, and for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippo ...

. On June 19, he made his NPB debut. On July 15, Escobar hit his first career NPB home run off

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

pitcher Onelki García. In 104 games with Yakult, Escobar slashed .273/.312/.329 with 1 home run and 30 RBI. On November 23, 2020, he became a free agent.

Kansas City Royals (second stint)

On May 4, 2021, Escobar signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals organization and was assigned to the Triple-A

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, and play their home games at We ...

. In 35 games with Omaha, Escobar posted a .274/.311/.452 slash with 5 home runs and 16 RBI.

Washington Nationals

On July 2, 2021, Escobar was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations. He was selected to the active roster on July 3. On July 18, Escobar hit his first major-league home run since the 2018 season against the

to pull the Nationals within one run in the eighth inning, and hit a walk-off single in the ninth to lead them to an 8–7 victory. Escobar finished out the 2021 season with the Nationals batting .288/.340/.404, his best totals since 2012. He then signed a one-year contract extension through the 2022 season on October 5, 2021. In 2021, he had the lowest average exit velocity of all major league batters, at 81.7 mph. Escobar made his pitching debut against the Philadelphia Phillies, tossing a scoreless inning in the bottom of the 8th on July 5, 2022. On August 3, 2022, Escobar was placed on unconditional release waivers.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Escobar, Alcides 1986 births Living people American League All-Stars American League Championship Series MVPs Brevard County Manatees players Cardenales de Lara players Charlotte Knights players

Alcides ''Alcides'' is a genus of uraniid moths from northern Australia, New Guinea, and other islands in the region. They are diurnal and strongly marked with iridescent colours. List of species * '' Alcides agathyrsus'' Kirsch, 1877 yn.= A. boops ...

Helena Brewers players Huntsville Stars players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Major League Baseball shortstops Milwaukee Brewers players Nashville Sounds players Nippon Professional Baseball shortstops Peoria Javelinas players Tokyo Yakult Swallows players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Japan Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Washington Nationals players West Virginia Power players World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela 2017 World Baseball Classic players People from Vargas (state)