Eduardo José Escobar (born January 5, 1989) is a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

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 professiona ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

for 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 leagu ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB). He previously played in MLB for 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 ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. ...

and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

Early life

Escobar grew up in the neighborhood of La Pica in

Palo Negro Palo Negro may refer to: * Palo Negro, Santiago del Estero, a municipality in Argentina * Palo Negro, Venezuela Palo may refer to: Places * Palo, Argentina, a village in Argentina * Palo, Estonia, village in Meremäe Parish, Võru County, Es ...

in the

Venezuelan state The Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a federation made up of twenty-three states ('' es, estados''), a Capital District (Venezuela), Capital District ('' es, Distrito Capital'') and the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, Federal D ...

of Aragua with his four siblings. 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.

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

Escobar was a September call-up in 2011, playing in nine games and had two hits in seven

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s. In 2012, Escobar made the 25-man roster out of

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

as a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

. In his first 97 plate appearances of 2012, Escobar had a .207

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average i ...

with three

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 ...

(RBIs).

Minnesota Twins

On July 28, 2012, Escobar was traded to the

with Pedro Hernández for

Francisco Liriano Francisco Liriano Casillas (born October 26, 1983) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, ...

. 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 The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, 3-2, to its first win of the 2013 season. 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 The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...

. Playing 66 games in 2013, Escobar batted .236 with three home runs, and 10 RBIs. 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. 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. In 2017, Escobar batted .254 and set career highs with 21 home runs and 73 RBIs.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On July 27, 2018, Escobar was traded to the

for minor leaguers Gabriel Maciel,

Jhoan Durán Jhoan Manuel Durán (born January 8, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). Career Arizona Diamondbacks Durán signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks as an international free agen ...

, and Ernie De La Trinidad. He had the highest fielding percentage among major league third basemen, at .983. On October 23, 2018, the Diamondbacks signed Escobar to a three-year contract worth a reported $21 million. 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 The 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 91st Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The game was hosted by the Colorado Rockies and played at Coors Field on July 13, with the American League (AL) defeating the National League (NL) 5– ...

Milwaukee Brewers

On July 28, 2021, Escobar was traded to the

in exchange for Cooper Hummel and Alberto Ciprian. On October 2, 2021, Escobar collected his 1,000th hit.

New York Mets

On December 1, 2021, Escobar signed a two-year, $20 million contract with the

. On June 6, 2022, Escobar hit for the cycle in an 11–5 win over 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 penna ...

, becoming the 11th player in Mets history to accomplish the feat, and the first since Scott Hairston in 2012. He also became the first player to hit for the cycle at

Petco Park Petco Park is a baseball stadium in Downtown San Diego, California. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, and has also been used as a venue for concerts, soccer, golf, and rugby. The ballpark is located between ...

Personal life

Escobar owns a home in Miami and resides there in the offseason with his wife and five children. , his family was living with him in Arizona. He has four boys and a daughter. The oldest, his daughter, is 17 years old and the youngest was six years old.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Escobar, Eduardo 1989 births Arizona Diamondbacks players Birmingham Barons players Caribes de Anzoátegui players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Dominican Summer League White Sox players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Great Falls Voyagers players Kannapolis Intimidators players Living people Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Major League Baseball infielders Milwaukee Brewers players Minnesota Twins players New York Mets players Peoria Saguaros players Rochester Red Wings players Tiburones de La Guaira players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Venezuelan Summer League Orioles/White Sox players Winston-Salem Dash players Major League Baseball third basemen People from Villa de Cura