Love and Baseball
Few things in life bring me as much joy as baseball. It reminds me of my dad, who would take me to Brevard County Manatee games as a kid. It reminds me of my friends; my most active group chat is a fantasy baseball league, and I have different traditions with friends to go to at least one game a year. It reminds me of the summertime, and being outside enjoying myself .
The 2023 MLB season hasn’t yet begun, but there’s already one player who is making me smile. Mets third baseman Eduardo Escobar is all over the team’s social media, playing rock, paper, scissors with teammates, goofing around, and generally exuding joy everywhere he goes since Spring Training began.
According to a New York Post story published earlier this month, Escobar was going through a divorce last season that weighed on him. He struggled early, saying in June that he understands if fans are frustrated with him: “One day, I'm going to give them the reasons to cheer for me.” He’d go on to be named Player of the Month in September, hitting 8 home runs and 24 RBIs. And boy did the fans cheer.
Another reason Escobar could be smiling is because he seems to have more job security since the Mets failed to strike a deal with star free agent Carlos Correa. And while I know Correa would have been a great addition to the Mets lineup, there’s a part of me that’s happy it didn’t work out. Because now we get more Eduardo Escobar in our lives. Even before this off-season’s displays of euphoria, Escobar was a fan-favorite for his love of Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chao. He tags his Instagram posts #fogopower, and has been known to treat the team to dinner there.
I must admit, there’s more to my love of Escobar, or De La Pica, as he calls himself. My team in the aforementioned fantasy baseball league is Escobar Season Has Returned, a line from the Nas and Puff Daddy song “Hate Me Now” and, at the time, a fun ode to a player on my roster. In 2021, Escobar had been traded from the Diamondbacks to the Brewers, and while he was a contributing member to my roster, I wasn’t as familiar with his religious devotion to steak as I am now. I just liked the reference. I made it to the finals that year, and my opponent, as a way to stoke the rivarly, commissioned a cameo from Escobar. In it, he wishes blessings upon me and my family, and of course, gets off a “fogo power.” I cherish the video and it has elevated Escobar as a cult figure for the entire league. He is a very gif-able player.
As a kid, I never wanted the most popular players’ jerseys. I liked the third or fourth best guy on a team. For some reason, I loved Dennis Scott more than Shaq or Penny. It was my way to try to be different, I guess. To prove my tastes were my own. I think this contributes to my love of Escobar as well. Perhaps it’s a bit random—he’s nowhere near the Mets’ best player, in fact he almost got replaced—but for me, it just makes sense. He’s funny (there is a series on Mets social media where they ask players a question of the day and he always needs more time to the point that it’s become a bit), heartfelt, and true to himself. I loved baseball before Eduardo Escobar was on the Mets but now I get to open up Instagram and see him making everybody smile, and it makes me smile, and I share it with my friends who are also Mets fans and it makes them smile and maybe its a small thing, but it has meant a lot to me lately.