Alcides Escobar

Alcides Escobar
Kansas City Royals – No. 2
Shortstop
Born: December 16, 1986 (1986-12-16) La Sabana, Venezuela
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 3, 2008 for the Milwaukee Brewers
Career statistics (through 2011)
Batting average	.252
Home runs	9
Runs batted in	98
Teams
Milwaukee Brewers (2008-2010) Kansas City Royals (2011–present)

Alcides Escobar (born December 16, 1986) is an Venezuelan professional baseball shortstop with the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball. He was born in La Sabana, Venezuela.

Baseball career

Milwaukee Brewers

Escobar with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2009.

Escobar was signed as an international free agent by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2003.

In 2007, he split time between Single-A and Double-A, playing 63 games in Single-A Brevard County and 62 games in Double-A Huntsville. He hit a combined .306 with one home run and 53 RBIs.

In 2008, Escobar played mostly for the Huntsville Stars. 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. He picked up his first hit in his first career at-bat in the same game, a single against Scott Schoeneweis of the New York Mets.

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.^{[citation needed]} He made his first major-league appearance of the season that night, pinch running for Prince Fielder in the bottom of the 9th against the San Diego Padres. Escobar stole second base, also advancing to third on a throwing error.

After the end of the 2009 season, the Brewers traded Hardy to the Minnesota Twins, making Escobar the starting shortstop for the Brewers in 2010. Before the 2010 season, Baseball America rated Escobar the 12th best prospect in baseball.^{[citation needed]}

Kansas City Royals

On December 18, 2010, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals with Lorenzo Cain, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jake Odorizzi for Zack Greinke and Yuniesky Betancourt. He is currently the starting shortstop for the Kansas City Royals.

Personal life

Escobar's first cousin, Kelvim Escobar, was a MLB pitcher.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• "MLB.com Top 50 Prospects"
• "Interview with his wife"