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Eduardo Escobar earns Luis Gonzalez Award
Posted
The Arizona Diamondbacks announced Eduardo Escobar has won the 2019 Luis Gonzalez Award.
Eduardo Escobar. (Photo courtesy of the Arizona D-backs)
This award is given annually to the D-backs player who best exemplifies the talents, spirit and heart of the D-backs legend both on and off the field, as voted by his teammates, coaches and staff members, according to a press release.
Mr. Escobar received the award from Mr. Gonzalez during a ceremony prior to the season finale Sept. 28.
“Eduardo Escobar has a true passion for helping make his community a better place,” Mr. Gonzalez, senior advisor to the president and CEO, said in a prepared statement.
“This year he focused on providing education for underprivileged kids and made sure he was able to visit kids at various schools every chance he could. He really stepped up and has set an incredible example amongst all of his teammates.”
Mr. Escobar leads the D-backs in home runs, RBI and triples in 2019, hitting .269 with 29 doubles, 10 triples, 35 home runs and 118 RBI in his first full season with the club.
His 10 triples are the most in the National League, while his 118 RBI are fourth most in the NL and are the most by a NL switch-hitter since Lance Berkman/HOU (136) in 2006, a release states.
Growing up in Maracay, Venezuela, Mr. Escobar knows first-hand about youth going days without food and the limited educational opportunities prevalent throughout that region and is what fueled his passion for helping provide education to underprivileged youth throughout the Valley.
In the same week he was named the National League Player of the Week in April, he delivered baseball gloves and played ball with the students of Valencia Newcomer School, a specialized school for children who have relocated and settled in the U.S. from all over the world.
Mr. Escobar also visited baseball and softball players at North High School forging relationships with the students as they bonded over similar childhood challenges and treated them to a dinner as well as invited them to join him for a D-backs game, including watching batting practice on the field.
Mr. Escobar also has made frequent visits to local schools delivering school supplies and delivered toys, video games, D-backs hats and more to the MLB All-Star Arizona Diamondbacks Boys & Girls Club.
A pillar in Arizona D-backs history because of the way he interacted with fans and his game-winning single in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series to give the organization its first world championship, Mr. Gonzalez became the first former player to have his number retired by the D-backs during a pregame ceremony in 2010.
