Eddie Rosario

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Eddie Rosario
Eddie Rosario (26149847862).jpg
Rosario with the Minnesota Twins in 2016
Free agent
Left fielder
Born: (1991-09-28) September 28, 1991 (age 30)
Guayama, Puerto Rico
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 6, 2015, for the Minnesota Twins
MLB statistics
(through 2021 season)
Batting average.275
Home runs133
Runs batted in450
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Puerto Rico
World Baseball Classic
Silver medal – second place 2013 San Francisco Team
Silver medal – second place 2017 Los Angeles Team

Eddie Manuel Rosario (born September 28, 1991) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball left fielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves.

Rosario represented Puerto Rico in the 2013 and 2017 editions of the World Baseball Classic, winning a silver medal in both.[1] After the 2013 season, Rosario received a 50-game suspension for using a banned substance, which he served at the start of the 2014 season.[2] He made his major league debut in 2015, hitting a home run in his first at bat, on the first pitch, off of Scott Kazmir of the Oakland Athletics.

Early and personal life[]

Eddie Rosario was born to parents Eddie Sr. and Maria on September 28, 1991.[3][4] He was raised in Guayama, Puerto Rico.[3]

He is married to Milany, with whom he has three children: Mileiddy, Raydieliz, and Lucas.[5]

Professional career[]

Rosario was scouted by Hector Otero, who worked for the Minnesota Twins at the time, as the organization's lead scout for South Florida and Puerto Rico.[3] Rosario was subsequently selected by the Minnesota Twins in the fourth round of the 2010 MLB draft.[6]

Minnesota Twins[]

Rosario in 2013

Rosario first played in Minor League Baseball in 2010, in the Gulf Coast League.[7] He advanced through the farm system of the Twins, first reaching Double-A in 2013 and Triple-A in 2015.[7] He also played several seasons in the Puerto Rican Winter League, and played in the Arizona Fall League in 2013 and 2014.[7]

Rosario made his major league debut on May 6, 2015. Leading off the bottom of the 3rd inning, Rosario swung at the first pitch he saw from Oakland Athletics starter Scott Kazmir, and hit an opposite-field home run, becoming the 115th[8] player in major league history to hit a home run in his first at-bat.[9][10] Rosario played in 122 games for the Twins, sharing outfield duties with Torii Hunter, Aaron Hicks, and fellow prospect Byron Buxton. Despite being called up a month into the season, Rosario led all of baseball in triples with 15, and was second in outfield assists with 16, just one behind Avisail García of the Chicago White Sox. Rosario finished his rookie campaign with a .267 batting average and 13 home runs.[11]

With the retirement of Torii Hunter and the Twins' trade of Aaron Hicks, Rosario entered 2016 as the Twins' projected everyday left fielder.[12] After a slow start and the emergence of both Robbie Grossman and Max Kepler, Rosario saw his playing time dwindle ultimately leading to his demotion to Triple-A.[13] He was brought back up towards the end of the season, and finished the year with a .269 batting average, 10 home runs, and 32 RBI in 92 games played.[14] In 2017, Rosario became the Twins’ everyday left fielder and emerged into one of the AL’s best hitters. On June 13 he had his first career 3 home run game[15] going 4-5 and driving in 5 runs. Later in the season he won his first Player of the Week[16][17] for the week of August 13, going .444/.484/1.000 with 4 home runs. He ranked in the top 25 for batting average, OPS, slugging, and doubles. In 151 games he batted .290 with 27 home runs and 78 RBI.

On April 18, 2018, before a sold-out crowd at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium in his homeland Puerto Rico, Rosario scored the winning run in the bottom of the 16th inning, coming around on Ryan LaMarre’s single that gave Minnesota a 2-1 win over the Cleveland Indians.[18] Rosario had a 3 home run game for the second time in his career on June 3 against the Cleveland Indians, going 3-5 driving in 4 runs[19] while hitting the game winning walk-off home run.[20] He finished the season with the lowest fielding percentage among major league left fielders, at .967,[21] and batted .288 with 24 home runs, 77 RBI, and a career high 161 hits in 138 games. Rosario was considered an All-Star "snub" in 2018. In 2019 he batted .276/.300/.500. He swung at the highest percentage of all pitches of all American League batters (59.1%).[22] In 57 games in 2020, he batted .257 with 13 home runs and led the team with 42 RBI. On December 1, 2020, Rosario was placed on outright waivers and cleared waivers the next day.[23] On December 2, Rosario was non-tendered by the Twins.

Cleveland Indians[]

On February 4, 2021, Rosario was signed to a one-year, $8 million contract with the Cleveland Indians.[24]

Atlanta Braves[]

On July 30, 2021, Rosario was traded to the Atlanta Braves along with cash considerations in exchange for Pablo Sandoval.[25] On September 19, Rosario hit for the cycle against the San Francisco Giants.[26][27] In four at-bats, Rosario saw five pitches, the fewest pitches seen in a cycle since at least the 1990 season.[28] In 2021, between both teams he batted .259/.305/.435 with 14 home runs and 62 RBIs.[29]

On October 17, Rosario recorded four hits, including a walk-off single, in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series that gave the Braves a 5–4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.[30][31] The 2021 Braves became the fourth team in Major League Baseball history to record two walk-off wins in the first two games of a postseason series,[30] as Rosario matched the feat of teammate Austin Riley, who hit a walk-off single in Game 1.[32] Rosario recorded two home runs and a triple as part of a second four-hit game in Game 4 of the series, following Steve Garvey as the only players to record those base hits in the postseason. Rosario was the fifth major league player to record two four-hit games during the playoffs, and the second to have both four-hit games occur in the same series.[33] Teammate Adam Duvall followed Rosario's first home run of the game with a home run of his own, and they became the third pair of Braves teammates to hit consecutive home runs during a postseason game.[34][35] In Game 6, Rosario had two hits, including a three-run home run as the Braves won 4–2 and clinched their first National League pennant since 1999.[36] Rosario was awarded the NLCS MVP award for his performance in the series.[37]

International career[]

Rosario played for Puerto Rico in their silver medal run of the 2013 World Baseball Classic and their silver medal run of the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He played right field defensively and batted 7th in the lineup.[38]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Mayo, Jonathan. "Classic puts top prospects on global stage". MLB.com. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  2. ^ "Twins prospect Rosario banned for 50 games by MLB". Star Tribune. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Sanchez, Jesse (October 25, 2021). "'Born to hit': Rosario finally getting his due". MLB.com. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  4. ^ Neal III, La Velle E. (April 30, 2014). "Twins prospect Rosario has nothing to do but wait". Star Tribune. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  5. ^ "Twins reinstate rookie Rosario from paternity list". ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 12, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  6. ^ "Eddie Rosario". Retrosheet. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c "Eddie Rosario Winter, Minor & Fall Leagues History & Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  8. ^ "Major League Baseball Players Who Homered in Their First At-Bat". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  9. ^ Rosario homers on first ML pitch. MLB.com. May 6, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  10. ^ Kenney, Kirk (May 19, 2015). "Rosario makes good first impression". U-T San Diego. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  11. ^ "Eddie Rosario Statistics and History". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  12. ^ "Minnesota Twins Depth Chart". Twins Baseball. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  13. ^ "Twins send Rosario to Triple-A Rochester". MLB.com. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  14. ^ "Eddie Rosario Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  15. ^ Mike Berardino (June 14, 2017). "Puerto Rico's Eddie Rosario joins special group on three-homer list". Pioneer Press.
  16. ^ "American League Player of the Week". MLB.com. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  17. ^ "Rosario parlays hot stretch to AL POW honors". MLB.com. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  18. ^ Twins walk off in 16 innings vs. Indians in Puerto Rico game https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2018/04/19/lamarres-single-lifts-twins-over-indians-2-1-in-16-innings/33973435/
  19. ^ "Eddie Rosario 2018 Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  20. ^ "Twins walk off on Rosario's 3rd HR of day". MLB.com. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  21. ^ "Major League Leaderboards » 2018 » Left Fielders » Fielding Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball". www.fangraphs.com.
  22. ^ "Major League Leaderboards » 2019 » Batters » Plate Discipline Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball". Fangraphs.com. January 1, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  23. ^ "Twins Non-Tender Eddie Rosario, Matt Wisler".
  24. ^ "Indians confirm signing of OF Eddie Rosario". Indians.com. February 4, 2021.
  25. ^ Bowman, Mark (July 30, 2021). "Braves deal for Rich-Rod, bring back Duvall". MLB.com.
  26. ^ Salvador, Joseph. "Eddie Rosario Hits for the Cycle; Braves Avoid Sweep". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  27. ^ "Rosario hits for cycle, leads Fried, Braves over Giants 3-0". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 19, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  28. ^ delos Santos, Justice (September 19, 2021). "Rosario hits for cycle, seeing only 5 pitches". MLB.com. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  29. ^ "Eddie Rosario Stats". Baseball-Reference.com.
  30. ^ a b Bowman, Mark (October 17, 2021). "Braves walk off Dodgers AGAIN in NLCS G2". MLB.com. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  31. ^ Burns, Gabriel (October 17, 2021). "Eddie Rosario's walk-off hit puts Braves up 2-0 on Dodgers in NLCS". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  32. ^ Bowman, Mark (October 17, 2021). "Riley plays G1 hero with HR, walk-off knock". MLB.com. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  33. ^ Bowman, Mark (October 21, 2021). "Rosario, Braves dreaming big with 3-1 lead". Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  34. ^ DiComo, Anthony (October 21, 2021). "Braves' back-to-back homers a first since '02". MLB.com. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  35. ^ "Braves blast 4 HRs, beat Dodgers 9-2 for 3-1 lead in NLCS". ESPN.com. Associated Press. October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  36. ^ "Dodgers vs. Braves - Box Score - October 23, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  37. ^ Perry, Dayn; Axisa, Mike (October 23, 2021). "Braves' Eddie Rosario named NLCS MVP after record-tying playoff performance, go-ahead Game 6 homer". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  38. ^ Thornburg, Chad (February 8, 2017). "Young stars join Beltran, Yadi for Puerto Rico". MLB.com. Retrieved March 14, 2017.

External links[]