Juan Encarnacion

Lore & Background

Encarnación had his best season as a Florida Marlin in 2003, hitting a career-high 24 home runs and driving in 85 runs, while also setting career highs with 94 RBI and a team-leading 37 doubles. He won the 2003 World Series with Florida. He was one of just three outfielders without an error in 2003 and was the first Marlins outfielder to post a 1.000 fielding percentage in their history.

In Their Own Story

The late-afternoon sun hangs low over the outfield wall, painting the warning track in amber. The crowd is a thin, scattered thing—this is a weekday, a doubleheader second game, the kind of afternoon where the stands feel more like a suggestion than a roar. In the dugout, a player in the Marlins' navy-and-coral pinstripes tucks a glove under his arm and steps toward the on-deck circle. He isn't the name the announcer is calling. He isn't the name on the billboard. He's just the next man in the line, bat over his shoulder, eyes tracking a fly ball that will land somewhere in the grass beyond the fence. For a few minutes, the diamond is the whole world, and the fact that his name will appear exactly once in the official box score is enough. It has to be enough. Out in the stands, a kid with a crayon and a scorecard scribbles a number in the batter column and moves on to the next name. That's the whole story. That's the whole job.

Reader's Guide

Encarnación was signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1992 and made his MLB debut in 1997. He played for the Tigers until 2002, then was traded and had his best season with the Reds and Marlins. He was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in December 2003, then back to Florida midway through the 2004 season. He signed a three-year contract with St. Louis on December 23, 2005. His career ended after an eye injury on August 31, 2007.

Did You Know?

• Encarnación had two career-best 19-game hitting streaks in 2000 with Detroit.
• He hit two grand slams in April 2005, including one off John Smoltz on Opening Day, becoming the 16th player to record grand slams in his first two homers of the season.
• He skipped the 2003 Florida Marlins World Series victory parade without explanation.