Edwin Encarnación

Early life

Edwin Encarnación grew up in the Dominican Republic, the third of three sons—Richard and Julio—along with a younger sister, Evelin. His father, Elpidio, was a track and field coach, and his mother was Mireya Rivera. Through his father, Edwin had twelve half-siblings. When his father took a coaching job at a college in Puerto Rico, Edwin split his high school years between the island and his home country. That Puerto Rican residence made him eligible for the MLB draft.

Professional career

The Texas Rangers selected Encarnación in the ninth round of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft, and he signed with them. On June 15, 2001, the Rangers traded him and Rubén Mateo to the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Rob Bell. He made his MLB debut on June 24, 2005, appearing in 69 games with a .232 batting average, nine home runs, and 31 RBIs. In 2006, he played 117 games, batting .276 with 15 home runs and 72 RBIs, and won the National League Player of the Week award for August 7–13 after leading the league with four home runs and 24 total bases.

The following season, he struggled early, was benched by manager Jerry Narron for not running out a fly ball, and was demoted to Triple-A Louisville on May 10, 2007, before being recalled on May 22. He finished 2007 batting .289 with 16 home runs and 76 RBI. In 2008, he set career highs with 146 games played and 26 home runs, batting .251 with 68 RBIs and 102 strikeouts. For 2009, he expressed a desire to be more consistent and not try to hit home runs every at bat.

He played 43 games with the Reds that season, batting .209 with five home runs and 16 RBIs before being traded to Toronto.