Edwin Encarnación surprised me this year. After being dealt to a team with rebuilding aspirations in the Mariners, by a team that reacquired its old first baseman in favor of himu2060—for him!u2060—it was reasonable to expect Encarnación to be less than thrilled by this sudden, massive change in his career.
For as slow as Encarnación has notoriously started each season, and how genuinely unenthused he appeared to be during Spring Training, this felt like it could have turned sour rather quick. Admittedly, I didn’t know a lot about Encarnación’s character back then.
After getting to see him as a Seattle Mariner for the last three-or-so months, he was one of the most selfless and delightful veterans to have made their way through the Emerald City during this bleak time in the organization’s history.