Alcides Escobar of the Washington Nationals fields a ground ball during a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park on July 16, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Infielder Alcides Escobar will return for his second season with the Tiburones de La Guaira for the 2023-24 Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional season, the organization announced on Monday.
Escobar had a career year in 2015, when he was an All-Star, won a Gold Glove, and was the American League Championship Series MVP when the Kansas City Royals defeated the Toronto Blue Jays. Escobar drove in five runs and had an OPS of 1.134 in 27 at-bats against the Blue Jays in the ALCS. Escobar also hit a home run in the World Series against the New York Mets. He hit three home runs, drove in 47 runs and stole 17 bases in 2015. Escobar played with the Royals for eight seasons from 2011-18.
Escobar, 36, born in La Sabana, Venezuela is a cousin of Atlanta Braves superstar outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and former MLB pitcher Kelvim Escobar. Alcides Escobar signed with the Milwaukee Brewers as an international free agent when he was 16 years old and made his debut in 2008 with Milwaukee, where he played for three seasons.
After his time with the Royals, Escobar went to play baseball in Japan with the Yakult Swallows in the Japan Central League in 2020. He hit one home run, drove in 30 runs and stole six bases in Japan. Escobar then came back to North America and finished out his career with the Washington Nationals, playing there for two seasons.
He was released by the Washington Nationals last year on August 3, 2022 after only playing in 42 games batting .218 with 131 plate appearances recording 27 hits, four doubles, two triples, no home runs, eight RBI, five walks, and striking out 32 times.
Escobar’s MLB career totals include 45 home runs, 478 RBI, 178 SB and a .640 OPS.
In 2023, he started his season in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, playing 55 games with Leones de Yucatan. He hit one home run and drove in 17 runs. Escobar was never known for his bat and was always a defense-first shortstop.
During the second half of the 2023 Liga Mexicana de Beisbol regular season, Escobar was picked up by the Acereros de Monclova on July 8 after he was released by Leones de Yucatan. Escobar played in 26 games with 119 plate appearances batting .330 recording 36 hits, four doubles, one triple, five home runs, 17 RBI, seven walks, and 14 strikeouts including a .890 OPS.
Last winter league season, Escobar played in 26 games with Tiburones de La Guaira batting .309 in 88 plate appearances recorded 25 hits, four doubles, seven RBI, two stolen bases, five walks, and nine strikeouts including a .714 OPS.
Escobar helped Tiburones de La Guaira reach the LVBP championship series losing to Leones del Caracas in six games off of Harold Castro’s walk off home run in the bottom of the eleventh inning from relief pitcher Johan Belisario.
Escobar played in all six games of the championship series with 25 at-bats hitting .190 recording four hits, two doubles, three RBI, one walk, and two strikeouts along with a .606 OPS.
The 2023-24 Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional winter league season will start in October during the middle of the Major League Baseball Playoffs. The 2023-24 season schedule will be announced in the next few weeks. No organizations have announced their schedule yet out of any of their social media pages.
The Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional has set its target dates for the opening day of the season for October 21 or 22, during the Major League Baseball playoffs, according to Manuel Gil of Meridiano.net, a Venezuelan news source. There will be 56 games during the LVBP 2023-24 season.