Mario González Encarnación (September 24, 1975 – October 3, 2005) was a Dominican

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. He played for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

for a brief duration—23 games in and .

Early life

Encarnación grew up in Baní where he was friends with

Miguel Tejada Miguel Odalis Tejada ( Tejeda; born May 25, 1974) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for six teams, most notably the Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles, befor ...

. Encarnación dropped out of school at 15 years old to focus on baseball. In 1994, he signed a contract with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

at the purported age of 16. Before traveling to the United States to play in Oakland's

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, Encarnación borrowed and read

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

textbooks so that he could learn "how to talk to

gringo ''Gringo'' (, , ) (masculine) (or ''gringa'' (feminine)) is a term in Spanish and Portuguese for a foreigner, usually an English-speaking Anglo-American. There are differences in meaning depending on region and country. In Latin America, it is ge ...

s." He also bought his mother her first

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

Professional career

Minor League Baseball

Encarnación was assigned to the

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpark. ...

of the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

to begin his professional career in 1996. In 1999, he won the

Triple-A World Series The Triple-A World Series was an interleague postseason championship series between the league champions of the affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball to determine an overall champion of the classification held in 1983 and from 199 ...

with the

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadium. ...

. By that December, he was described in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' as Oakland's "best position-player prospect." He was so highly regarded by the Athletics that they declined a trade for All-Star

Jim Edmonds James Patrick Edmonds (born June 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and a broadcaster for Bally Sports Midwest. He played for the California/Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, ...

in December 1999 reportedly because it would have required them to part with Encarnación. Prior to the 2000 season, ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' ranked him the 90th-best prospect in baseball and the best position player prospect in the Oakland system. Shortly before the

trade deadline In professional sports within the United States and Canada, a trade is a sports league transaction between sports clubs involving the exchange of player rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets, draft p ...

in 2001, the Athletics traded Encarnación to the Colorado Rockies in a three-team deal that netted them

Jermaine Dye Jermaine Trevell Dye (born January 28, 1974) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. Dye grew up in Northern California and was a multi-sport star at Will C. Wood High School in Vacaville. Dye attended Cosumnes River College in ...

from the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

Major League Baseball

On August 26, 2001, the Rockies added Encarnación to their Major League roster for the first time following an injury to outfielder Mark Little. He made his debut that afternoon against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

Miller Park American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium used primarily for baseball. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Milwauk ...

. Though hitless in his debut, he walked in his first

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

against

Rubén Quevedo Rubén Eduardo Quevedo (; January 5, 1979 – June 7, 2016) was a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs (2000) and Milwaukee Brewers (2001–03). Career Quevedo was signed as an in ...

and later walked and stole a base against

Chad Fox Chad Douglas Fox (born September 3, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Fox played for the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox, Florida Marlins, and the Chicago Cubs. He won the 2003 World Series as a member of the Mar ...

and

Henry Blanco Henry Ramón Blanco (born August 29, 1971) is a Venezuelan professional baseball coach and former player. He is currently the catching and strategy coach for the Washington Nationals. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1997 to ...

. He would be a regular in Colorado's outfield for the remainder of the season alongside

Juan Pierre Juan D'Vaughn Pierre (born August 14, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2000–2013 for the Colorado Rockies, Florida/Miami Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Ch ...

and future

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

Larry Walker Larry Kenneth Robert Walker (born December 1, 1966) is a Canadian former professional baseball right fielder. During his 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played with the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals. I ...

. Encarnación entered

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

with the Rockies in 2002. During camp, amidst increased scrutiny from the

Immigration and Naturalization Service The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and the U.S. Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003. Referred to by some as former INS and by others as legacy INS, ...

following the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

, it was discovered that Encarnación was actually two years older than he had represented. His listed age increased from 24 to 26 years old. On April 4, 2002, the Chicago Cubs claimed Encarnación off waivers from the Rockies and designated

Julio Zuleta Julio Ernesto Zuleta Tapia (born March 28, 1975) is a former professional baseball player. He played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball, from 2000 to 2001, for the Chicago Cubs, and six seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball from 200 ...

for assignment. The following day, they added him to their active roster when outfielder

Moisés Alou Moisés Rojas-Alou Beltré (; ; born July 3, 1966) is a Dominican-American former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for 17 seasons in the National League. In 1,942 career games, Alou had a batting average of .303 with 2,134 hits, ...

was placed on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. He would appear in only three games for the Cubs before, on April 15, Alou returned from the disabled list and Encarnación was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

. He would not return to the Major Leagues again in his career. He spent the remainder of the season in Triple-A with the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

. In January 2003, Encarnación signed with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

. In May 2003, the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

traded a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

to the Montreal Expos for Encarnación and assigned him to the Triple-A

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

. They released him later that month.

KBO League

Encarnación finished the 2003 season with the

Lotte Giants The Lotte Giants ( ko, 롯데 자이언츠) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation, which also owns the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Pro ...

of the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

, beginning a career in Asian professional baseball. He was paired in the outfield with Venezuelan player Robert Perez under KBO rules which only allowed two foreign players per team to play at any one time. Although the Giants would win 39 games and lose 91, he would lead them in both

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. Encarnación returned to the Giants in 2004, albeit for only four games.

Chinese Professional Baseball League

Encarnación traveled to Taiwan to play for the Macoto Cobras of the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL) in the 2005 season. He was a CPBL All-Star and helped lead the team to a first half title.

Death

On October 3, he was found dead in his team dormitory room by a team employee after he missed a practice. There were no signs of forced entry in his room. He was survived by his wife, Rosana, and son, Mario. He was the first former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player to have died in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. Earlier in the season, he was briefly suspended for testing positive for

steroids A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and a ...

, leading to speculation regarding the role of drugs in his death. It had also been reported that he had been suffering from a bout of

gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea and gastro, is an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of energy, and dehydra ...

and had asked to be excused from that weekend's practices.

Autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...

reports later showed that he had died from a congenital medical condition. According to his father, however, the doctors at the

Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo The Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) (Autonomous University of Santo Domingo) is the public university system in the Dominican Republic with its flagship campus in the Ciudad Universitaria (lit. University City) neighborhood of San ...

who conducted the autopsy variously told him that the body was too decomposed to determine a cause of death and that he had died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

. Speculation abounded in the Dominican Republic that his death may have been related to a

match-fixing In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...

operation, something for which the Chinese Professional Baseball League was known. His family called on the Dominican government to conduct an inquiry into his death but, according to his father, "they didn't do anything." Encarnacion's body was transported back to the Dominican Republic from Taiwan by his team, while Miguel Tejada paid for his

headstone A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, da ...

at a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

in Baní.

Legacy

In 2006, the

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 yea ...

and ''

Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

'' writer Marcos Breton established the Mario Encarnacion Humanitarian Award which is given annually to "athletes who inspire others through their story, lead by example, and are role models to others."

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Encarnacion, Mario 1975 births 2005 deaths Águilas Cibaeñas players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in South Korea Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Chicago Cubs players Colorado Rockies players Edmonton Trappers players KBO League outfielders Lotte Giants players Macoto Cobras players Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Baseball players suspended for drug offenses Sportspeople from Baní Vancouver Canadians players West Michigan Whitecaps players Modesto A's players Huntsville Stars players Midland RockHounds players Sacramento River Cats players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Memphis Redbirds players Iowa Cubs players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Langosteros de Cancún players