Eduardo Escobar travels to Miami for sons’ green cards, gets RBI in return
Jun 28, 2019, 2:07 PM
Arizona Diamondbacks' Eduardo Escobar watches his RBI single during the first inning of the team's baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Thursday, June 13, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eduardo Escobar had quite the busy travel day Thursday as he went to help his sons get their green cards in Miami.
The team was traveling to San Francisco on Wednesday when Escobar was on his way to Miami thanks to D-backs owners providing a private jet to get him there.
His sons, Eduardo Jr., 11, and Raul, 8, were there to receive their green cards as the two boys now wait to gain their citizenship to the United States.
Escobar, a native of Venezuela, was thrilled by the help from the D-backs.
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”I’m really happy. It was special for my kids, they’re the most important in my life,” Escobar told the Associated Press. ”My team took care of me and did a great job giving me a private plane. A lot of work. I’m so happy. I so appreciate what they did.”
Even his manager, Torey Lovullo, was impressed by the generosity of the D-backs owners.
”It’s pretty amazing. We have incredible ownership here,” Lovullo said, per the AP. ”Eduardo needed to get to Miami to take care of some immigration issues. Everything’s OK, but he decided he was going to do a round-trip after the game yesterday against the Dodgers at home. He boarded a plane that was provided by the Arizona Diamondbacks and went straight to Miami and came back today. It just speaks volumes about what ownership is willing and is capable of doing for somebody in a time of need like that.”
The third baseman left Thursday from Miami to San Francisco in hopes of being in the starting lineup against the Giants.
However, Lovullo didn’t put Escobar in the lineup, because the team wasn’t sure what time he would arrive at the ballpark.
He got there right before 5 p.m. and replaced Jake Lamb in the sixth inning as part of a double switch by Lovullo, who took out rookie Alex Young after his first major league start.
In the ninth inning, Escobar knocked in a run with a base hit, expanding the lead to 5-1.
The D-backs went on to win the game 5-1 after Young went five innings and only gave up one run on three hits.
