Texas Rangers fall victim to Edwin Encarnacion curse once again

Once again, the Texas Rangers suffer at the hands of Edwin Encarnacion and his bat on Opening Day.

It all began back in the year 2000, when the Texas Rangers took a high schooler from Puerto Rico. They took Edwin Encarnacion in the ninth round of the June Amateur Draft with very little fanfare. Yet through recent history, he’s really provided some severe beatings to the team that drafted him.

The Early Years

Encarnacion didn’t make it very long within the Texas Rangers organization. Just one year and ten days after they selected the young third baseman in the draft, they sent him off to Cincinnati with hard-luck prospect Ruben Mateo for pitching prospect Rob Bell. Thus began phase one of the curse.

In hindsight, the trade really didn’t make much sense. Granted, you know what they say about hindsight, but still. Mateo never really materialized as the five-tool player he originally projected as.

Meanwhile, Encarnacion went on to belt nine home runs and drive in 31 runs in what amounted to less than half of a season. By 2007 he became an everyday player at third base. As for Bell, he retired from baseball in 2007.

The Middle Years

More from Dallas Sports

He played well with Cincinnati, but the Reds didn’t fare too well as a whole. Stuck out of playoff contention at the non-waiver trade deadline in 2009, they sent him to the Toronto Blue Jays with Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart for Scott Rolen. This marked the start of phase two of the curse.

It took Encarnacion a bit of time to acclimate himself to American League ball. He batted .243 in his first season and a half with Toronto. His 13 home runs and 39 RBIs certainly didn’t invoke any hope about his future as a slugger. Yet, he pressed on and went to work on his revenge.

He didn’t do much to the Rangers at that time, either. Now keep in mind, they were in the midst of their greatest postseason successes to date and were the team to beat in the AL. But Encarnacion lured them into a false sense of security during those years, forcing the Rangers to take him lightly.

The Wonder Years

What would you do if I sang out of tune . . . Okay, but seriously. As if a light switch had been flipped, the Dominican-born wonder, who was once cast aside like a six day-old slice of deli ham decided it was time to begin his reckoning. He began his full-on assault on the Rangers and the American League, marking the beginning of phase three of his curse.

In 2012, Encarnacion had a remarkable season with 42 home runs and 110 runs batted in. Somehow, he only finished 11th in MVP voting. Of course, that probably had more to do with the Blue Jays finishing 73-89 that season than with his value to the team.

While he never brought much trouble to the Rangers in his first three seasons in the AL, he woke up in 2012. If you look closely, you’ll see Texas’s fall away from back-to-back World Series appearances correlates perfectly with Encarnacion’s ascension to All-Star caliber.

That year, he batted .294 with four home runs and nine RBIs against the Rangers. He slugged .647 with a .385 on base percentage and began to mete out his punishment. Encarnacion once again made Texas feel safe in 2013 and 2014 by toning things down a bit. He homered just once and batted .211. He had the Rangers right where he wanted them going into the 2015 season.

The Judgement Years, Part One

In 2015, Encarnacion decided to begin his annihilation and open up phase four of his curse. During the regular season, he batted .292 with four home runs and 11 RBIs in just six games against Texas. Only the New York Yankees felt more wrath from him, but they also played him a lot more. Besides, he didn’t have a vendetta against them. They meant nothing to him.

The Texas Rangers were his real target. But nothing he did to them in the regular season could prepare them for what he began doing to them in October.

While his .333 ALDS average may not seem like much, it was less about what he did to the Rangers than when he did it. He clubbed a decisive game five home run in the bottom of the sixth off Texas starter Cole Hamels to even the score at two. Hamels had played well all afternoon and the Rangers looked like the better team. That’s when Encarnacion stepped into action and decided to really begin crushing Rangers players and fans. We all know how that series ended.

The Judgement Years, Part Two

Yet in 2016, Encarnacion did not relent as he ripped open the seal on phase five. He posted a nice .296 regular season average against them with three home runs and nine RBIs. But his .424 OBP and .741 SLG% told the story of his domination more. But just like the season before, he saved his best for the playoffs.

Encarnacion unleashed the fury on Texas, but started doing it against Baltimore in the Wild Card game. With Most Rangers fans expecting a date against the Orioles, Encarnacion pulled out his magic wand and blasted an epic walkoff three run blast in the bottom of the 11th. This set up a rematch between Toronto and Texas, which some Rangers fans really had no interest in.

In game one of the 2016 ALDS, Encarnacion proceeded to go two for five and score twice in a 10-1 bloodletting of the Rangers. The second game of the series featured a back-breaking home run by Encarnacion in the top of the fifth. It broke the back of Texas because it was the third Toronto blast of the inning and extended the lead to 5-1 for the Blue Jays.

But as if that wasn’t enough, he sent one more parting shot in game three. His two-run screamer off Colby Lewis set the tone that all of this series are belonged to him. From there, the Blue Jays dominated again and the Rangers went home quietly. While it seemed his plan had been completed, he was only just beginning.

The Dawn Of A New Era

In the offseason, Encarnacion left Toronto and signed a deal with the Cleveland Indians. The Rangers got in on the bidding, but having been scorned back in 2001, it’s likely he never even gave Texas a chance.

When all was said and done, the slugger inked a three year deal worth $65 million with a team option for a fourth year worth $20 million. Once again, he absolutely pummeled the Texas Rangers and began working on phase six of his curse. This set the stage for Monday night’s opener between the Indians and Rangers.

Encarnacion quietly singled in the fourth inning with the Indians trailing 5-1. It seemed harmless, but he knew what he was doing. From first base, he signaled to Jose Ramirez to do the “two run homer play” and that, he did. This put the score at 5-3.

From there, Encarnacion would quietly wait for the right moment to get the Indians back into the game. That moment came in the eighth.

With one out and Texas clinging to a one-run lead, Encarnacion stepped into the box. He then demolished a 1-2 pitch from Matt Bush to left-center field to the tie the game. This reignited Cleveland and they went on to take the ballgame 8-5.

Next: Sport DFW's top five baseball movies of all time

But we’re all now aware of his curse. It’s up to the Rangers to break it. They’ll take a stab at it with two more games to close out the series. Martin Perez and Hamels will try to do what they can against him. At least though, the problem is now made public. With public awareness and some good old-fashioned claws and antlers, Texas might be able to overcome this thing. And with 161 more to go, anything is possible.

Home/Dallas Sports

Texas Rangers can’t shake curse of Edwin Encarnacion

By Stephen Francis | Apr 4, 2017