Thursday March 21, 2024 – 12:00 am
Keep competing in the best baseball in the world
His story began in 2006, when Paolo Espino was chosen in the Major League Baseball draft, by the then Cleveland Indians, now the Guardians, as the 311th pick in the tenth round, and 18 years later the right-hander continues to compete in the best baseball in the world.
This preseason he is fighting for a spot on the Toronto Blue Jays team.
“I am very grateful to still be here, at my age, competing for the opportunity to stay in the Major Leagues. I’m here to do anything. Whatever is needed. No matter how many entries they need. If I have to start, I will start. If I have to come out of the bullpen, I’ll come out of the bullpen. I know that’s my role. I have to be able to do everything I can to stay in the game,” the veteran told www.sportsnet.ca.
And Espino knows a lot about perseverance, since he was in the Minor Leagues waiting for an opportunity for 10 years, until the Milwaukee Brewers gave it to him in 2017.
He recognizes that his faithful friend has been the curve, thanks to it he has managed to survive in the complicated art of throwing.
“The way I throw my curveball, I’m not afraid to say, is what has kept me in the game. Even in Little League and high school, I always knew my curveball was good, because I could see the shape and I could use it to make a lot of swings and misses. But throughout my years in pro ball, all these TrackMan stats and data come out, and now everyone tells me that my curveball has a really high spin rate and a lot of movement. I was like, ‘Cool. When do I launch next?’” He said, the man from the capital who has had a healthy career.
Espino says that he still has a few active seasons left.
“It’s nice to still be here, at my age, competing for a job. Compete for the opportunity to stay in the big leagues,” he concluded.
2024-03-22 01:57:22
#Espino #celebrates #years #professional
