Expectations were low for Ender Inciarte coming into 2021, and he met them. Injuries and ineffectiveness limited him to 89 plate appearances before he was released on July 29th.
The .215/.276/.316 batting line he posted reinforced the notion that his .190/.262/.250 performance in the Covid shortened 2020 season was not a fluke, and it marked his 3rd straight disappointing season. He posted a .246/.343/.397 line in 2019; injuries limiting him that season to 230 plate appearances.
Inciarte was signed to a minor league contract by Cincinnati in August, and released later that month. He signed a minor league contract with the Yankees in December.
Even after all the recent disappointments, Ender is still a .280 career hitter, and will try again as a 31 year old to swim against the tide of time and recover his peak form. Ender won 3 Gold Gloves and was named to an All-Star team with the Braves. I wish him good health and good luck.
Ender Enciarte was once an anagram for “Nicer Retained.”
He is now an anagram for “I Cratered Nine,” or maybe “Certain Denier”
Ender seems like an exceptionally nice guy, and peak Ender Inciarte was the kind of player I like watching the most (a defensive maestro who could do a little bit of everything on offense), so I was always pulling for him to reverse his nosedive and return to being the quality of player that could help a competitive team, long past the point where that was at all likely. (I was still crossing my fingers that he had it in him as recently as this past season.) Certainly looks like he’s finished as a player now, but I’ll be stunned if he doesn’t land on his feet in coaching or player development.
All the stuff I read about Inciarte mentoring Cristian Pache as he was gearing up to take his job told me everything I needed to know about his character. What a swell fella.
Then again – seeing how well Pache did last year…
I like Ender too. There’s not a whole lot left to say about the situation that hasn’t already been said, but I believe most of us are wishing him well going forward.
Thank you, Rusty.
Loved Ender’s best years. Wish there had been more of them.
Go Dawgs.
I’ve gotten a (likely well-deserved) reputation as an Ender hater on Twitter. That has never been the case. In the offseason of 2017, I wrote a piece (somewhere) about the idea of selling high on Ender. The next day, I found that Ender himself had blocked me on Twitter.
I’ve never hated Ender. That would be silly. I don’t know him. What I did feel about Ender was that he was a player with 1 outstanding skillset that, with age, would likely deteriorate and leave behind a very empty player (see Dan Uggla). Unfortunately for Ender, I was correct in that assumption.
So Ender…if you’re out there and for whatever reason, you read Braves Journal, hear me out: I don’t hate you. XOXO ~Ryan
#5
Sic ’em.
@6 Sometimes it stinks to be right. For a player that has acted with a lot of class toward his former team and organization he sure was always quick on the block button when he was remotely criticized
I could absolutely understand not wanting to internalize every random bit of internet criticism you receive. Why even look at it? Playing pro baseball is hard enough without wondering if every anonymous internet nerd might be right about your pitch selection or the hitch in your swing or whether you’ve lost a step.
Especially given you probably get hundreds of people telling you to take a long walk off a short pier every time you go 0-for-4. Being a public figure on the internet is not fun.
Today I woke up with the realization that this may be the last day I get to say “1980”. Good luck, Dawgs, but it’s hard to bet against Saban, especially against his assistants. But may the best team win, whoever that may be. Hard to argue that the rematch advantage doesn’t go to the Dawgs.
@6 I’d say Ender had more than one skillset. He could run (118 SBs in his career with a career high of 28), his hit tool was evident for his short peak (.300/.347 in 1,800 PAs between ’15 and ’17), and he played great defense with an above-average arm. I feel like he earned those 3 straight 3 WAR seasons by being a good, solid, well-rounded player.
I suppose it’s not completely unrealistic for him to reproduce something like his 2018 hitting line (.265/.325/.380) in a part-time role playing all 3 OF positions for some club. More likely, his body is shot, and he’s made a nice $31M, and I’ll always thoroughly appreciate his professionalism and on-field performance in Atlanta.
And hopefully he just stays the hell off Twitter. He’s the most block-happy player I’ve ever seen on Twitter, and that ain’t good for the soul and the noggin. Sometimes I think it really hurts these guys to have unique names since it means you’re easier to find. Florida’s QB Emory Jones has clearly been searching the unique name of “Emory” on Twitter because he’s been blocking people and responding to people and whatnot. Guys, put the phone in the cupboard.
Good game.
Just curious, has a Saban coached Bama team ever had a losing season?
It’s a trick question, coop. In his first year at Alabama (2007) he went 7-6. But Alabama was forced to forfeit 5 of those victories from the cheating scandal that started under the previous coach, Mike Shula, and continued until they were discovered halfway into Saban’s first year.
His worst record as a head coach was 6-6 with Michigan State in 1996.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Saban
Stetson Bennett looks like Screech.
Thank you, JF.
Braves and Dawgs. Who’d have guessed?
Woohoo!
My eldest daughter was at the game. Christina gets all credit from me. She claims it anyway.
The Power of the Dawg…
Now go celebrate, watch the great movie.
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-power-of-the-dog-movie-review-2021
HBT_D!! It’s all the more significant for having beaten Bama to do it. (Sorry, Mac)
OK, back to baseball.
If Kirby can help put Saban closer to retirement, then that’s great. Wishful thinking. But very happy for Braves and Dawg fans. What a year. Kirby’s a great coach, built a great staff, and he earned it.
I tell ya what, though, I’d be pissed if my team made me wait 41 years for a championship…
Rob, I’m glad you’re not a Hawks or Falcons fan…
HBTD?
Rob Manfred unlocked the seals for Georgia sports championships.
Congrats to all the Dawgs on the board.
New thread.
https://bravesjournal.mystagingwebsite.com/2022/01/11/braves-2021-player-review-luke-jackson/