If Edwin Encarnacion‘s career had unfurled the way he hoped it would, he’d still be a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.
That’s not to say that the 34-year-old slugger regrets signing with Cleveland in the off-season. Far from it. While he admits the transition hasn’t been easy, he says he’s happy with his new team.
But in part one of an exclusive sit-down interview with Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae, Encarnacion made clear that he’d hoped to finish his career in Toronto, and reflected on the city that will always hold important memories for him.
“It has been complicated, but I’m all right,” said Encarnacion, whose new team arrived in Toronto this week to face his former team for the first time this season. “I spent six years with one organization, and now being in a new organization takes some time, but slowly I have adjusted and am getting used to it.”
Speaking to Mae, Encarnacion spoke about the challenges of free agency—something he calls a “difficult stage” in his baseball career—and insisted that he doesn’t blame his agent for what transpired.
“I did not know that it was going to be this complicated,” he said of testing the market. “Several teams were interested in me. Then I asked God to take me to the team he believed I could play a good role on and the one I could go to the World Series with.”
Encarnacion is hoping to earn a ring with Cleveland, but he hasn’t forgotten the people who supported him before he became an offensive powerhouse. He had a bumpy road to stardom, but Blue Jays fans, he said, were always supportive.
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“I’ve been very happy with the fans in Toronto since I arrived in 2009,” he said. “Those were not my best years in the beginning, but I had the support of the fans at that stage, and later in 2011, when I began to turn around my career, they were always supporting me. I have never forgotten that from the beginning.
“I think they have always been the best fans in which I have played in front of,” he continued. “The experience I had there was unforgettable. Those were the first playoffs of my career and I feel very happy and very proud of the fans in Toronto.”
While the sight of the former Blue Jay in a new uniform is still an odd one for Toronto fans to take in, Encarnacion said he hoped for a warm welcome at his old stomping ground.
“I hope for their support, since it was a city that I will always hold in my heart,” he said. “I will never forget it.”
