After nine seasons in the minor leagues, Andrés Chaparro made history in his MLB debut, lacing three doubles to help the Washington Nationals secure a 9-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!According to MLB’s Sarah Langs, Chaparro’s three doubles tied for the most in a debut since 1901. He also became the first player in Nationals franchise history to collect three hits in their debut.
Chaparro was traded to the Nationals a few weeks ago as part of the deal that brought reliever Dylan Floro to the Arizona Diamondbacks. While playing for the Reno Aces, Arizona’s Triple-A affiliate, Chaparro posted a .332 batting average, led the minor leagues in hits, scored 69 runs, and smashed 19 home runs.
After joining the Nationals, Chaparro played for the Rochester Red Wings, Washington’s Triple-A affiliate. A streak of four consecutive games with a home run eventually earned him his long-awaited call-up after being in the minor leagues since 2016.
Following his historic debut, the 25-year-old reflected, “As well as it went today, I couldn’t have dreamt a better dream—especially the fact that I was able to contribute the way I did to help the team win.”
Nationals manager Dave Martinez added, “But he had good at-bats all day, I loved it. He loves to play, you can see it in his eyes. It was a good day for him.”
In the stands for Chaparro’s debut were six close family members who made the trip from Utah to Baltimore to watch him and the Nationals take on the Orioles. Through team translator Octavio Martinez, Chaparro said, “I could hear them. I’m just very proud to have them here and excited. I just reflect on all the hard work and all the time that I put in for this moment. I got very emotional at times during the game.”
The Diamondbacks originally signed Chaparro on November 22nd of last year. He quickly rose in their prospect rankings and was valuable enough to be traded for a quality reliever like Dylan Floro.
Chaparro was one of two top prospects the Diamondbacks traded at the deadline, the other being Deyvison De Los Santos, who was sent to the Marlins in exchange for A.J. Puk. Since joining the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, Miami’s minor league affiliate, De Los Santos has hit five home runs in the past couple of weeks, bringing his season total to 33.
