When the Phillies traded for Carlos Estévez, the team and fans knew they were getting a bonafide closer. Little did they know, they were also getting a Saiyan hero.
Saiyan refers to the race from the long-running “Dragon Ball” manga and anime. Some video-game-savvy folks may also think it looks like a Hadouken from the “Street Fighter” franchise.
Carlos Estévez cleared that up quickly, “I was never good at Street Fighter so whenever they say that’s a Hadouken, I’m like “I…don’t know.” “I paid more attention to Dragon Ball Z.”
How does a baseball closer pick up an anime finisher? Well, it’s more of a nod to a legend and a community than anything.
“I started at the beginning of the year this year in Anaheim,” said Estévez. “Akira Toriyama, the guy who created Dragon Ball, he passed away. In Anaheim, there’s a big Japanese community and they know I love Dragon Ball. I was talking to Manny Del Campo one of the bullpen catchers and he was like “Man, you like Dragon Ball and right now we don’t have a celebration. You should do a Kamehameha!” I’m down!”
Estevez has favorites
To understand further, Akira Toriyama was a legendary manga artist (akin to comic books in the US). He passed away on March 1st of this year unexpectedly at age 68 from an acute subdural hematoma. His work on Dragon Ball and its sequels inspired millions around the world. His mix of humor and messaging of learning from defeat meant so much to so many.
Estévez, a 6′ 6″ closer, is included in that group. He revealed his favorite characters in the franchise. “First my favorite was Gohan [the son of main character Goku],” said Estévez. “My favorite overall is Vegeta. He’s the one that got the most character development. He was the worst of the worst. Now, he grew up. He got a better heart. He’s a better guy. He’s a man of his family now.”
He was also a fan of the video games created from the anime. “I was nasty at Budokai Tenkaichi,” said Estévez. “From Budokai 1, all the way to Tenkaichi 3, I was pretty nasty.”
For those interested, he said 2 was the best one of the series.
Coming to a contender
When Carlos Estévez was on the Angels, he wasn’t surprised he was on the trade block. “I’ve been in baseball for a while,” said Estévez. “I kind of knew but I didn’t give it a lot of thought.”
On July 27th, Estévez was traded from the Angels to the Phillies for two pitching prospects. He was excited to come to one of the best teams in baseball.
“Man, I was really pumped. I got a text from Jeff Hoffman right away because we played together in Colorado. I was like “AH let’s go! I’m going to this group of guys!”.
Estévez has only pitched once in the postseason before. In 2017, he appeared for a third of an inning against the Diamondbacks in the Wild Card Game (back when it was one game). Estévez made sure to note that “It counts. I don’t care what they say.”
But Estévez is excited for the playoffs in Philadelphia.
Teammates told him last week “You got a taste of postseason baseball with that series against Atlanta.” That fueled Estévez. “If that’s how it’s gonna feel every day I’m down man”, said the Phillies’ rifleman. “I know the drug of sports is playoffs.”
Photo Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
