J.P. Arencibia’s debut was quite an occasion. Not only did he homer on the first pitch he saw in the majors, he hit two in the game. With four hits, he missed the cycle by a triple.
At 24, Arencibia is an old rookie. He posted good power numbers throughout his minor league career. The difference this season, and what may make him a good major league hitter, is that he figured out how to get on base. His career .318 OBP is poor, but he brought that up to .360 this season. Part of that was raising his batting average, but he also increase the spread between his BA and OBP as he raised his walks as well. Of course, a high power, low OBP hitter would fit in perfectly with the current flock of Blue Jays, but if the team is going to the next level, they need fewer out machines.
The eye surgery he had at the end of last season might have helped. After the game he was being interviewed and he was given a shaving creme towel, a bucket of gatorate, a bucket of water, and another towel of shaving creme. Great to see.