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By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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Junior Caminero is still just 23 years old, but he is already a veteran of two postseason games with the Tampa Bay Rays. When he takes the field Saturday, Oct. 3 in the Rays' American League Division Series against the New York Yankees, it will mark the third baseman's first postseason game since 2023, when he was a 20-year-old rookie.
By getting started young, Caminero will have a chance to face the player he considered his favorite growing up in the Dominican Republic if the Rays and San Diego Padres meet in the World Series.
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"We grew up watching Manny Machado," Caminero said Wednesday. "He's my favorite player. Manny is a good example for me every single day. I talk to Manny a lot. We played in the WBC together this year. I mean, unbelievable. That's the best baseball moment in my life.
"So Manny Machado, for me, is my favorite player."
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A Rays-Padres matchup isn't impossible. And it would give Caminero another chance to hook up with his favorite player as a kid. Machado, 34, made his big league debut in 2012 with the Baltimore Orioles. He was 20 at the time. Caminero was only 9.
Caminero played in both of the Rays' games during the 2023 AL wild-card series against the Texas Rangers as a rookie. He came off the bench as a pinch hitter in both games, going 0-for-2.
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What happened next was perhaps even better than the Rays could've hoped.
Caminero blossomed into a two-time All-Star. This year, he started all 162 games at third base, becoming only the fourth Rays player to play in 162 games in a season, and the eighth third baseman to do so since MLB expanded the regular season to 162 games.
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"Kevin Cash, the manager, gave me the confidence every single day, to stay in the lineup every single day," he said.
Caminero put up the numbers to justify his spot in the lineup: 42 home runs, 101 RBIs, a .276/.360/.524 slash line and a career-high 5.7 bWAR.
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Mountain Dew named Caminero the Baja Blast Champion for hitting 21 home runs in excess of 420 feet. When a qualifying home run was hit, fans could visit the website to claim a free can of Baja Blast while supplies lasted. The program gave fans a reason to watch for monster home runs all season long.
“When I go to home plate, I try to hit a homer every at-bat. I was thinking, this at-bat, Baja Blast Championship.”
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