“All my minor league career I heard I was not going to be a big leaguer because I did not “look” like one. I was too short. I was too stocky. I did not have the physical traits customary associated with a Major League player,” Willians Astudillo wrote on Instagram on Friday. “Well here I am.”
Here he is. And, it’s true, the Minnesota Twins utitlityman’s build is not exactly traditionally linked to baseball ability at any position—5’9”, 225 pounds—let alone at every position. (Okay, “every” is an exaggeration, but only slightly: Astudillo’s 34-game big-league career has so far involved appearances at catcher, pitcher, first base, second base, third base, left field, center field, and designated hitter.