EVERETT — Dimas Ojeda stepped on Everett Memorial Stadium’s home plate after yet another home run Monday, touched his chest and pointed to the heavens.
It was the fourth homer for Ojeda since he joined the AquaSox in mid-July. Entering Thursday’s matinee contest at Vancouver, the Everett outfielder was hitting .328 with a .366 on-base percentage, a .567 slugging percentage and had four homers, four doubles, 12 RBI and a .933 on-base-plus-slugging-percentage in 16 games with the Frogs.
No one seems to be having more fun than Ojeda, either. He’s always smiling and constantly chattering both in English and Spanish depending on which teammates he’s speaking to.
“He definitely has a good time,” Everett hitting coach Brian Hunter said. “He brings a great energy to the ball club and we’re super-excited to have him as well. We’ve all been playing baseball since we were little kids, most players, and we want to make sure we continue to have a good time and not put too much stress and pressure on ourselves.”
Yet, Ojeda knows stress that has nothing to do with baseball. The chest touch and skyward point, though celebratory, are also evidence of that.
They are for his older brother, Joe Manuel, who died in a car accident in January in Florida. Joe Manuel, 29 at the time of his death, was studying underwater welding in Jacksonville.
“I realize we don’t have a lot of time here on Earth,” Ojeda said. “I’ll always play for my family, but now it’s just different. I know he’s watching me from up there. I wish he was watching me from the stands like I’m used to seeing him in the stands. I think that’s probably the hardest part for me to be honest.”
Ojeda’s homage to his late brother underscores the closeness of the Ojeda family. His parents, Manuel and Roselia, grew up in Mexico with nine siblings each before they immigrated to the United States together a quarter-century ago.
Dimas, 20, was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and was followed by Pearla, 18, Aaron, 15, and Angela, 13. For the past 25 years Manuel has supported the family by working at the Tyson Chicken plant in Fort Worth.
“They’re the only thing I have outside of baseball,” Dimas said of his family. “I have (teammates) — they’re family here — but my family that have been (family) my whole life is back home. That’s the only thing I have, so I have to value it. Family, that’s something we have and that’s not even secure, because we’re all going to go away from this world at some point. But it’s something we have secure while we’re here.”
Manuel first encountered the sport after moving to Texas and played in Sunday recreational leagues before introducing Dimas to the game.
Ojeda, who hits and throws left-handed, had always played first base until this spring when his coaches at McLennan Community College moved him to the outfield to keep his bat in the lineup.
The Mariners took him in the 17th round of this year’s draft and Ojeda has spent most of his time in left field. The fact that he is relatively new to the position means he hasn’t really developed any bad habits that have to be unlearned.
“Especially at this age if you’ve been doing something for a lot of years the wrong way that’s a hard habit to break,” Hunter said. “But if you haven’t developed any (bad habits) it’s a lot easier to go in and teach somebody some new movements.”
But more importantly, the AquaSox have taken in Ojeda as their own when he joined the team after he played 17 games for the Arizona Mariners.
For a kid playing far from his parents and siblings, that can make a big difference.
“I absolutely love it here,” Ojeda said. “It was awesome to get the call-up first off, and then these guys welcomed me like a family. So I went from one family to another family so that was a really good experience so far.”
Joe Manuel may be gone and his actual family is half a continent away, but they’re never far from Ojeda’s thoughts. The chest touch and skyward point make sure of that.
“We always consider ourselves kind of a wolfpack family and we’re missing one,” Ojeda said. “I have faith that I’ll see him again.”
For the latest AquaSox news follow Jesse Geleynse on Twitter @jessegeleynse.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
