Yunel Escobar Almenares (born November 2, 1982) is a Cuban-born American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman.

Brayan Peña, a former teammate of Escobar with the Atlanta Braves, was his best friend growing up in Cuba, with the two boys often playing on the same team and sharing bats, gloves, and cleats.

"[3] Escobar's tense relationship with Cuban authorities in the aftermath of Peña's defection had limited his exposure to major league scouts.

Braves officials asked Peña countless questions about everything from Escobar's skill set to his command of English to his family background.

[7] "This is what I dreamed about when I first left Cuba and got to the United States", said Escobar, with Braves bench coach Chino Cadahia serving as an interpreter.

"[8] Escobar's first Major League home run came on June 4, 2007, against Florida Marlins pitcher Wes Obermueller.

[9] On July 27, 2007, in a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Escobar exhibited an uncanny sense of alertness (and riskiness) as the Braves were down 7–6 in the bottom of the ninth inning.

He scored from second on the next play as Willie Harris hit a two-out single, tying the game at 7–7 and completing a seven-run comeback for Atlanta.

[10] "You'd be shocked how many times players could do that, that don't", said Cox, who says he was successful with this daring attempt during his Major League days with the Yankees.

"[11] On August 5, 2007, Escobar recorded his first career walk-off hit against the Colorado Rockies in the 10th inning when he singled in Jeff Francoeur to give the Braves a 6–5 win.

[13][14] Due in part to Escobar's emergence, the Braves traded starting shortstop Édgar Rentería to the Detroit Tigers following the 2007 season for Jair Jurrjens and Gorkys Hernández.

"[15] On June 2, 2008, exactly one year after his major league debut, Escobar recorded his first career walk-off home run in a 7–5 victory over the Florida Marlins.

After several mental-lapses mid season (and some time spent on the bench), he recovered, committing just two errors in his last 75 games and hitting .299 with a career-high 14 home runs.

Escobar hit his second home run for the Blue Jays in his fourth game with the club, against Kansas City on July 19, 2010.

On June 19, 2011, the Blue Jays announced that Escobar had been signed to a two-year contract extension worth $10 million.

[20] On November 19, 2012, Escobar was traded to the Miami Marlins along with Adeiny Hechavarria, Henderson Álvarez, Jeff Mathis, Jake Marisnick, Anthony DeSclafani, and Justin Nicolino, in exchange for Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, José Reyes, John Buck, and Emilio Bonifacio.

[22] On September 26, 2013, Escobar became the last batter to ever face Mariano Rivera, popping out to second baseman Robinson Cano.

[23] On January 10, 2015, Escobar was traded to the Oakland Athletics with teammate Ben Zobrist in exchange for John Jaso, Daniel Robertson, and Boog Powell.

[25][26] On April 21, 2015, Escobar hit a walk-off home run against the St. Louis Cardinals in the 10th inning giving the Nationals a 2–1 win.

During a game against the Boston Red Sox on September 15, 2012, Escobar was photographed with the phrase "tu ere maricon" (the Spanish equivalent of "you are a faggot") written in his eye black.

Escobar apologized and stated that he did not intend his usage of the slur to be "misinterpreted" by the LGBT community, saying it is part of everyday repartee among Latino players and not seen as offensive.