My Two Cents: Junior Caminero's 'Star' Continues To Shine Brightly
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TAMPA, Fla. — Local Rays fans in Tampa Bay have already seen Junior Caminero's greatness, but he put on a performance for the ages in Atlanta early this week. He made it to the finals of the Home Run Derby on Monday night and had a hit in the All-Star Game on Tuesday.
His star is shining brightly. He's becoming a superstar in the game with a national reputation now, and he just turned 22 years old a few weeks ago on July 5. Everyone in baseball knows who Junior Caminero is now.
He had a blast in Atlanta, but he put all of that behind him. It's all about winning games with the Rays now, and making the postseason.
“I went there just to have fun. I was smiling the whole time. And now, I’m concentrating on helping the team win,'' Caminero said Friday night after hitting two home runs in helping the Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 11-1 at Steinbrenner Field. "The Home Run Derby and the All-Star game, that’s all behind me. My focus now is to win ballgames and help the team win.
“I came straight here (from Atlanta) and I was trying to get some rest. I got to the house and went to sleep at 6 p.m. and then I woke up yesterday at 10, so I was just trying to rest. That’s pretty good sleep.’’
Yeah, 16 hours is some serious sleep. Superstar sleep.
There's often talk about how competing in the Home Run Derby messes with hitters going forward, but that's mostly bunk from people who don't really know the game. Stats back it up, too. Caminero clearly didn't miss a beat Friday night.
In the first inning, Caminero came up with two on — Chandler Simpson doubled to open the inning and Yandy Diaz walked — and two out. He watched a curveball from Charlie Morton go by for a strike on the first pitch, but then smacked the second pitch — also a curveball — 439-feet into the left-field seats for a 3-0 lead.
It was exactly the start the Rays needed. They wound up winning easily, and that was big considering the way the first half ended, with an ugly 2-8 road trip that finished with a four-game sweep at Boston. They Rays needed a quick re-set, and they got it.
Thank you, Junior.
“It was tremendous. I felt really good. Thank God I was able to hit that home run today,'' Caminero said. "I came in today, and I felt good. We are going to have our ups and downs. That’s part of baseball. But it was great that we were able to come and get a win today.''
Caminero now has 25 home runs, and in the American League, only Seattle's Cal Raleigh — who beat him in the finals of the Home Run Derby — and New York's Aaron Judge have more. He has 64 RBIs,and only Raleigh, Judge, Detroit's Riley Greene and Taylor Ward of the Los Angeles Angels top him.
He's becoming everything the Rays thought he could be, the next great thing. He has a great work ethic — especially for a kid — and he works hard at making adjustments when pitchers are trying to adjust to him. No one wants to see him in the batter's box right now.
What's also great to see is he's becoming a solid third baseman defensively. He made several nice plays Friday night, and that's becoming the norm.
“It’s just the work that I’ve been putting in with Brady. I have to give him a lot of credit because I’ve been working working hard with him,'' Caminero said. "(Rays manager Kevin Cash) told me, just be yourself. That’s what I’ve been doing and you guys are seeing the results.''
Caminero wasn't alone with big-time production on Friday. Teammate Yandy Diaz hit a grand slam in the sixth inning, the second of his career. It was great to see him firing right out of the box, too, even though his break was completely different from Caminero's.
He didn't do a damn thing.
Cash was even able to joke about it, wondering if Diaz was even at the ballpark when he showed up on Friday. Diaz didn't do anything over the break — literally nothing, not even touching a bat — and when he got to Steinbrenner Field, he took maybe five swings and was ready to go.
Apparently so.
“He’s pretty amazing,” Cash said.
It was a big first night for the Rays, a great way to start the home stretch. This is a big homestand, right out of the gate against two last-place teams, the Orioles and Chicago White Sox. They need to roar out of the gate to get back in the playoff picture. One win was nice, and now they need to get more.
You want your stars carrying you late in the season. Caminero and Diaz — and, to some extent, Taj Bradley — did all of that Friday night.
Now they need to do it again.
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Tom Brew is the publisher of ''Tampa Bay Rays on SI'' and has been with the Sports Illustrated platform since 2019. He has worked at some of America's finest newspapers, including the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He owns eight sites on the "On SI'' network and has written four books.
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