Mario Encarnacion

Encarnación grew up in Baní where he was friends with Miguel Tejada. Encarnación dropped out of school at 15 years old to focus on baseball.: 114  In 1994, he signed a contract with the Oakland Athletics at the purported age of 16. Before traveling to the United States to play in Oakland's farm system, Encarnación borrowed and read psychology textbooks so that he could learn "how to talk to gringos." He also bought his mother her first telephone.: 167 
Encarnación was assigned to the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Midwest League to begin his professional career in 1996. In 1999, he won the Triple-A World Series with the Vancouver Canadians. By that December, he was described in the Los Angeles Times as Oakland's "best position-player prospect." He was so highly regarded by the Athletics that they declined a trade for All-Star outfielder Jim Edmonds in December 1999 reportedly because it…