Cougars outfielder Gabriel Maciel grew up as most children do in Brazil, playing soccer.
A neighbor who had played professional baseball in Japan introduced Maciel to the game at age 9, however, and he never looked back.
“Ever since then, I’ve been playing baseball,” Maciel said through his translator, Cougars pitcher Abraham Almonte. “There was a project where I’m from (Londrina, Brazil) where someone would pick me up after school and bring me down to play baseball.”
Brazil has the largest Japanese community outside of Japan, and those immigrants brought the game of baseball with them to the country.
It hasn’t taken hold as quickly as it has in other Latin American and South American countries, though it is growing. Five Brazilian-born players have reached the major leagues, including Cleveland All-Star catcher Yan Gomes.
That means that the 19-year-old Maciel is still picking up many nuances of the game.
“When I was in Brazil, they just taught us how to play the game,” Maciel said. “They didn’t teach the little things like how to steal bases, how to bunt in certain situations. I literally learned all of that when I got to the states.”
Maciel has learned quickly since the Diamondbacks signed him in 2015. He’s the second Brazilian-born player in the organization. Former Cougars pitcher Bo Takahashi was the first.
Baseball America ranked Maciel the 15th-best prospect in the Arizona organization coming into the season. The publication also tabbed the switch-hitter, who is a natural right-handed hitter, as the organization’s fastest base runner.
“His baseball instincts are young,” Cougars hitting coach Rick Short said. “Coming from Brazil, I think you have to keep that in mind. I think the athlete is way ahead of the baseball player. It’s our job to kind of mature that player. He’s starting to figure some things out.”
Maciel got off to a slow start in his first full professional season, hitting only .197 in June.
It’s been a whole different story lately, however. He extended his hitting streak to 18 games, the longest for a Cougar this season, with an RBI double and a single in Wednesday’s 6-0 win over Beloit at Northwestern Medicine Field.
The leadoff hitter is hitting .397 in July, including .455 in his last 10 games. He’s upped his season average to .288. He’s also 14-for-19 stealing bases this season.
“I don’t necessarily think there was a change,” Short said. “I think it’s him growing as a hitter. Just being a younger guy, he had to figure a few things out.”
Maciel said that the improvement wasn’t just mental, it was physical as well.
“I changed my approach a little bit and tweaked that in the cage,” Maciel said. “That’s been the key to my success.”
Maciel is quiet and subdued, which he says is a byproduct of learning the game from Japanese players. He’s also adjusting to a new culture. He’s bilingual, speaking Brazil’s primary language, Portuguese, and Spanish. He’s picking up English as he goes.
“The toughest thing is the routine here,” Maciel said. “I’m obviously not used to that. Then a new language, a new city, stuff like that. I’m trying to pick up a new word every day, learn something new every day.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News.