Phillies rookie Gabriel Rincones Jr. takes pride in representing Scotland in the majors
His family moved from Venezuela to Glenrothes, Scotland, when he was 6 years old. He lived there until age 12. Rincones, who still has a Scottish accent, honored Scotland with a walkup song last week.
WASHINGTON — Bryce Harper had a suggestion for Gabriel Rincones Jr.
The Phillies rookie spent his formative years living in Scotland due to his father’s work there as an offshore safety adviser in the oil industry, and his parents and sisters still live there.
Harper was sitting down one day with Zack Wheeler when Rincones walked by and said hello.
Harper started playing the bagpipes on his phone, and told Rincones that he should incorporate the Scottish instrument into one of his walk-up songs.
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“Hell, yeah,” Rincones said.
He settled on “Scotland the Brave,” a patriotic Scottish song played on the bagpipes, and walked up to it in his second at-bat at home last Tuesday. (Rincones’ main walk-up song is “Zombie” by the Irish band The Cranberries.)
It was a special moment, hearing a traditional Scottish song before a major league at-bat, but Rincones doesn’t think he will stick with it.
“It just gets me too riled up,” he said. “It’s like I can’t focus.”
But even if it isn’t soundtracked by the bagpipes, Rincones still takes pride in representing Scotland on the major league stage. His family moved from Venezuela to Glenrothes, Scotland, when he was 6 years old. He lived there until age 12, when he moved back to Venezuela to pursue a baseball career, and ended up in Florida after that.
“That I have some part of representing Scotland is awesome,” Rincones said. “I grew up there, have friends there, ties there.”
Scotland was where Rincones first learned English, so he actually speaks with a Scottish accent.
When he’s in the United States, though, he is able to switch into an American accent. But when speaking to his family or friends back in Scotland, he slips back into it. After Phillies outfield coach Paco Figueroa told newly acquired Derek Hill that Rincones grew up in Scotland, Hill thought he was joking until Rincones broke out the accent to prove it.
“I get stuck speaking like this sometimes. I just can’t get my words up, but when it’s talking with my friends back home, or my little sister, it’s just fluid,” he said.
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Rincones also loves haggis, a traditional Scottish dish made of sheep organs that he would often eat at restaurants growing up.
He visits his family in Glenrothes, Scotland in the offseason, usually spending Christmas there. It can be hard to train for baseball while he’s there, so he sometimes has to get creative for batting practice.
“I bought this little BP machine, where it throws like little tiny balls and you can make it throw curveballs and stuff,” Rincones said. “But it’s so windy over there that I can’t just do it outside. I have to go to a fitness center and then rent out half a basketball court.”
It’s been fun for Rincones to watch the Tartan Army — the supporters of Scotland’s national soccer team — take over baseball stadiums while they are in the U.S. for the World Cup. Many Scotland supporters went to a Red Sox game at Fenway Park last week for Scottish Heritage night, a day after their team beat Haiti in its first match.
And ahead of its next match against Brazil in Miami on Wednesday, hundreds of Scottish fans — including a group of bagpipers — caught a Marlins game at LoanDepot Park on Monday night.
“They’ve never cared about baseball, but they just want to have a good time,” Rincones said.
In Rincones’ experience, the baseball community in Scotland is very niche. He played in a men’s league in Scotland with his father growing up to stay involved in the game he loved before eventually moving away to pursue it more seriously.
His friends used to tease him about his major league dreams, and now many of them stay up late into the night to catch MLB games from across the Atlantic.
But no matter how small the community may be, Rincones is proud to have a chance to represent it.
“A part of me is always going to be in Scotland,” he said.
Extra bases
Kyle Schwarber was scratched from Tuesday’s game shortly before first pitch with low back tightness. Edmundo Sosa replaced him in the lineup as designated hitter. ... Aaron Nola (3-4, 5.71 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday against Nationals right-hander Miles Mikolas (2-6, 5.47).
Father's Day will hit a little differently this year for Don and Preston Mattingly. After years of working in baseball for different teams, often on opposite sides of the country, they are together with the Phillies as the first father-and-son manager-and-GM combination ever. Preston Mattingly joins Phillies Extra to discuss working with his dad, as well as the Phillies' decision to demote Andrew Painter to the minors and their preparations for the trade deadline. Watch here.
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