HOUSTON _ It's hard to imagine, watching him this year, that Jesus Aguilar ever lacked confidence.
After all, this is the happy-go-lucky first baseman with an infectious personality. He's laughing and smiling constantly. He puffed cigars with teammates after their wild-card series victory over the Chicago Cubs. He's a vocal presence in the clubhouse who helped keep the team upbeat as they maneuvered through the COVID-19 outbreak at the start of the year.
But, yes, Aguilar came into the 2020 season in need of a pick-me-up. He was coming off the worst season of his short big-league career, one in which he had a .236 batting average and saw his slugging percentage drop 150 points.
It turns out, a change of scenery paid dividends. The Miami Marlins claimed him off waivers in December after the Tampa Bay Rays designated him for assignment with the hopes he would return to his All-Star form and that he could be a veteran presence of sorts for a young roster even though he only had three MLB seasons under his belts.
The move paid off for both ends. The Marlins are in the playoffs, prepping for their best-of-5 National League Division Series matchup with the Atlanta Braves, which begins at 2:08 p.m. Tuesday at Houston's Minute Maid Park. Aguilar has found his mojo again and has become a staple in the Marlins' lineup as they continue this playoff run.
"I feel good here," Aguilar said. "I feel like I can do my job here. I've had a good year this year. We've got Donnie (Marlins manager Don Mattingly) over there. We've got a great group of coaches over there. I feel happy here. I think that's why I've had a successful year. It's a great year for us. It's a great year for the organization. We've shown it."
Aguilar, one of five players who has been on the Marlins' active roster all season, led Miami with 31 runs scored and was tied for the team lead with 10 doubles this season while also ranking second in RBI (34) and home runs (eight). He posted a career-high .277 batting average over 188 at-bats and 51 games while splitting time between first base and designated hitter.
Coupled with his outgoing personality, Aguilar quickly gained respect from his teammates.
"When you're performing on the field," Mattingly said, "your voice gets a little more attention in the clubhouse. He's been playing well. He's a guy we counted on for a bounceback."
Added CEO Derek Jeter: "This is a very difficult and challenging year to play through and to play in stadiums with no fans, you need people who are going to bring energy. Jesus is one of those guys. He's rubbed off on our young players as well and we wouldn't be in the position that we're in right now if it wasn't for the acquisition of Jesus."
The Marlins were optimistic about their chances of making the playoffs from the start, even before the season was truncated to 60 games due to the coronavirus pandemic.
For Aguilar, reality truly started to sink in after they won five of seven games against the Phillies to start their 15-game homestand in mid-September. The main group of players sidelined by COVID-19 were back. The roster was at its strongest. The final push was there.
"There's a lot of people talking. 'Oh, the Marlins aren't going to get in.' A lot of people talking trash about us," Aguilar said. "After that moment, we started believing 100% that we can go to the postseason and we made it."
But making it was just the first goal. The Marlins want to keep this playoff run going as long as they can.
Aguilar and his refound confidence will be a big part of it.
" I think we have the right pieces," Aguilar said. "We've got the right guys. Now let's see what happens."
