‘Sneaker head’ Miguel Rojas becoming a ‘complete player’ as Marlins continue playoff push
The only thing that might be smoother than Miguel Rojas making a play on defense are the cleats he wears to the field and the shoe collection he has compiled at home.
Rojas, the 31-year-old undisputed leader of a playoff-contending Miami Marlins team, is an avid “sneaker head” in his own words. He owns more than 120 pairs of sneakers, at least half of which are the Air Jordan brand.
And as of Sept. 3, Rojas has partnered with Stadium Custom Kicks to start a line of Rojas-designed sneakers and cleats under the “Miggy’s Locker” name. His first set is the “South Beach Splatter,” a Jordan 1 sneaker with a Miami-vice scheme of pink, teal and black with a pair of palm trees on the heel just underneath the Nike swoosh.
“I like to collect shoes, and especially Jordans,” Rojas said. “The guys do a great job painting the shoes and doing different designs. They brought up the idea because I was doing well to start the year. ... I feel like it’s something that having the opportunity to express our character through a pair of shoes. It’s important. We need to keep getting followers from younger people in baseball. Hopefully, they like the shoes, they share the same interests and they play like a big leaguer.”
Hopefully fans old and new will pay attention to Rojas’ style of play as well as his stylish footwear.
Rojas is in the midst of another breakout season and has only picked up his production since missing 15 games after being one of 18 Marlins players to test positive for COVID-19 three games into the season. His spark at the plate as well as his always sound defense at shortstop has paid dividends as the Marlins head into the final week of the shortened, 60-game regular season holding onto a playoff spot. The Marlins (28-25) entered their four-game series against the Atlanta Braves (31-22) in second place in the National League East and could clinch their playoff berth as early as Wednesday.
Of the 11 Marlins players with at least 75 at-bats this season, Rojas enters Miami’s four-game series against the Braves leading the club in batting average (.340), on-base percentage (.429), slugging (.563) and OPS (.992) while ranking second in doubles (nine). Rojas’ isolated power, a statistic that measures the rate of extra bases per at-bat, is .223. Only Garrett Cooper (.232) has a higher mark on the team.
He was three-fourths of the way to hitting the first cycle in club history on two separate occasions this season.
And then, of course, there’s Rojas’ defense, which has been his strength since making his MLB debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014.
“I never expect less for myself,” Rojas said. “I feel like I’m going to be working as hard as I can to become better every single year and try to work on whatever didn’t work in the past and be a complete player.”
Moreover, Rojas’ 1.6 wins above replacement, as calculated by FanGraphs, leads the Marlins and is tied for seventh among all MLB shortstops with at least 110 plate appearances this season. Rojas’ mark comes despite only playing in 34 games so far this season, nine fewer than the next-closest player above him on the list (Chicago White Sox’s Tim Anderson).
“He knows how to handle at-bats wherever he’s at [in the lineup],” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said earlier in the season. “That’s what I love about Miggy. Anywhere that I put him, he’s fine. ... He does what the team asks him to do. That’s why, to me, he’s such a great asset to our club.”
He will be needed for this stretch run, both from his presence as a veteran and his production on the field as the Marlins close in on clinching their first playoff berth since 2003.
Rojas has watched this Marlins team grow through all the challenges it faced throughout the season, from the COVID-19 outbreak to more than 160 roster moves to this season-closing stretch of 28 games in 24 days. The goal is to use that growth to spark one final push into the postseason.
“We’ve been overcoming a lot of obstacles during the year that put us to the position right now,” Rojas said. “We’re in the driver seat. We can control our own destiny. That’s really important for me. Overcoming those obstacles is just making us stronger.”
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