Aug 25, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Carlos Estevez (53) reacts after beating the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
When Carlos Estevez learned of Akira Toriyama's death at the start of Spring Training, he was saddened at the loss of his favorite manga artist.
He wanted to find a way to pay tribute to him. So, as the Los Angeles Angels season began, he was sitting in the clubhouse in Baltimore and talking with Angels Spanish Language interpreter Manny del Campo about a new save celebration.
"Manny and I are both big fans of Dragon Ball Z, which (Toriyama) created," Estevez said. So, we thought doing the Kamehameha would not only look really cool, but it would be a tribute to him and since Anaheim is a big Japanese market and they know I'm an anime fan, it might work."
So, on March 31st, in the Angels first win of the season over the Orioles, Estevez got the save and channeled his inner Goku and let it rip.
"From there it just went nuts in Anaheim," he said. "So, I just kept riding with it. I feel good doing that."
And he feels good because anime is probably his biggest passion next to baseball.
His locker, the first one to the right as you enter the Phillies clubhouse, is adorned with manga character figurines. He has anime-themed clothing. He's a bit of a historian on the Japanese animation art form.
"There are several characters that do the Kamehameha - Goku, Gohan, Goten - but I do the OG version from Master Roshi," Estevez said.
Who's Master Roshi?
"He's the original Kamehameha master," Estevez said excitedly, diving into Dragon Ball history like a Shakespearean scholar talking about iambic pentameter. "He's the one who teaches Goku how to do it at the beginning."
and MAYBE the greatest Roshi Kamehameha IN HISTORY from DB Movie 1:
(5/5) pic.twitter.com/xIxuqVUsG1
But it's not just Dragon Ball Z that is in Estevez's wheelhouse.
Remember those figurines mentioned above. While it's true that most of them are from Dragon Ball Z, which is his favorite anime, there is one special one that's from a different world altogether.
"One of them is from another anime called One Piece," Estevez said. "Right now, that's the greatest manga series in Japan and also the biggest anime series that is ongoing."
That figurine is Zoro, who is a great fighter, but he's really chill, and according to Estevez, he always seems to get lost. Which he thinks is funny, because in his locker he's a little out of place among all the stud Dragon Ball characters.
Maybe that's a sign.
"What do you mean," Estevez asked?
"Well, You've been a good closer in other cities you've pitched, but the teams haven't had a lot of success," I said. "But now you come here to the Phillies and it's a team on a mission and you get thrown into this fight instead of the ones you were used to."
He smiled.
"I never thought of that, that's good," he said.
But he has thought about being on the mound to close out a championship, and how cool it would be to do the Kamehameha to win it all.
Carlos Estévez 🤝 Goku
Hitting their opponents with the Kamehameha pic.twitter.com/NmqMxV2yBE
"That would be the greatest thing, man."
Something tells me that when October rolls around, there's going to be about 44,000 people doing the Kamehameha with him after each save.
