C. Trent Rosecrans

crosecrans@enquirer.com

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — How many homers did your dad hit last year?

Ramon Cabrera’s 44-year-old dad hit 11. Alex Cabrera, the father of the Reds' catcher, led the Venezuelan winter league with 11 and was named MVP of the league.

It’s been a special year for the Cabrera family, as Ramon, 26, picked up an MVP of his own, the Mary E. Barney Award as the MVP of the Reds’ Triple-A Louisville affiliate. Cabrera also made his big-league debut and got his first hit and first homer with his dad in the stands last September.

That moment at Great American Ball Park had its roots here in Goodyear a year ago, as Cabrera made quite the impression on the Reds in his first camp with the organization. Signed as a minor-league free agent in December of 2014 with an invitation to big-league camp, Cabrera had to stand out in a new organization after spending most of the previous six years in the Pirates system, with a two-year stint in Detroit’s system.

“I just tried to do my job and take advantage of every chance they give me,” Cabrera said. “It does bring focus, especially here when you don’t play all the time, you just try to be ready all the time, be on time and be prepared, be prepared for any game, because you never know. Any chance, any opportunity you have, you have to do your job.”

It was Alex Cabrera who drilled those lessons into his son. The older Cabrera has a long, winding baseball career of his own. Alex Cabrera signed as a 20-year-old with the Cubs and spent seven years with that organization before spending one year in the Rays system. In 1999, he played in China, only to return to the United States the next year, where he made his big-league debut with the Diamondbacks. In Arizona, he hit a home run in his first career at-bat.

After hitting .262 with five homers in 31 games for the Diamondbacks, Cabrera’s contract was sold to Japan’s Seibu Lions. He hit 49 home runs in his first season there and then hit 55 home runs the next season, tying the then-single-season record shared by Sadaharu Oh and West High graduate Tuffy Rhodes. Cabrera spent a total of 12 years in Japan and hit 357 home runs there with the Lions, Orix Buffaloes and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

“I talk a lot with my dad because we have good relationship,” said Cabrera, one of three Reds in camp whose fathers played in the big leagues, along with Ivan De Jesus Jr. and Chad Wallach. “We talk about everything — hitting, defense, how you approach the game, being here early, how to treat people. We talk a lot about it.”

The way Cabrera has done all those things left a favorable impression since joining the Reds. But as much as anything, his play has done the talking.

“What stood out first for me was (defense). That position is so important for a defensive-minded catcher,” Reds manager Bryan Price said. “His offense was a surprise. Now we knew he was a guy who put the ball in play, wasn’t a big strikeout guy, gave competitive at-bats, but you go out there and get (four) hits in San Francisco, that’s going to open up anyone’s eyes. He just gave us good at-bats for the month of September in limited duty and I think even more importantly, he called a good game, he ran the staff well when Tucker wasn’t behind the plate and gave me some confidence that should anything happen to Tucker or Devin that Ramon could come up and play regularly and do a good job.”

Cabrera was called up to the big leagues when rosters expanded, earning a spot on the team’s 40-man roster after hitting .290/.343/.353 with the Bats.

He started six games behind the plate after being called up and picked up his first hit on Sept. 9 when he entered the game pinch-hitting for Joey Votto, who had been ejected during an at-bat. Two days later, Cabrera homered. And then on Sept. 14 in San Francisco, he went 4-for-4.

While his father is 6-foot-2, Ramon Cabrera is just 5-8. A switch-hitter, he’s hit just 22 home runs in the minors, including two last year. Despite the differences in size and approach, Ramon knows he can always go to his dad for advice.

“I talk to him about batting,” he said. “He’s a big positive guy. I take advantage. I know I’m not going to hit 40 homers, but I know with that mentality I can be a better hitter every time.”

He also knows from experience just how dangerous his dad is at the plate. Although the two have never played in a winter league game on the same team, Cabrera did play against his dad. In 2012 they were on different teams and the first time Alex Cabrera came to the plate against his son, he homered.

“I’ll never forget that,” Ramon Cabrera said. “When I was young, he would always say the day that he hits a homer with me catching, he’s going to take off his jersey and give it to me like he’s never going to play again. That day, that happened. And nobody knew. Some people thought it was bad.

“Then he got interviewed and explained to everybody what he was thinking. He said it, ‘Every dad who has a son and their son plays baseball, they know how I feel.’”

The father, Cabrera explained, was just proud to be on the same field as his son. The son, there’s no doubt, is just as proud of his dad.