This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo¡¯s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Among the spoils of?Eduardo Escobar¡¯s 10-year anniversary in the big leagues was a bottle of sparkling wine signed by his teammates, a T-shirt commemorating the occasion and an oversized, $10,000 check for his foundation. Everyone around him seemed to want to offer something tangible in congratulations. The respect for Escobar runs that deep.

¡°It¡¯s unbelievable for me because I remember when I started baseball, nobody believed in me,¡± Escobar said over the weekend, shortly after completing his 10th full year of Major League service time. ¡°I continued working hard, continued to respect the game, played hard every day, no matter what. Look at me now. Ten years, it¡¯s unbelievable. Hopefully, I¡¯ll play for more. Until God wants [me] out, that¡¯s when I¡¯ll continue playing.¡±

Escobar¡¯s story is as well-documented as it is unorthodox. Signed at 17 out of Venezuela for $25,000, a fraction of what top international prospects receive, Escobar was a right-handed center fielder and pitcher who didn¡¯t learn to play shortstop or pinch-hit until he was a teenager. He used that first bonus to renovate his mother¡¯s house, and to take his friends to the mall to buy them new clothes and shoes.

Never did he dream he would forge an MLB career of more than a decade. When Escobar hit that milestone after years with the White Sox, Twins, D-backs and Brewers,?Max Scherzer?-- a new teammate who is deeply involved in union business and player rights --?read a speech in the clubhouse?lauding him as ¡°the 1,705th player to reach 10 years out of 20,000 players¡± and ¡°the 10th Venezuelan player to reach 10 years.¡±

The signed bottle of cava and the celebratory T-shirts came from Escobar¡¯s teammates, many of whom did not get to know him until he signed a two-year, $20 million contract to join the club last November. The $10,000 check came from Fogo de Ch?o, the Brazilian steakhouse chain that Escobar has frequented for years. Before Opening Day, Escobar treated the Mets¡¯ entire traveling party to a Fogo de Ch?o dinner in Washington. He¡¯s since taken teammates and staffers to other Fogo locations around the country.

When Escobar hit 10 years of service time, even his favorite restaurant was eager to celebrate.

¡°I feel really happy, because this is a dream that every player wants to be able to reach,¡± Escobar said. ¡°Once you do things the right way, and you¡¯re humble and you treat the game right, you¡¯re able to get what you want out of it.¡±