When you’re looking for a roommate, you usually look for someone who is similar to you.
For Diamondbacks’ Daniel Descalso and Jon Jay, however, it was opposites attract when the two lived together during their time in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
“Daniel is a great chef, that was kind of his role, he was the cook, but he wasn’t always the cleanest person around,” Jay said. “That was kind of my role, he would cook and do everything and I was kind of the guy, before the night was over, pick up things, water bottles are laying around the house or stuff like that, I wanted everything to be perfect.”
Jay didn’t have any major pet peeves about Descalso, but there was one thing Descalso couldn’t stand about Jay.
“He can like chomp on some ice,” Descalso said. “Like make my teeth hurt listening to him do it. That was one of the things that would just bother me, so I’d have to like walk away when he was doing that.”
Excited to play with my brother again @jonjayU RT @Dbacks: #Dbacks acquire OF Jon Jay from the Royals in exchange for LHP Gabe Speier and RHP Elvis Luciano.
Welcome to #GenerationDbacks, @jonjayU! pic.twitter.com/jDV8Qcwhy9
— Daniel Descalso (@DanielDescalso) June 7, 2018
Descalso and Jay’s friendship began in 2009 when Descalso was called up to the Cardinals’ Triple-A team.
“We kind of just made a good connection,” Descalso said. “We both like to work hard. We spent a lot of time in the cage together, a lot of time talking baseball after the game. The minor league stuff: the ups and downs, trying to find your way, trying to get better. We pushed each other and kind of helped each other along that path.”
The two have kept in constant contact during their time with different clubs, and couldn’t be happier to be reunited in Arizona.
“We’re very close,” Descalso said. “We’ve gone on trips together in the offseason, and our daughters are pretty close in age so we’re excited to have him here.”
For Jay the coolest thing about being back in the same clubhouse with Descalso is being able to see first hand the impact that Descalso has with the D-backs, he said.
“He gets it,” Jay said. “That was why I think our friendship was so tight and why we connect to each other, he just gets how to be a professional, how to do everything.”
Jay was somewhat of a mentor for Descalso as the two came up through the Cardinals organization, since Jay got to the next level before Descalso did. Now, however, Jay is looking to Descalso as he continues to get acclimated in Arizona.
“It’s awesome to be with him again,” Jay said. “I’m just following his lead. He’s one of the key figures on this team and I’m just following right behind him wherever he goes.”
