From the stands of Chase Field, very close to the dugout first, a fan throws a white Cuban jersey to a player from Mexico. On the field, the boy, smiling, wears the green cap of the Aztec ninth backwards, earrings and two rings with golden crucifixes dangling from his ears. Desperately, he leaves his autograph on the suit, in a ball and as soon as they put him in front of him. His connection with the stands is such that later, in the middle of the game, he goes to the left field wall and signs gloves, caps and more balls.
This has been the Show Randy Arozarena (Pinar del Río, 1995) in the World Baseball Classic. In Arizona, site of group C of the tournament, the star patrolman stole the spotlight. The same thing appeared with a huge hat in an interview, that with a mask of the Místico fighter, or walked through the diamond before the games with some extravagant leather boots, the same ones that became his amulet since that memorable 2020 postseason, in which he led the Tampa Bay Rays straight to baseball’s most glittering stage: the World Series.
With his boots of power on his back, Randy has proven to be the star of the Mexican squad, and not just because of his mesmerizing union with the fans. In the diamond left authentic numbers crack during the first round of the Classic, in which he was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the key that took place in Arizona. Perhaps he is inconsequential to many, but Arozarena has won an MVP playing against Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado or Freddie Freeman, MLB monsters.
During the first round of the Classic, the Cuban led all players in doubles (5), extra-base hits (6) and RBIs (9), was second in OPS (1.703) and fourth in slugging (1,071). As if that were not enough, he had 5 RBIs in the duel against Canada, equaling the best mark by a Cuban baseball player in the history of the event, held by José Dariel Abreu since 2013.
The performance is not surprising. Arozarena has been a whip in scenarios where most mortals falter. In 2020, when he had only been in the Major Leagues for a couple of months, set record of home runs, extra-base hits, hits and bases covered for a postseason, in addition to becoming the first man with five games of 3 or more undisputed in the centenary history of the play off from MLB.
Imperturbable, aggressive, electric, Randy impresses with his innate ability to handle pressure and grow in extreme situations, which allows him to shine when more eyes are on him, when the scene is more demanding. It could be said that this is his greatest talent, sculpted over time thanks to a bulletproof personality.
Life has put rigorous tests on him from early on. When he was just 19 years old, his father passed away and Randy was left with the responsibility of supporting his mother and his younger brother. He was already playing ball for Pinar del Río, the team with which he won the 53rd National Series title, which gave him access to compete in the Caribbean Series in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Despite being part of the champion squad, Arozarena was excluded from the vueltabajero team, which traveled and won the title in the Puerto Rican capital. This precipitated his decision to leave the country.
“I felt like I was left out, the same way other players have felt before. In Cuba, if you have a bad week or two, they push you away and forget about you. Before having to go through that, I decided to leave the island, ”he recounted two years ago in an extensive reportage from MLB.
The man from Pinar del Río got on a boat, spent 8 hours in the Gulf of Mexico, saw turtles and dolphins, felt afraid and prayed to arrive safely.
“When you are at sea, all you think about is getting to safety. There are people who are [en la travesía] for days, months; and there are others who do not succeed and die. When you’re on one of those boats, the only thing you can think about is surviving,” insisted the Cuban, who started a new life in Mexico.
There he returned to diamonds, got married, had a daughter. Patiently, he seized every opportunity and, with one swing of the ball, earned the respect of MLB and the love of the Tampa fans, with whom he shared the Rookie of the Year award he won in 2021.
Although he is recognized as one of the most outstanding Cubans on the northern circuit, Arozarena has never hidden his close ties with Mexico and his desire to repay the country for all the support they gave him when he decided to emigrate.
“For me, representing Mexico is a source of pride, because when I left Cuba they welcomed me with open arms. I always said that I wanted to represent Mexico in a World Classic. Look at me, I’m another Mexican and I feel that way. Everyone has received me well and this coexistence can only be found in a team that is going for great things ”, pointed Randy to the accredited press at the event.
In addition, he has made it clear that even if he had been called from Cuba (which did not happen), he would only consider representing Mexico. “Nobody approached me, but anyway it was already clear to me, I wanted to play with Mexico. My decision was made, as a symbol of gratitude for receiving me with open arms, people always gave me their love and the opportunity. Now the only thing left for me is to respond as I know how: playing ball”.
Arozarena received naturalization in April 2022, after Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador himself will manifest publicly their interest in supporting the player’s status change.
“This is a prominent baseball player of Cuban origin who was in Mexico and then went to the United States to play in the Major Leagues and participated in the World Series. We are going to ask Francisco Garduño, migration director, to get in touch with him and see him,” AMLO said.
In fact, at the beginning of the week the Mexican president rededicated A few words to Randy for his great performance in Arizona. “He was in Mexico and told us that if he became a national, he would play with the Mexican team. He is complying, because we did give him nationality last year and he is there. Very diligent, he is a very good hitter and he also produced. He hit a double. I stayed up watching the game, it was worth it,” said López Obrador, an inveterate fan of the sport of balls and balls. strikes that does not detach from television to follow the Classic.
Now the stop goes up for Arozarena, who will be under the spotlight in Miami during the quarterfinal duel between Mexico and Puerto Rico, finalist of the last two editions of the Classic. The Aztecs, on the contrary, have never made it to the group of the big four in the event, so the challenge is tough, particularly for the Cuban, who carries the stripes of leader.
Will he be able to keep up the pace of production in the decisive phase of the tournament? No one really guarantees it, but I wouldn’t bet against Randy Arozarena.
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