By Mallory Mattingly
J.C. Escarra has played in minor league baseball for years, working as an Uber driver, substitute teacher and baseball coach just to pay the bills. But his MLB dreams just came true.
Days before the the New York Yankees’ opening day, Escarra head from the team’s manager Aaron Boone that he would be joining them in New York. He immediately called his mom.
“When he called me, I was not expecting anything,” Escarra’s mother, Marinelys, said while on the TODAY show. “So, I was talking to my mom, and then I said, ‘Look, J.C.’s calling,’ so as soon as I got it and then he start talking, I was normal until he say that [he made the team]. And then I said, ‘Ohhhh.’ And then I start crying.”
“Everything was perfect, and the right time,” she added.
The Yankees media team posted the conversation between Escarra and his mother when he told her the news.
“We did it,” he said with tears in his eyes. “We have to buy a plane ticket. I made the team.”
@yankees The moment J.C. Escarra told his mom that he made it to The Show 🥹 #yankees #mlb #theshow #wholesome
“After everything I’ve been through, the people that were there for me with open arms — when I got released, when I had all this adversity — was them, my family. My wife, my dad, my brother, my mom,” he told TODAY. “They were all there for me when I needed them the most.”
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“Yesterday, at the home opener, man, what a feeling, just being on that line and having that New York Yankees logo on my chest. It’s just so special, not just to me, but to my family,” he added.
J. C. Escarra couldn’t believe the news when Boone told him. The athlete’s journey has been anything but easy. He was just one more “no” away from calling it quits on baseball all together, TODAY said.
“In my heart, I knew I had to give it another year. I had to give it another year,” he reflected. “I got the green light from my wife. During that year that all this was happening, I’d just gotten married, just bought an apartment, and it was time to put my big-boy pants on and provide for my family, but we made it happen.”
Through his dedication to his goals, Escarra made his “dreams come true,” and he hopes his perseverance inspires others.
“That’s what I want, is just for my story to be an inspiration to everyone out there. I just happen to play baseball, but they could use it for whatever they do, whatever goals they have, so I just want to inspire,” Escarra said.
Escarra did not appear in the Yankee’s home opener against the Milwaukee Brewers, but the Yankees took the 4-2 win. Escarra is hopeful that with his work ethic and perseverance, he will make his major league debut this season.
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