It was just last week that Randy Arozarena’s mom, Sandra, got her Visa in time to watch her son play for the Tampa Bay Rays for the first time.
She was on hand ahead of their Game 1 tilt against the against the Texas Rangers in the American League Wild Card Playoffs. She also threw out the best first pitch you’ll probably ever see.
If you want to know where Arozarena got his arm, there is no reason to look any further. Check out the wind-up. Check out the velocity. Check out the perfect pitch. You can tell her soon was proud of mama. That was tough stuff right there.
Arozarena went on to single and double in his first two at-bats.
Arozarena’s mother, who goes by the name of Sandra González, traveled from Mexico to the Tampa Bay area on Monday after receiving her Visa. This represents the first MLB game that she has been able to watch her son play live.
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Great moment between Randy Arozarena and his mom
“I’m just really happy that she’s here,” Randy Arozarena said before the game, via MLB.com. “It’s a really proud moment for me and my family, and I’m really excited that that’s going to happen.”
Emotions were in full swing inside Tropicana ahead of the game. It was an absolutely great sight to see.
The All-Stat outfielder defected from Cuba to Mexico in 2015 and became a Mexican citizen in April of 2022.
“We actually [made] that decision as a family. I was the older brother, like the man of the house, so I had to tell her that that’s what I was thinking,” Arozarena said. “She supported it, and you know the rest.”
Gonzalez then left Cubs in 2017. The family had been seeking a Visa for her for five years now. She had been declined four times before finally being approved.
“I’m really happy and blessed that she’s here,” Randy Arozarena said. “It’s also important that she’s going to watch me playing in the playoffs, [so it] is really important for me that she’s here in a game like this.”
Yeah, this is a great feel-good story at the start of the MLB Playoffs.