The year 2023 has been unforgettable for Randy Arozarena, the Cuban baseball player who asked to be Mexican. With the Mexican National Team he won the historic third place in the World Baseball Classic and was key piece for the historic start of the Tampa Bay Rays in the MLB, however, the baseball player shared the other side of the coin, when his life changed at the age of 14, in Cuba, after the death of his father.
The death of Randy Arozarena’s father
In an interview con Fox Sports, Arozarena recalled that in 2014 he lost his father, who died in the stands before a game of the now Mexican baseball idol. This caused Randy will leave Cuba on a boat heading to Isla Mujeres, in Mexico.
“My dad went to see me at a baseball game, the game was at seven at night, my dad left at 5 for the field, to watch the training and then watch the game, And when my dad gets to the field and I was going to the field to play that night, my dad dies, there in the stands.” remembered.
Randy’s father passed away due to an allergic reaction to shellfish, according to New York Times. At that time, Randy Arozarena was 18 years old and He played for the Vegueros de Pinar del Ríoa professional team in Cuba, in which he was paid little compared to what his family needed at that time.
Arozarena already stood out in baseball, however, in his country they prevented him from going to the Caribbean Series, for fear that he would desertfor which he was also watched by Cuban authorities, for which he planned his departure from the island.
“They began to set me up with meetings with the police, with the governors, they said that I was leaving the country… Not having my dad and disappointed in the ball I say “I don’t have to do anything here, I have to escape to help my mom’. I talked about it with her and I took the step ”, Indian.
Randy fled to Mexico at three in the morning, in a boat
Randy recalled that he left Cuba in a boat at three in the morning, along with eight other people and arrived in Mexico, to Islas Mujereslocated 13 kilometers from Cancun, Quintana Roo.
“I arrived in Mexico, to Isla Mujeres, around 12 noon. on a journey where you have to hide from the police, although that is the least of it, because you risk your life in the sea, without knowing if you will reach the other shore, that is the most difficult thing”.
Randy Arozarena is the eldest of three brothers and one of them followed in his footsteps upon arriving in Mexico, albeit to play soccer as a goalkeeper for Venados de Mérida. Randy stood out in Mexican baseball, especially with the Tijuana Bulls, a team that was his impetus to reach the MLB.
