By Alfredo Echenique
Aug 25, 2023, 23:36 PM EDT
Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena is having a great season in the big leagues. With a .262 average, 20 home runs and 73 RBIs, he is one of the drivers of the Florida team this season.
To achieve this success Randy went through difficult times in his life. At barely 20 years old, he escaped from his native Cuba on a raft to fulfill his dream of being a baseball player. He first started in Mexico and from there he made the leap to the Major Leagues, where he debuted in 2019 and is currently having his best year.
These difficulties that the baseball player experienced were recently told in an interview for ESPN, in which he revealed some situations that he went through in Cuba and that made him take the path of baseball.
Football lover before baseball
At first, Arozarena was a big soccer fan. It was the first sport that he began to practice, he did it for his father. Who also liked soccer and practiced it. And although he took a different path, he affirms that he continues to love soccer.
“He was a striker and scored a lot of goals. Cristiano Ronaldo is my favorite footballer, and I’m still a fan of Real Madrid. I still love soccer,” said the 28-year-old baseball player.
Traded soccer for baseball for $4 a month
But his time in football was short-lived and due to the difficult situation on his native island, Randy decided to change sports, to one that would leave him some money. And that was when he got baseball, which at the time he was paid $4 a month to play.
“When I was a child, the ball was the only opportunity to collect a little money and be able to help your family when you grew up. That was one’s dream as a child,” Randy recalls.
“The ball paid $4 per month, while soccer did not pay. That’s why it was my transition to the ball; thinking about the future, when I would become a man”, explains the star of the Rays.
Arozarena is currently the fifth highest-paid player on the Rays’ payroll, earning $4.1 million a year. About $345,000 dollars per month. Much more than the $4 dollars he earned playing in Cuba.
Keep reading:
· Randy Arozarena: The story of how he became Mexican after escaping from Cuba on a raft
· Cuban Randy Arozarena affirms that playing the World Classic with Mexico helped him to shine this year in the MLB
· Randy Arozarena surprised his brother Raiko with a luxurious car as a gift [Video]