In the history of Big leaguesthey have only existed two baseball players born in Honduras, Gerald Young, between 1987 and 1994, and Mauricio Dubón, who 25 years later debuted in the Big Top, where heHe describes himself as “a Dominican in Real Madrid.”
“It’s like watching a Dominican play soccer for Real Madrid. “I was always motivated and ready to be here and thank God I was given this opportunity,” he explained to the EFE agency during his visit with the Houston Astros to Mexico, in the seventh regular season series being played in that country, in the who face the Colorado Rockies in Mexico City.
In addition to breaking a drought of more than two decades without a player from his nation, the native of San Pedro Sula managed to be the first Honduran to win the World Series and last year it was too the only one to win a Gold Gloveboth awards obtained in the Astros
To reach the Majors, Dubón had to leave his nation, in which soccer is the main sport, at the age of 15, when he went to study at the Sacramento Capital Christian high school in California, United States.
“My father supported me in Honduras since I was a child. My grandfather played and since I was a child I always crossed paths on a baseball field. He had the opportunity to come to the United States to study for a scholarship and that’s how it all began.“added the player with six years of experience in the Big Top.
In the United States, the Central American polished his skills in both fielding and hitting, and after showing his defensive and offensive abilities as an exchange student, the Boston Red Sox selected him in the 26th round of the 2013 Draft.
In 2016, the Red Sox transferred him to the Milwaukee Brewers, with whom he debuted in 2019, after which they sent him that same year to the San Francisco Giants, to reach the Houston Astros in 2022, where he has stood out for being a ‘utility’ player, that is, he can play any position, according to Dubón, at “an elite level.”
“Hondurans are hungrier in baseball. Things are not given to us, we have to work twice as hard to reach them. We have to change our mentality so that they bet more on us. It’s like in soccer, if they give you the choice between a Brazilian or a Mexican striker, you choose the Brazilian. because of the tradition that exists, that’s why we must show that we know how to play ball”Dubón added.
In his six years in the Major Leagues, the former Brewers player has a .260 batting percentage, 133 runs batted in and 29 home runs hit, Numbers in which he surpasses Young, who in eight seasons hit the ball .246, sent 113 teammates to the plate and hit three home runs.
“Mentally, thank God, I always had my feet on the ground knowing that I was going to reach the Major Leagues, I never saw being Honduran as a limitation“It was more motivation than anything else.”
The 29-year-old baseball player advised young Honduran baseball players that if they want to reach the Big League, they should take his example that it is possible to achieve it from the little leagues of the Central American country.
Dubón assured that he is working to get more Las Majors talent scouts to go to his country to look for players and to give more visibility to his sport in Honduras, which in his opinion still does not receive the necessary support.
“The other day I ran into a scout who didn’t want to sign me in Honduras when I was 15 years old and I asked him for it.. The good thing is that now the scouts have realized the talent we have. I have talked to the organizations so that they go more often, but talking is not the same as doing it,” stated the Astros baseball player.
*With information from EFE.
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2024-04-28 21:46:21
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