NEW YORK (AP) — An Uber driver a little more than two years ago, J.C. Escarra gave a pitch a ride into Yankee Stadium’s bleachers for his first major league home run.
“I didn’t feel the ball off the bat,” the rookie said after his drive Sunday capped New York’s . “I felt amazing — amazing. And it was special because the first MLB home run and I did it here at home at Yankee Stadium.”
Escarra, who turned 30 on Thursday, was out of baseball when the Baltimore Orioles released him in 2022. He took detours to teams in Mexico and Puerto Rico, did and signed a minor league contract with the Yankees ahead of the 2024 season.
He earned a job on the opening day roster as catcher Austin Wells’ backup, and homered in his seventh start behind the plate. Escarra singled in a run against Brendon Little in the three-run sixth inning, then in the eighth.
“You could see the glow. You could see the joy that he’s bringing in those moments,” reliever Luke Weaver said. “Just letting him know, like, `Hey, sick homer.” And it’s like he just lights up.”
Escarra got the ball back from a fan in exchange for an autographed bat and is giving the ball to his father, who grew up a Yankees fan in Yonkers.
“This is my team. This is my family’s team. It’s a dream come true, and I’m doing everything as a Yankee so it can’t get better than this,” Escarra said. “If you would have asked me two years ago that I’ll be here doing this, I’ll tell you that you’re lying.”
Escarra is hitting .200 with three RBIs in 25-bats.
“We were smiling, jumping around and just really excited for a guy like that who who works hard and obviously you can tell just appreciates the moment and just doesn’t take anything for granted,” starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt said. “Those guys, they’re easy to root for.”
Pitchers have praised Escarra’s framing ability.
“He’s got a really good presence behind the plate,” Weaver said. “You got to steal some strikes and get as many as we can because we sure appreciate it. He’s a natural at it. He’s worked really hard at it and he’s right where he needs to be.”
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