The first Puerto Rican Yankee in five years is living his dream

New York Yankees quarterback Andrew Velázquez is living the dream of his life contributing heavily to the Muls having racked up nine wins and are looking toward the playoffs.

On Saturday, the Puerto Rican-blooded player made his family cry with emotion as he fired the first home run of his career as they watched him from the stands at a time when he was inflating anyone’s chest.

Velázquez, who grew up as a Yankees fan, was born in the Bronx and after being raised from AAA in the Yankees lives with his parents in the same house where he grew up, he is the first Puerto Rican blood player to put up the legendary Yankees uniform in five seasons.

This fact is something strange for the boricuas, since besides being the most winning tax exemption of the baseball of the Majors, with 27 trophies of champion of the World-wide series, it is most followed by the Puerto Ricans of the island and the diaspora.

In the latter part of the 1990s, the Yankees always maintained a strong Puerto Rican presence in receiver Jorge Posada and outfielder Bernie Williams.

Ricky Ledée, Rubén Serra i King Sanchez they were also part of the group at the end of this decade and beginning of the next. Between 2004 and 2005 the Yankees had the largest number in recent history of Boricuas players at once, five each season.

In 2004 they had on their roster a Juan Padilla, Javier Vázquez, Posada, Williams i Sierra. In 2005 they had Wil Neus, Posada, Sánchez, Serra and Williams.

2006 was Williams’ last year, and he was accompanied by Neus and Posada before the receiver arrived in 2007 José ‘Cheo’ Molina.

In 2008 until the ‘hall of Famer’ Iván Rodríguez put the ‘Pinstripes’ next to Molina, Posada and the pitcher Jonathan Albaladejo. Molina and Posada returned in 2009 alongside Albaladejo.

Ponce pitcher Javier Vazquez arrived in the Bronx in 2010 and was with Posada, who was the only Puerto Rican on the roster for the 2011 campaign, which was in fact his last in the Major Leagues.

It took two years until Manatee Carlos Beltrán joined the Muls to play the 2014, 2015 and 2016 campaigns before ending his career in Houston in 2017.

Velázquez, was called to the Majors to fill the space of Venezuelan Gleyber Torres, which has led him to fulfill his childhood dream of playing shortstop for the New York Yankees, whose team was a huge fan, at the level that his tenth birthday was at Yankee Stadium, according to his mother, Margaret Maldonado Velázquez, in the New York Post.

She recalled that Andrew, at the age of six, drew himself in ‘Pinstripes’.

Ken Velázquez Sr., a retired police officer and Andrew’s father, said he has seen many battles between the Yankees and the Red Sox in person, but the one he witnessed last week was etched in his memory.

“It’s different when your child is on the field,” Velázquez told the Post.

So Andrew Velázquez will continue to live his dream day after day, or at least until Torres is recovered. And even if that happens, Velázquez will still be the Morris Park boy who as a child dreamed of catching roulette wheels at the Yankee Stadium siore.

And another boricua who put on the Yankees uniform.