New York Yankees rookie catcher J.C. Escarra, a 29-year-old former Uber driver, made his first MLB start behind the plate in Thursday night's 9-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Yankee Stadium. And Escarra, who took an inspiring journey to the big leagues, collected the first hit—a double—of his career in what amounted to a special moment in the bottom of the seventh inning.
But that wasn't the only special moment of the night.
After Yankees reliever Luke Weaver shut the door on the Diamondbacks with a save in the ninth inning, he and Escarra shared an embrace. Then, the Yankees backstop gave Weaver the game ball, placing the baseball in the righthander's glove. But Weaver, knowing what the day meant to Escarra, insisted that the catcher keep the baseball.
Here's the touching moment.
Luke Weaver hands J.C. Escarra the final out ball after JC gets his first Major League hit and catches the whole game. This is awesome!
Even as he bounced between five seasons in the minors and three seasons total spent in Puerto Rico and Mexico, Escarra never gave up on his dream of playing in the majors. He worked as a substitute teacher and Uber driver while his wife Jocelyn worked multiple jobs as well to make ends meet. Then, after a strong spring for New York, Escarra made the Yankees' Opening Day roster heading into the '25 season.
And Thursday night was the culmination of years of dreams.
Escarra told The Associated Press he plans to give the baseball from his first big-league hit to his father.
"I’m dedicating that ball to my pops," Escarra said. "A longtime Yankee fan, lived in Yonkers for 15 years. Been through a lot, so he deserves that ball."
Now, thanks to Weaver, Escarra will have another memento of his own from his first MLB start.
