It’s hard to imagine now, but Reyes Moronta was once a little kid, who grew up in a small and poor neighbourhood of Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic’s capital city. Although there was “always food on the table”, as Reyes Moronta would tell, there wasn’t money for much more. Little Reyes loved playing baseball, something he inherited from his father.
“My dad bought a lottery ticket, he won, and he bought me a glove. That would become my pillow [...] and I’d take it everywhere.” - Reyes Moronta in an interview available on YouTube (Spanish) on getting his first baseball glove
Moronta played catcher, just like his dad, or 3B, but was scouted as a pitcher.