He’s Yasmani Grandal and he comes to us, originally, from Havana Cuba. Unlike most Cuban ballplayers, though, Grandal did not defect from the island as a professional. Instead, his family was granted entry to the United States when was 10-years-old, after they were selected to receive green cards through a now-threatened State Department lottery program.
Grandal went on to play college ball at the University of Miami, where he finished second to Bryce Harper for the 2010 Golden Spikes Award. He has since played for five different MLB teams, though, judging by the ink on his back, he’s obviously a diehard Red Sox fan who has been pining to play in Fenway his whole career:
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25956029/ib810ptewzjxfjez3ovl.jpg)