One of the happiest baseball players is, without a doubt is Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena. The star of the Mexican national team in the WBC has earned a space in the hearts of the fans of this sport due to his extraordinary demonstrations on the playing field and his iconic celebrations. His black cowboy boots have become his symbol.
Arozarena reached the 20-20 mark for the third time in career this year, making him the only Cuban in MLB history to achieve that. On the season the outfielder is slashing .261/.370 /.433/.803 and has also gone yard 21, while also driving in 78 runs.
Heading straight for another playoff berth with the Rays, the native of Pinar del Río, Cuba is going to be a key cog in the offensive of the team from Central Florida. Randy Arozarena is hungry for a world title and maybe this year he might finally reach that plateau.
What goals do you have for this season?
“Depends on the situation. If I can do a feat or something I try to work towards that goal, but I always go day by day, game by game, because I don’t plan for a season. While it is advancing, it is that I project myself to meet certain goals ”.
Does it give you pride to be known as a base stealer?
“That is one of my characteristics because of my physique, so I work on being able to exploit that tool and contribute to the team. I try to reach base to steal another and maybe a teammate of mine can drive me in, these types of things are very beneficial to my team.
In July the team had a rough patch, how did the team get out of it?
“Keep working and stand firm. Also keep playing with the confidence we had since the beginning of the season and continue with that mentality until the end, because it is a very long season. It is no secret to anyone that July was a bad month for everyone, but we continue to trust in the process, in we’ve done since the beginning and we recovered”.
Despite losing key figures, Tampa is still in the fight.
“Everybody focuses on doing things well and when that happens we all contribute to the team’s work. That is what we are doing, everyone contributes their grain of sand and that is reflects in our performance on the field”.
You are one of the happiest players in baseball.
“It’s a game and as such I try to have as much fun as possible so that things go well for me. That’s what it’s all about. The fans help me too, because they give me joy and I give it back. I feel good and that’s why I make difficult things look easy”.
Any special motivation for playing in Miami?
“I feel at home in front of the Latino and Cuban community. Like in Cuba. The World Classic in Miami was good for me and the Mexican team. I represent my land, Mexico and all Latinos. It’s good to see a lot of the community here that speaks Spanish.”
What memories do you keep of the Clásico?
“The support of all the fans. The support that the Cuban community gave me, as well as the Mexican one. It was very nice to feel her here in Miami. Although we lost to Japan, there was always support for my team and I, mainly”