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The former Cuban baseball player from Major League Baseball Jorge Luis Toca recently reunited with his father in Tampa, after completing a process of family reunification that ended more than two decades of separation, reported journalist Francys Romero on his social media.
Toca and his father had spent 22 years marked by distance, emigration, and the challenges faced by thousands of Cuban families divided by the crisis and the migration restrictions imposed by the Havana regime.
The reunion takes place at a more stable stage in the life of the former baseball player, who played in MLB with the New York Mets, and adds to the long list of stories of families who, after years of waiting, finally manage to reunite in the United States.
The native of Villa Clara left the island illegally in 1998, and by the following year, he had made his MLB debut. However, his career in the "Big Show" did not meet expectations, as reported by the specialized site Swing Completo.
"The Queens team had John Olerud in their lineup, a consistent hitter who the previous year had batted .354 with 22 home runs and 93 RBIs," the outlet stated in an article addressing the issue at hand.
"With that season concluded, Olerud's departure to the Seattle Mariners made it seem that Jorge Luis Toca would find more playing opportunities in the 2000 campaign. But nothing could be further from the truth: Todd Zeile manned first base for 153 games, and the Cuban could only make seven visits to home plate," he added.
Almost two decades later, Toca, whose defense at first base was spectacular, now enjoys the presence of his father in the land that welcomed him as a son.
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