BRONX, NY — At approximately 4:40 PM eastern time on Monday, Tampa Bay Rays’ 22-year-old All-Star third baseman Junior Caminero stepped out of Yankee Stadium’s visiting dugout to begin his every day pregame routine.
Just before his warm ups, including stretching, throwing, fielding ground balls and batting practice with teammates, the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native was surprised outside the dugout by his loved ones—his father, mother, younger brother and a close childhood friend.
Becoming a household name across the game with his ferocious yet elite approach at the plate while manning the hot corner, the young Caminero, currently in his second Major League season, has consistently given props to his family for helping him get to where he is today, which shows in his demeanor and ways of going about the game, on and off the field.
“Junior’s special, he’s a special player and talent,” said Rays bench coach Rodney Linares, who has witnessed Caminero’s stardom develop up close, working with him over the offseason in the Dominican Winter League, to go along with spring training and the regular season. “I saw his batting practice in spring training of 2023, he had blonde hair. I was like, ‘Come on, another kid with blonde hair.’ And he put on a show.”
“Then (Rays manager) Kevin Cash started talking about him and we formed our relationship. He’s a wonderful kid, a wonderful human being. A great attitude, plays hard, loves the fans and loves the attention in a good way.”
Though the attention was on him differently for Monday’s pregame routine compared to what the superstar in the making is accustomed to, Caminero soaked it all in while enjoying his family’s company, spending more time with his four special guests after the conclusion of Rays batting practice around 6:00 PM ET—an hour and 10 minutes away from first pitch.
And as first pitch unfolded, Caminero slotted in the five-hole, soon after clocked a 2-1, 90-MPH slider off of Yankees’ rookie starter Cam Schlittler–on the fourth pitch of the at-bat—397 feet to the left field seats for a two-run go-head home run.
With an exit velocity of 108-MPH to leave the yard, Caminero recorded his 27th home run of the year, and most likely, his favorite of the season so far.
“Tremendous,” Caminero said through team interpreter Eddie Rodriguez of the first-inning home run with his family in the building as the Rays won the series opener by a final of 4-2.
“I get emotional about them being here. I get pumped up. So it was great to do that in front of them.”
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Julio
July 30, 2025 at 9:40 am
Good to cover young talent even before they become the super stars that many are headed to. Congrats to Latino Sports for having this visionthat it’s not just about the present, but also about the future.