‘I am a fighter’: Hialeah native shines in Caribbean Series
Juan Carlos Escarra thought for a moment that he had hit rock bottom.
The Baltimore Orioles had said goodbye to him in 2022 and after contemplating his few options, he had no choice but to go play independent league ball, which is generally like a cemetery for those with dreams of playing in the Major Leagues.
As if that were not enough, Escarra continued his journey away from the best baseball in the world when he had to take other paths in summer and winter circuits in Mexico and Puerto Rico to see if he could find some showcase back to organized baseball in the United States.
Anyone else would have given up, and for a moment the young man born in Hialeah, who played for Mater Academy High School in Hialeah Gardens, thought about walking away from baseball completely. But after thinking twice he told himself that he would go to the end of the world to not give up on his dream.
“I have fought a lot these last two years,” said Escarra, who once wore the uniform of Florida International University.
“The Orioles released me in 2022. I went through the independent league twice, twice through the Mexican winter league. I am a fighter, as my parents who came from Cuba raised me.”
But in 2024 Escarra began to reap the fruit of all those efforts when he was chosen as a reinforcement by the Criollos de Caguas to play in the Caribbean Series in Miami and received a Minor League contract with an invitation to the spring camp of the New York
Yankees.
In the tournament that takes place at loanDepot park, Escarra has proven his worth as the first baseman of the Puerto Rico team, although he’s ready to put on the gear as a catcher, which is the position where he has performed the most since his days as a university player.
“For a moment I said that I was going to leave everything and that I was going to look for a job to support my family,” added Escarra, who is nicknamed the Hialeah Cannon because he was born in that city 28 years ago and everyone knows him as JC.
“I said no, that this had been my dream since I was 4 years old. I knew that if I didn’t continue, I would regret it for the rest of my life. I prayed a lot and look what God gave me.”
Now, with all that experience gained in other baseball leagues around the world, Escarra hopes to arrive at the Yankees with a strengthened mentality, with better game tools and the conviction that everything is behind him, in addition to having learned secrets from one of the best catchers of all time — his current manager, Yadiel Molina.
Escarra has tried to absorb as much as possible, even the slightest teaching from a man who has won the World Series multiple times with the St. Louis Cardinals and who has become a reference for all those who work behind the plate, especially Latinos.
“My relationship with Yadiel is very good,” the Cuban American emphasized.
“He has seen me work the entire league in Puerto Rico. I went with him to the Dominican Republic for the All-Star Game and it’s funny, because he told me he was going to take me to St. Louis, but the Yankees beat him to it.”
On the other hand, this Caribbean Series is special because it is taking place in Miami and in the home of the Marlins, the team that Escarra grew up adoring and for which he dreamed of playing at some point in his career, something that for now does not appear on the horizon.
“I went a lot to the other stadium that at that time was called Pro Player and where I went a lot with my family,” Escarra recalled.
“The Marlins organization ... this is my team for my whole life because I’m from Hialeah. It really is a dream to play here.”