The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Migrant teen at home on the diamond
16-year-old Venezuelan has used high school baseball to assimilate.
CHICAGO — Between batters with no music playing, Yoel Guerra danced, swinging his hips in the infield between the bases. But as his opponent stepped up to bat, he crouched down, ready to field the ball.
Guerra, 16, from the northern state of Aragua, Venezuela, has played baseball since he was 4. He’s been in Chicago for more than a year now, and he said he derives the most joy from the field.
Guerra, who plays second base for Farragut Career Academy (the high school alma mater of, among others, Kevin Garnett, Kim Novak and Pat Sajak) in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, scored two of the three runs — including one where he stole home — in the second game of a doubleheader on a recent Friday. Guerra’s ability is apparent, but it’s his love for the game that stands out.
Baseball is more than a sport, Guerra said. It’s a way to build confidence. It’s a refuge.
“I try to have the most fun that I can,” he said. “Whatever problems I have, baseball makes them go away.”
Guerra’s mother Carolina Escobar, 31, said her family of seven came to the United States from Venezuela, mainly for more opportunities for her children. They’ve been lonely since they moved into their new house in Little Village over a year ago.
It has been hard for Escobar and her husband, David Espinoza, 32, to find work. They mostly spend time inside their home, and they’ve had to adjust to the cold weather.
“I feel like winter will never stop,” she said, sitting in a folding
chair in a Cubs jacket by the chain-link fence to watch her son step up to bat.
Guerra was the conference player of the year last season. But Escobar encourages her son to focus on his studies so he’ll have the opportunity to get into a good college.
Though Guerra said he misses the way baseball was played in Venezuela, he says the team at Farragut has been a “beautiful welcome.”
“When I play well, I feel so good,” he said. “It’s the biggest thing that makes me happy day to day. And when I’m feeling sad, it makes everything better.”
Espinoza, Guerra’s stepfather, said he believes there are more talented baseball players in his home country. He said the fan culture there is stronger and the leagues at Guerra’s age are more competitive.
Numerous notable players in
Chicago have been from Venezuela, including former White Sox shortstop and manager Ozzie Guillén; former White Sox shortstop Luis Aparicio, the first Venezuelan in the Baseball Hall of Fame; former White Sox shortstop Chico Carrasquel; former White Sox outfielder Magglio Ordonez; and former Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano. Current Cubs pitcher Adbert Alzolay also is Venezuelan.
“It’s the pastime of our country,” Espinoza said. “There are always games on the weekends. Here, it’s a lot calmer.”
Escobar and Espinoza watched the game while their two youngest kids — 9-year-old Yervis and 7-year-old David — played catch on a nearby field. Yervis and David swung bats twice their size and rolled around on the grass.
Guerra, his mother and his two oldest siblings arrived in Chicago in February 2023 and moved into a house the next month. His stepfather had arrived in the city a month earlier, and his two littlest siblings came later with their aunt.
His youngest siblings were separated from their aunt by officials at the border because they weren’t biologically hers; they were reunited with their mother in August with the help of Matt Demateo, pastor of New Live Centers in Little Village, which helps asylum seekers in Chicago. He is one of the coaches of the Farragut Admirals team.
Demateo said the team was the best in its conference, so Farragut scheduled nonconference games for a bigger challenge.
The first team — George Washington High — started with an early 3-0 lead and never looked back, defeating the Admirals 10-0. Still, Guerra’s presence on the field was joyful, and he often smiled, even when his team was losing.
During the second game against Mather High, Guerra stole home to score.
When the rest of his team was dragging, Guerra’s stamina didn’t waver. He also hit a double to left field. But the Admirals still lost 8-3.
For a player who kills time between batters by dancing, Guerra is modest about his skills. He likes to connect with other Venezuelan baseball players, including opponents.
“When I had just arrived, it was really hard to get used to hearing a language I don’t understand,” he said.
Now, he knows more people. His teammates have become friends. To them, he’s not different. He’s their second baseman.