Arraez’s biggest champion? His mom
This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado’s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
When Luis Arraez returned to Giants camp after helping Venezuela win the World Baseball Classic in March, he wasn’t toting his gold medal around his neck.
That’s because he decided to leave it in the hands of an even bigger champion in his life: his mom, Maria.
“My mom has always given me everything throughout my life,” Arraez said in Spanish. “I had to give it to her.”
Arraez’s mom, who goes by Mari, has been there for every step of his baseball journey, which began when his father, Ernesto, hung a ball from a mango tree and encouraged his son to strike it with a plastic bat to hone his left-handed swing as a kid. Ernesto was Arraez’s first coach, but Mari helped further his development by shuttling him around to his games when he was growing up in his hometown of San Felipe, Venezuela.
“She’s been there my entire life, ever since I was born,” Arraez said ahead of Mother’s Day on Sunday. “The day I was born, on April 9, she was there. She’s been there through the hard times. Everyone is there through the good times, but your mom is your mom.
“She’s always liked baseball and sports. She’s always supported me ever since my dad told her, ‘Hey, take him to school so he can play baseball.’ My mom has always been there with me.”
Arraez debuted with the Twins in 2019, but his parents didn’t get to see him play in the big leagues until 2023, when they finally managed to secure a visa and travel to the United States for the first time. Ernesto and Mari were both in the stands at loanDepot Park in Miami to watch Venezuela’s thrilling 3-2 win over Team USA in the WBC final in March, allowing Arraez’s entire family to celebrate the historic triumph together.
“I’m remembering those moments when I used to travel with him to all those places where he would represent our country,” Mari told MLB Español after the WBC championship game. “Whenever we would come out as champions, I would grab the trophy with my son and take a victory lap around the entire stadium out of pure joy. There was so much joy with my son every time we exalted our country.”
“I’ve represented Venezuela since I was a kid,” Arraez said. “We’ve won ever since the first time I represented Venezuela alongside [my mom]. To be able to achieve that at the World Baseball Classic was really special.”
Arraez said he also wouldn’t be here without his wife, Gladys, who lives in Doral, Fla., with the couple’s three daughters: Emma, Esther and Esthela.
“Ever since I met Gladys, I’ve changed a lot, especially as a person, as a husband and as a son,” Arraez said. “I’m here in the big leagues thanks to her and my daughters. She got pregnant, and we were able to have Emma [in 2017]. A lot of things happened at that time, but they were my inspirations. Gladys has helped me a ton to keep going.”