This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman's Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
SEATTLE -- Mauricio Dubón fought back tears as he talked about how his appreciation for his wife, Nancy, has grown since they became parents for the first time.
“I keep telling people, you fall in love differently with your wife when you see her go through labor, the pain and the epidural,” Dubón said. “It’s impressive to see all that she does. That’s why when I get home, I don’t complain about not getting a hit or anything like that, because I know all that she’s had to do that day.”
As the Braves conclude a nine-game, 10-day road trip on Sunday at Dodger Stadium, Dubón will be sending long-distance Mother’s Day love to his wife.
“There’s a reason I’m here,” Dubón said. “My wife is a big part of my career.”
Dubón’s fascinating journey to the Majors has been told over the years. He left his native Honduras with a mission family when he was 15, played high school baseball in the Sacramento area, was drafted in the 26th round of the 2013 MLB Draft, debuted in 2019 and now proudly stands as the only MLB player in history to have been born and raised in Honduras.
Nancy didn’t become part of this journey until 2017, when she was a student at Loyola University New Orleans, and Mauricio was playing for the Brewers’ Double-A affiliate in nearby Biloxi, Ms.
Nancy, who is also from Honduras, has a brother who had received baseball instruction from Dubón’s brother. This led to an introduction and the start of a bond that has only grown over the years.
“She’s been there for me through it all,” Dubón said. “She was there for me when I had to turn the light on my phone down just to see if I had enough money before I would take her to dinner.”
The Dubóns welcomed Luciano into the world in November 2024. The family has made the smooth transition that was necessitated when the Astros traded the two-time Gold Glove utility player to the Braves this past winter.
While the environment might have changed, the 24-hour responsibilities of being a mother -- especially one whose husband is either at the ballpark or on the road -- never end.
“You can say, ‘She’s a mother, that’s what she has to do,’” Dubón said. “Some parents don’t go above and beyond like she does. I’m happy for my son that that’s his mom.”