We’ve seen all sorts of eye-catching fashion accessories on the baseball diamond, but this is a new one. Yankees utility man Oswaldo Cabrera has started wearing his late grandmother Anna’s tooth on a necklace, putting a unique (and quite literal) spin on what it means to be flossin'.
YES Network reporter Meredith Marakovits caught up with the 24-year-old on Wednesday to get the story behind his interesting fashion choice, which caused a stir on social media after it was spotlighted during the Subway Series opener against the Mets on Tuesday.
According to Cabrera, who hails from Guarenas, Venezuela, his mother gave him the tooth when she visited him in New York several weeks ago.
“She gave it to me as a good-luck charm,” Cabrera said. “She said, ‘Use this, this is so beautiful.’ And I do everything for my mom. I know that made my mom so happy. After the first game, I’ve been using this for two weeks, after the first game I called my mom and she was almost crying like, ‘I’m so proud you’re using this, I’m so happy.’
“And I know my grandma is so happy up there," he added. “… My grandma passed away [after] I signed with the Yankees [in 2015], so she never saw me play baseball as a professional. So for that reason it’s so special for me, using this. I know I’m not going to use it every day or always, but I know I’m making my mom so happy and I know I’m making my grandma so proud.”