Growing up in Corpus Christi, Texas, Jose Trevino shared a passion for baseball and a love for the Yankees with his father, Joe. The younger Trevino dreamed of one day wearing the pinstripes as he grew from a high school infielder and aspiring professional ballplayer into a collegiate star at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

A year after his father passed away, Trevino was selected by the Texas Rangers in the sixth round of the 2014 Draft. While making the transition from the infield to the catcher position, Trevino climbed the organization’s Minor League ladder, ultimately making his big-league debut in 2018. He had his most productive season in 2021, batting .239 with five home runs in 89 games.

On April 2 of this year, Trevino’s dream became a reality when the Yankees acquired him from Texas in exchange for right-hander Albert Abreu and Minor Leaguer Robby Ahlstrom. Then, on May 24 -- which would have been his father’s 69th birthday -- Trevino hit his first home run in Yankee Stadium as a member of the Yankees. Later in the same game, he delivered a game-tying RBI single in the seventh inning, and in the 11th, he drove in the winning run with a walk-off base hit.

Trevino, who was selected to join the Yankees’ representatives at this month’s MLB All-Star Game in Los Angeles, sat down with Yankees Magazine editor-in-chief Alfred Santasiere III at Yankee Stadium after his second walk-off of the season on June 10. In the conversation, Trevino shared his thoughts on his inspiring journey, his beloved father and how he dealt with the emotions of taking the field a few hours after learning about the horrific school shooting in his home state.

Yankees Magazine: It has been well documented that on May 24, your day began like so many others, with a cup of coffee. But what was memorable about that morning?

Jose Trevino: Well, as I was making coffee, I realized that it was my dad’s birthday. I couldn’t remember at first if it was that day or the next day, but I texted my sister, and she confirmed that it was in fact that day. I just started feeling like it was going to be a memorable day at that point; I felt like my dad was with me.

YM: You’ve got a really special coffee mug featuring Mickey Mantle’s rookie card, and it’s identical to the one that your dad used for coffee. Where did you find this keepsake?

JT: My sister actually has the original, but I thought that the mug broke when my mom was moving, so I wanted to find a replacement. The day I got traded here, I went on eBay and found it, but it was sold out. I went back on a few weeks later and found it again, and I was finally able to get it. The guy I bought it from probably had no idea how much it means to me, but I did send him a thank-you note. It’s just really special and cool to have it now.

YM: And you had a cup of coffee from that mug on the day you collected three hits and produced those late-game heroics against Baltimore?

JT: Yeah, I did. I just pulled the mug out, because it’s one of the nicest ones I have. I was looking at the Mantle card as the coffee was brewing, and I was just thinking about what a great Yankee Mickey Mantle was and how much my dad admired him. That’s what reminded me that it was my dad’s birthday.

YM: How hard was it to concentrate on the game and prepare to play baseball when you found out about the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas?

JT: It was really tough. I have a child, so when something like this happens to other children, it really hits home. I would never want anyone to go through that, but especially not children. I think it also hit me pretty hard because it happened so close to where I’m from. It affected me more than all of the other shootings that have happened. This one was really close to my heart. I love the state of Texas. I love where I’m from and where I grew up. I love everything about the state of Texas. Not that this is the first time this has happened, but thinking about how there are parents who are not going to be able to have breakfast with their children the next morning, that are not going to be able to have any more Christmases with their children, that’s unbearable. Just saying those things out loud is hard. My son is getting ready to go to school, and it was just really hard to believe that so many children had lost their lives that day.

YM: I believe you know someone who played a role in saving several children that day.

JT: Yes. A few days later, I heard a story about a border patrol agent who was getting a haircut when he heard about what was going on at the school. He got up out of the chair and got a shotgun from his barber. He just told the barber that going home without his wife and daughter, who were both at the school, was not an option. I actually know this guy because his son went to my catchers’ camp in the offseason, and I have kept in touch with him. I got a text from him a few days ago; he and his family were in New York, and they were at one of our games. When I got to see him and his family, I just told him that he was a hero, but you could see the hurt in his heart. He wanted to save more of those children, but he did go into the school, got his daughter and his wife, and then took a bunch of other kids out of the school.

YM: Was there anything you did to try to take your mind off of the tragedy and refocus on baseball prior to the game?

JT: I like to sign autographs before the game, so I went out to sign some autographs. I remember that my dad told me to never deny a kid an autograph. When I was 13 years old, he started telling me that if I ever made it to the big leagues, I should always give kids an autograph if I could. As I was running back to the dugout, the moment when my dad told me that came back to me.

YM: Was it then that you felt like something special might be in the air that night?

JT: It was starting to feel that way, but when I hit the home run in my first at-bat, I really knew that something special was going on. When we got to the seventh, I knew that we needed a hit to tie the game, and I just felt a calmness come over me. When the 11th inning rolled around, I was walking back and forth in the dugout saying, “Don’t give me a chance here because I’m definitely going to get it done.”

YM: What were the thoughts going through your mind when you stepped to the plate in the 11th inning with a chance to win the game?

JT: I just played the scenario in my head. I knew that I was going to have a little help. I felt confident in the moment. Big moments like that never really shake me because my father put me in those scenarios from the time I was a little kid. As a 7-year-old, he was telling me that I’m batting in the seventh game of the World Series with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. I know how to calm my nerves in those big moments, relax and just be myself. I actually have fun with it. I don’t put too much pressure on myself. If I do my best, and I do everything I can to be successful in an opportunity that’s presenting itself right in front of me, and I don’t get it done, then I don’t get it done. But I still know that I did everything I could: I prepared, I was ready, I was having fun with it, and I was accepting the moment. Those were the thoughts that I had before that at-bat. I knew what the day was, and I knew that I was going to have some extra help from my dad.

YM: A few weeks later, you delivered another walk-off, this time a 13th-inning single against the Cubs on your son’s 4th birthday. What was his reaction to your extra-innings heroics?

JT: Well, he was allowed to stay up and watch the whole game, and he was really excited with how it ended. We talked on FaceTime after the game, and he asked me if I had won the game for his birthday. I told him that I wanted to do that, and that the walk-off was dedicated to him. I believe I got a little extra help in that game, as well.

YM: Going back to your days at St. John Paul II High School in Corpus Christi, what were your goals before the Texas Rangers drafted you?

JT: My goal was definitely to play in the big leagues. When I was a sophomore in high school, that’s when I was fully committed to becoming a professional baseball player. Honestly, I wanted to play for the Yankees. That’s how I felt; I was truly a Yankees fan, and I knew that I wanted to play in the Majors.

YM: What were the most challenging aspects of spending five years in the Minors?

JT: Being so young, it was hard to understand that there were going to be ups and downs. I thought it was going to be all ups; I thought that I would get to the top of the mountain and stay there forever. But not many people know that the road that we take is winding. It has some bumps; there’s even some construction that you encounter. You have to find that clear path, but that’s not easy to do. It’s kind of like a rose -- it has thorns; there are growing pains and trials and tribulations. Bad things are going to come up, and good things are going to happen. It’s mostly good, but it’s still a long road. It wasn’t lonely for me; I had a lot of family that checked in on me whether I was doing well or struggling. It felt really long, even though I was in the Minors for less time than some other players.

YM: Was there a moment when you felt like you were breaking through and that you would get to the big leagues?

JT: No. Right before I got called up, I was struggling really badly. I was actually on the phone with a mental skills coach that we had with the Rangers. I was in my truck, telling him how much I was struggling. I was telling him that I still felt good and that I really wanted to be a big leaguer. I remember saying, “I know I can be a big leaguer.” He helped me to cross out some things that I was thinking about but that I couldn’t control, and he encouraged me to circle a few things that I could control. It helped me shift my thoughts to a better place, and within the first seven minutes of that conversation, I got called up to the big leagues. I felt like I got a fresh, new start when I got off the phone.

YM: How did the belief that your father had in you from a young age help you to develop into the baseball player you are today?

JT: He never forced me to play baseball, but any time that I wanted to play catch, any time I ever wanted to hit the ball, any time I wanted to learn something, any time I wanted to watch a baseball game, he was always there to provide anything and everything I needed. He helped me a lot mentally. Looking back on the walk-off hit against Baltimore on his birthday, I just think about how he put me in those scenarios. He was always my biggest fan. He taught me a lot of little things, but the most important thing he taught me was to believe in myself and trust my abilities no matter what. He gave me a lot of confidence. No matter what, he would tell me that confidence comes from within yourself, and when you have that, no one can ever take that away from you. He always said that championships are great and defense wins championships, but your attitude and the effort that you bring to the field every day are the things that matter most. Now that I’m getting older, I realize that it was those lessons that my dad was telling me at 7 or 8 years old that are really impactful.

YM: You’re widely regarded as a valuable asset behind the plate. How much do you prioritize continually improving at the catcher position?

JT: When I first started catching, I had a lot of trouble playing the position. I couldn’t block; I struggled receiving the ball. It was just tough for me, especially coming from the infield to the catching position. But when I made the position change, honestly, all I heard in my head was my dad saying, “Defense wins championships.” My first season was rough, but I finally made it a point to be the best that I could at this position. I felt like I was a good infielder, but I wanted to be an even better catcher. I worked hard in the offseason and tried to make adjustments along the way.

YM: How would you describe the experience of playing for the Yankees so far?

JT: It was a lot at first, especially getting to know a new pitching staff, but I can’t thank Kyle Higashioka enough. He made sure that I was comfortable with all of the guys. The whole coaching staff, and Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Joey Gallo, and so many other guys were so welcoming. My fiancée and my agent took care of my living situation, and that made things off the field easy. As far as playing for the Yankees, I just think about taking the field on Opening Day at Yankee Stadium to take on the Red Sox. I had dreams about that; I had a feeling that day that I still can’t describe. Walking up the tunnel and seeing the Stadium and hearing the crowd that day, I literally had dreams about that when I was growing up. I was so happy that it was really happening. I’m excited to wear the pinstripes like Derek Jeter, like Mariano Rivera, who I watched when I was a kid. Not many people get to experience that, and I feel lucky to be one of them.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.