DENVER -- Yorvis Torrealba, son of former Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba, heard his phone ringing Wednesday afternoon. Yorvis, on an off-day during the Division II NCAA baseball tournament in which his University of Tampa Spartans are a win away from the national title game, looked at the caller ID.
It was his dad.
"Keep your phone on," the elder Torrealba told his son. "You're about to get drafted by the Rockies."
It was a surreal moment for Yorvis. As a boy, he ran through the home clubhouse at Coors Field countless times while Yorvit played there from 2006-09. He would always be trying on his father's giant catcher's mask and getting high-fives from the likes of Troy Tulowitzki, Matt Holliday and Carlos Gonzalez.
Moments later, it was official: Yorvis was a member of the Rockies' organization after Colorado selected the 21-year-old outfielder in the 20th round.
"I grew up at Coors Field," Yorvis said. "When I heard my name called, it was unbelievable."
Over the prior two days, Yorvit had been fielding calls from several teams with interest in his son, the Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year. But there was one call that got his heart beating faster.
"I got a phone call from the Rockies," he said. "They said, 'Hey, just to let you know, we're going to pick your son in Round 20.' I just started crying."
The moment was one that Yorvit and his son will never forget. It's the culmination of a long journey that began in Major League clubhouses in San Francisco and Colorado, and continued through Yorvis' school years in Venezuela before he moved to Florida.
There's another memory that the Torrealbas can't forget. And it's a horrific one, borne out of an ordeal that gave Yorvis an entirely new perspective on life at the age of 11.
Yorvis was kidnapped at gunpoint in Venezuela along with his two uncles while they were taking him to school one morning in 2008. The kidnappers demanded half a million dollars, knowing well who Yorvis' father was.
"I closed my eyes and all I could see was my son lying dead somewhere," Yorvit said.
Yorvit immediately got on a plane to Venezuela and worked with the local police while keeping his presence there unknown to the kidnappers, who would surely have upped their ransom demand if they knew the Major League catcher had arrived.
Meanwhile, Yorvis sat terrified with his uncles, who tried to keep him as calm as possible in the presence of the kidnappers.
"I heard them talking to my mom, telling her that they had her son," Yorvis said. "I went into panic mode. I was crying the whole time. I didn't know if I was going to see my mom or my family ever again.
"Not knowing whether you're going to make it out, I can't even put into words what that really felt like."
Yorvit and the police arranged to have the money delivered to a designated drop-off location in a very rural area. Some of the kidnappers were holding Yorvis in a separate location. In an apparent miscommunication among the kidnappers, Yorvis was released before the money was ever delivered.
Reunited with his family, Yorvis would not remain in Venezuela following the harrowing ordeal. His parents moved him to Florida, where he moved on with his life and established himself as a top prospect.
Seven years later, following his father's retirement from baseball, Yorvis was back in Colorado attending Colorado Christian University. In late September of 2015, he was invited to return to Coors Field, this time to take in a game against the Padres at the invitation of Gonzalez and Wilin Rosario.
"It never crossed my mind back then that I could be in the Rockies' organization one day," Yorvis said. "The Rockies were my favorite team growing up, but I never thought this would become a reality."
It's a reality now. And after all Yorvis Torrealba and his family have been through, what a monumental day Wednesday was.