NEW YORK (AP) — J.C. Escarra’s winding path through professional baseball included a detour to gig work as a ride-share driver.
When it was time to head from his midtown Manhattan hotel to Yankee Stadium on Thursday for his possible major league debut, the 29-year-old catcher and infielder called for a car.
“It was pretty cool. Got down there and there was an Uber Black luxury waiting for me. Felt pretty special,” he said. “I've never taken an Uber to Yankee Stadium, so it was cool to see the views, the bridge, Yankee Stadium from afar.”
Two years ago, he was out of baseball and now he was wearing No. 25 for the defending AL champion New York Yankees.
“There was a time in my life that I thought I wasn’t going to be playing baseball no more. So to wake up this morning as a Major League Baseball player, especially for for the New York Yankees, it means the world to me,” he said.
Escarra grew up in the Miami area and since he was 4 years old played in youth ball with and against Nestor Cortes, the former Yankees and current Brewers pitcher.
A 17th-round draft pick by Baltimore in 2017 who signed for a $125,000 bonus, Escarra rose to Triple-A by 2021 but was cut loose at the end of spring training in 2022.
He played independent ball with the American Association's Kansas City Monarchs and winter ball in Puerto Rico with Leones de Ponce. He got married that October and needed to figure out how to make some money.
Escarra gave about 10 rides as an Uber driver with his leased Lexus and spent January to April 2023 as a substitute teacher at Doral Academy Preparatory School, taking over high school classes in art, music and physical education.
“My favorite was P.E. because I got to be outside, shoot around and watch the guys practice baseball,” he said. “Let's say I have a late period, like seventh period — class ends up at 3:30, the baseball team was already practicing."
That team included Adrian Santana, a shortstop who would be selected by Tampa Bay with the 31st overall pick in the 2023 amateur draft.
“It was full of scouts coming to watch him, and since I was there already I would go one by one: 'Hey, if you need a left-handed hitting catcher, I'm your guy,'" he said. “None of those guys ended up signing me.”
He started 2023 with another independent team, Gastonia in the Atlantic League, and was sold that June to Mexico’s Toros de Tijuana and traded in July to Algodoneros de Unión Laguna. The Yankees signed him to a minor league contract in January 2024, he started at Double-A Somerset and finished at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Escarra hit .302 with three homers and eight RBIs in 19 spring training games this year. Yankees manager Aaron Boone called him into his Steinbrenner Field office on Saturday.
“This is difficult to have to do, because I know you put yourself in a really good position and you've done everything that we could have been expected," Boone said softly during a meeting the Yankees recorded. “You’ve gotten better as a catcher, you rake and you came in here and showed it. But, as you know, we have a lot of catching depth, as you know, so that’s what makes this hard.”
Boone paused, then looked at Escarra and said: “Nah, you're going to the big leagues.”
Escarra laughed and clapped three times. He called his mom in a conversation recorded by the Yankees, told her the news, and she screamed and cried.
He walked into the lavish clubhouse for the first time Thursday and said “I was floating on a cloud.”
While most players ask for tips ahead of their debut, Escarra gave one — to his driver.
"Yeah, of course," he said with a smile.
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