The Crossing to Five Hundred

The Crossing

The last time Yandy Díaz tried to leave Cuba, he hid in tall grass by a Holguín beach until 2 a.m., then boarded a motorized raft with his childhood friend Leandro Linares. About twelve hours on the open Atlantic — sharks near the boat — and Monte Cristi in the Dominican Republic at the other end. Two earlier attempts had each cost him 21 days in jail. He signed with Cleveland for $300,000 and reached the major leagues in April 2017, a right-handed hitter who had played in Cuba's National Series for Villa Clara at 16.

Two seasons in Cleveland, then Tampa Bay, where he has been ever since. Ten years, 1,037 games, a .292 average, a .372 on-base percentage. He has 207 doubles and 121 home runs and has scored 551 runs. On September 1, at 35, he drove in the 500th RBI of his career. Twenty-one of those home runs have come this season.

The Call

His mother Elsa María steered him toward baseball when he was eight, pulling him away from soccer and basketball. She worked long shifts at a cigar factory near their home. His father Jorge had defected earlier and briefly played in the Texas Rangers system; Díaz last saw him at age six. Since the night he boarded that raft in 2013, Díaz has spoken with his mother nearly every day — by phone, by video.

Teammates in Tampa Bay know him as a clubhouse leader with a playful streak, a 235-pound designated hitter who watches cartoons in the weight room to clear his head. In 2023 he earned his first All-Star selection and a Silver Slugger, and homered in the Midsummer Classic. His wife Mayisleidis gave birth to their son the following day. He returned to the All-Star Game this summer for a second selection, in his eighth season with the Rays.

Reporting: cleveland.com, MLB.com, Orlando Sentinel, Wikipedia. Career and biographical data: MLB StatsAPI, via the Fever engine.