A heartfelt conversation with a higher power inspired Fernando Cruz, a reliever for the New York Yankees, to chase his dream of the big leagues.
It wasn’t an easy road; it took him 16 long years to finally break into Major League Baseball.
His mother, Virginia Manon, a devout Christian and mother of four, always believed in him. She kept urging him to persist, even as his journey in the minor leagues extended into a second year. Cruz, now 35, shared these reflections from the Yankee Stadium dugout just ahead of Mother’s Day.
“She would say, ‘Don’t stop. God has something really special for you,’” Cruz recalled, visibly moved. “For 16 years, those words never left my mind. And now, I’m living my dream every single day.”
Manon passed away from brain cancer in 2021 at 69, and sadly, she didn’t get to witness her son join the Major Leagues with the Cincinnati Reds just a year later.
Yet, she seemed to foresee his success. “In 2019, she told me, ‘2021 will be your year,’” he remembered.
The pandemic interrupted the 2020 season, but in 2021, Cruz participated in the Caribbean Series and later signed with Mariachis de Guadalajara in Mexico, where he achieved the most saves in the team’s history, drawing MLB interest.
“That’s when teams like Cincinnati started looking at me,” he noted. He made his rookie debut at 32, quite late in life for a rookie. “I genuinely think she had a deal with God because everything changed dramatically after she was gone,” he added.
Manon worked tirelessly to ensure her son could fulfill his dreams. Originally from the Dominican Republic, she made her way to Puerto Rico, where she met Cruz’s father. She took on various odd jobs, even working at a bakery, while pursuing an accounting degree and selling gems.
Cruz used to practice throwing a baseball against the wall in front of his house in Dorado, Puerto Rico. “I would picture myself at Yankee Stadium back then,” he reminisced.
His father, who worked for the Puerto Rican government, instilled in him the discipline essential for becoming a Bronx Bomber. “My mom always made sure I had Yankees gear. I remember my room was filled with hats,” he said fondly.
When Cruz received the news about his Yankees deal during a phone call with GM Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone, he was with his wife, O’Malley, and their four children. “We were at Dave & Buster’s, and when I got the call, we just erupted in joy—screaming and crying,” he recalled.
He genuinely feels his mother’s influence even extends to his marriage. O’Malley, who is the daughter of his third-base coach when he was 18, is “the first love my mom really wanted for me.”
