From Uber driver to major league player The New York Yankees' 29-year-old catcher dreams come true

Yankees head coach Boone has officially announced the promotion of left-hit catcher J.C. Escarra (J.C. Escarra) to the major leagues, he turned 30 in April this year, and he has been fighting for more than a decade to finally realize his dream of professional baseball. Escala had a rocky baseball career, and in order to make ends meet, he worked as an Uber driver to take passengers to the airport and struggled to maintain a five-star rating. "I don't make much, I don't know how other people do it, I waste a lot of gas money, customers don't tip, I've never been complained by, many of the passengers are old ladies who don't drive themselves."

Drafted by the Orioles in 2017 and released in 2022, Escara went to the Independent League to continue honing his skills and was appreciated by the Rangers but was not signed. At this time, Escarra was saddled with a mortgage because of his marriage, which became his most difficult period of money, he took almost any job, contractor, young base coach, substitute teacher, food delivery, and he got the full support of his wife. "We're moonlight, but we made it through, I didn't drive on weekends or nights, maybe that's the highest-paying time."

The Yankees scouts gave Escala a minor league contract in 2024, and he jumped at the chance to hit 3 shots, 8 points, and a 0.333 batting average in 17 warm-up games in this year's spring training. After Austin Wells was confirmed as the No. 1 catcher, the head coach decided to give Escala a chance to be a backup catcher and called him into the office to let the news go.

As soon as Escala was named to the Yankees' roster for the opening game of the new season, he immediately informed his mother via video, "We're going to New York, and my dream has come true." His parents are Cuban immigrants, and his mother can be heard crying with joy on the other end of the phone, as fans message him for a wonderful trip to the Yankees.