His parents have already seen him play in the Major Leagues. Not his grandparents. And that pending debt is, perhaps, the most powerful reason why Moíses Ballesteros tries to debut with the Lions of Caracas in the upcoming campaign of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.
However, the now Los Angeles Angels player – who arrived via trade from the Chicago Cubs – says that although there are conversations with the long-haired board, “there are certain possibilities that his debut in Venezuela will not happen.”
“More than anything (I want to play) so that my grandmother and grandfather can see me, they have never been able to see me play in the Major Leagues and I think that would be a great source of pride for me,” confesses the Tequeño, who on the day of his debut in the majors (May 13, 2025) could count on the presence of his parents at Wrigley Field.
“That was the first time they came to the United States and it was the first time they saw me play,” said the burly receiver, now a teammate of Mike Trout.
Arrival in Los Angeles
On August 3, Moíses’ cell phone rang constantly. His father, the player says, tried to communicate to find out what he was thinking.
“I was at my house and my parents were writing to me, writing to me, I hadn’t seen the phone until I saw the call from my agent,” he continued. “I was shocked, I was shocked and nothing, I didn’t believe it until I got here.”
The Cubs gave him $1.2 million in the 2021 international signing process and last year he had been ranked as the 65th prospect in the entire Major League system.
The surprise of the Ballestero trade, however, now takes him to a new stage in his budding major league career: sharing a clubhouse with Mike Trout.
“Look, impressive, really, he is a person that anyone can take as an example to follow. And despite all the years he has, he always remains the same person, the same camaraderie never changes and he really is a super good person,” says Ballesteros, who before the game this Thursday, August 20 between the Angels and the Houston Astros, was batting .204, an on-base percentage of .278, a slugging percentage of .320 and an OPS of .599.
This year, in just 73 games, he had hit 6 home runs and driven in 11 runs. In Chicago he saw his playing time decimated, but Moíses Ballesteros remains focused on staying in the majors with his new team, but without forgetting what they teach in children’s baseball: enjoy.
“I feel that when you try to do things better, everything goes wrong. I think the best thing is to go out and have fun, go out and do what you know and never mistrust the abilities you have.”
