8 Photos
Oswaldo Cabrera watches as a player takes a cut on Monday. MIKE DEAN
Youth baseball players flock to New York Yankee Oswaldo Cabrera. MIKE DEAN
Oswaldo Cabrera speaks to the players. MIKE DEAN
After helping lead practice on Monday, New York Yankee Oswaldo Cabrera signed some baseballs and photos for fans. MIKE DEAN
Oswaldo Cabrera was a guest coach for local ballplayers at Westhampton Beach Elementary School on Monday. MIKE DEAN
Oswaldo Cabrera was a guest coach for local ballplayers at Westhampton Beach Elementary School on Monday. MIKE DEAN
Oswaldo Cabrera was a guest coach for local ballplayers at Westhampton Beach Elementary School on Monday. MIKE DEAN
New York Yankee Oswaldo Cabrera with Westhampton Warrior coaches Keith Fialkowski, left, and Frank Fisher. MIKE DEAN
New York Yankee Oswaldo Cabrera showed up as a “guest” coach at Westhampton Beach Elementary School on Monday evening for local players of the local 12U travel team the Westhampton Warriors, many of whom also play in East End Little League, and are coached by Frank Fisher.
Justin Sherman, owner of JustinTime Baseball, based in Westchester, ran the practice with Cabrera, putting the kids through fielding and throwing drills for two hours. There were breaks along the way for the kids to ask “Waldo” questions, which ranged from who his favorite teammate is, Aaron Judge, to who his favorite Met is, asked by Michael Dean, 11, to which Cabrera said Francisco Lindor. Cabrera then FaceTimed Judge, much to the delight of the kids in attendance, and the clip was featured on Major League Baseball’s TikTok account.
Brandon Steiner of the Steiner Agency and CollectibleXchange, a friend of Fisher, was instrumental in bringing Cabrera to the East End and also supplied photos and baseballs for Cabrera to sign.
A native of Venezuela, Cabrera, 24, broke through with the Yankees just last season after being signed by the organization as a free agent when he was 16 years old. One story that he shared with the coaches and players was that he hit a home run this past Mother’s Day and he sent the jersey he wore to the game as a gift to her. Turns out that Fisher had taken the same group of ballplayers in attendance on Monday to that game and they all witnessed that home run, so hearing that story from Cabrera had special meaning for them.
Cabrera explained on Monday in a short interview that he began playing baseball in Venezuela when he was very young, at 3 years old.
“All my life was about baseball,” he said. “I studied and did good in school and in baseball at the same time.”
Before making his MLB debut last August, Cabrera had played on the Venezuelan national team, “and for me to represent my country … it was the best moment of my life, for sure.”
Playing in Yankee Stadium, though, was a “dream come true,” he said, being that he and his family were all Yankees fans.
“I remember that day like it was yesterday,” he said, with a big smile.
The Westhampton Warriors are debuting this summer in the Brookhaven Town Summer League, which they will use as practice before their big trip to Cooperstown later this summer, the week of August 20. Cabrera coming out to the East End was a bit of a kickoff to the summer for the team, Fisher said, and he couldn’t have appreciated it any more. He said if there was one word to describe Cabrera, it would be “genuine.”
Cabrera said that he loves giving back to young ball players and that if anything he taught them on Monday sticks and helps them become pro ball players in the future, that makes it all worth it.
“One thing [is] consistency,” he said. “I tried to put in the hard work all the time. I tried to get better every day, since I knew I wasn’t the best prospect or the best guy on the team. I just tried to work more hard than the other guys.”
