Source: Rockies Photo Blog
(Editor’s Note: We’ve brought on some great talent lately with Bat Scout, and now we’ve got another stud added to the roster, Jay McEvoy aka @picklethebeast417, one of the most knowledgable glove guys you will ever meet. This is Jay’s first post on What Pros Wear. Give him a follow on IG and LET HIM KNOW WHAT YOU’D LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT.)
BY JAY MCEVOY
It wasn’t as dramatic as Dallas Braden’s perfect game in 2010, but it was just as emotional for Colorado Rockies 22-year-old rookie “senzation” Antonio Senzatela. Nidya Yusbelis Rondon, Antonio’s mother and biggest fan, passed away last July due to cancer at the age of 52. As he took the hill in his Mother’s Day pink, her constant words of motherly encouragement echoed in his head. For the Venezuelan fireballer, nicknamed “Little Prince” by Ian Desmond (he hails from Valencia, the same area that produced “King” Felix Hernandez), every day is Mother’s Day.
Antonio took the ball decked out in Stance Mother’s Day Tie Dye OTCs, pink and white Nike Alpha Huarache 2KFilth Mids, and his 2017 gamer, a black and coal Wilson A2K D33 with pink embroidery. But sometimes it’s not just what pros wear, it’s why they wear them.
“Let’s go, baby!” she would yell from the stands to her son playing youth ball in Venezuela. The battlecry rang true for Senzatela years later, whose team re-ordered the rotation to give him the nod on Mother’s Day. Senzatela has earned it, a rookie who skipped Triple-A altogether after spending 2016 with the Hartford Yard Goats, posting a 4-1 record with a 1.82 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched.
Although Senzatela didn’t have his best stuff, giving up four runs on seven hits in five innings, striking out five on 97 pitches, he did just enough to best lefty youngster Julio Urias and earn the win over the Dodgers in a final of 9-6.
With her gold rosary in his back pocket, and the inscription of “Nidya” and “I LOVE YOU MOM” on his cleats, under his hat, and on his glove, Senzatela needs no reminder of whom he plays the game for. Wishing he could point to the stands instead of the sky, he turned the game over to the bullpen as he crossed over the foul line in the fifth.
Shop Senzatela’s D33 at this link.
