St. Louis Cardinals rookie Juan Yepez gave his mother the best Mother’s Day gift of all: the first home run of his MLB career.
“It had been 8 years since Juan Yepez was able to spend Mother’s Day with his mom, Marujua Alvarez,” wrote The Athletic’s Katie Woo on Twitter.
But Marujua, along with Juan’s father Omar and Juan’s brother Omar Jr., were in attendance when Juan delivered the greatest Mother’s Day gift of all: the first home run of his MLB career.
“Just being here in the big leagues with my mom on Mother’s Day was special right away,” Yepez said. “So I was like, ‘Mom, I’m going to try to hit a home run or do something special for you today.’ That it happened is just proof whenever you ask God for something, he’s good.”
Juan Yepez delivers the first homer of his MLB career in time for Mother’s Day
Following the game, Juan’s father described Juan’s relationship with his mother as “very, very tight.”
It’s no surprise then that seeing her son shine at Oracle Park brought Marujua Alvarez to tears.
“We were kind of in shock,” said Omar Yepez Jr. “I think I’m still in shock. As soon as he hit it, we just turned to see my mom. She was crying a little, but I’ve never seen my mom smile that big.”
As Woo notes, this is a major development for Yepez’s career, as he was only recently called up to the big leagues this past week. He debuted against the Kansas City Royals, although his contributions in the San Francisco Giants game on Sunday had a significant impact on the Cardinals’ score. Though the Cardinals lost 3-4 to the Giants, Yepez went “2-for-3 with a walk, two RBIs and two runs scored,” notes The Athletic.
After eight years away from his mother, Juan Yepez was able to deliver a memorable Mother’s Day gift that their family will never forget.