Yoan Moncada's Long Journey to Chicago and Extreme Love of Twinkies
If you are reading this, it's highly unlikely that you haven't heard at least something about Chicago White Sox prospect Yoan Moncada. If you haven't then you may be in the wrong place.
Just about everyone who even remotely follows the game of baseball has heard his name whether it was when the Boston Red Sox signed the then 19-year-old Cuban to a record $31.5 million signing bonus – a deal that shattered the previous record ($8.27 million) of any deal ever given to an international amateur free agent – or perhaps you first heard of him this past offseason when he was traded to the Chicago White Sox along with three others in exchange for one of the best pitchers in the league, Chris Sale.
Yet, there are many things you probably don't know about Yoan Moncada, despite the fact that he's a five-tool switch-hitter who has been compared to the likes of Robinson Cano and arguably the greatest player in baseball today, Mike Trout.
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Moncada began playing baseball in Cuba as a young teen and quickly developed into one of the island's top prospects. He saw many players defect from Cuba illegally, hearing the horror stories of players such as the late Jose Fernandez having to save his mother from drowning, Jose Abreu being forced to eat a fake passport on a flight to Miami and then there was Yasiel Puig's involvement with the Mexican drug cartel.
Moncada made the decision to come to the United States legally but back in 2013 that meant getting a travel visa.
The only country who would accommodate him was Ecuador. After two months he was granted a visa to travel to Guatemala where he had to stay for six months to establish residency before being able to come to the United States.
He held a showcase in Guatemala for about 75 MLB scouts who came back to the states so impressed with the young player and excited that he wasn't even nearing his prime, that a bidding war ensued, ending in the record deal given to Moncada by the Red Sox.
Like most foreign players he had to adjust to life not just in the United States but life with a lot of money. Moncada picked up habits like those of Yoenis Cespedes, buying toys and cars and driving them much too fast.
He also made another less expensive discovery during his transition to the U.S. – Walmart. Even with his employers trying to teach Moncada about nutrition and staying healthy, the discovery of Walmart brought with it the discovery of Twinkies.
That might not seem like a big deal. Twinkies are not the same as having a different car for each day of the week, although Moncada does now own a few nice rides, but Twinkies became a big deal for the young up-and-coming superstar.
He could eat up to 85 Twinkies in a single week, oftentimes ten in a single sitting! While not exactly healthy, there are worse vices. Moncada still rose through the minors rapidly.
He played in his first professional game in the Class-A Atlantic League in May of 2015 and made his big league debut on September 2, 2016 in the seventh inning against the Oakland Athletics.
Moncada walked and scored a run in his first game and the following day he went 2-5 with an RBI, both wins for the Red Sox over the Athletics.
While he has just eight major league games under his belt and just a .211 average to show for it, there's hardly any doubt that he will be a star with his new team, even if he does have to start the season in Triple-A (so that the White Sox can get on more year of team control over him) and even if he continues to maintain his Twinkie habit.
The Chicago White Sox won the 2016 Winter Meetings when they traded Chris Sale and Adam Eaton for prospects like Yoan Moncada and Lucas Giolito.
