My name is Alfred Ventura and this is the story of how I became an
American baseball player. My dad Ramon and my mom Rosa used
to play baseball games with me as a child. My life was all about baseball. I grew up being a baseball player. When I was 4 years old, my dad threw corn seeds at me and I hit them with a broomstick so I could have good eyesight. At 8 years old, I knew that I wanted to be a professional baseball player. My parents were happy because their child had a goal. When I was 9 years old, they signed me up for a baseball league. We did not have a lot of money. I was very skinny and had to buy myself protein, shoes, and a team uniform. Being poor made it difficult for my parents and they pulled me out of the league.

I was seen and I was one of the best and if I was representing the family, my
manager was very happy for me. Six months into pitching, a coach came
to see my performance and liked it but they didn't take me into their team.
A man from an academy came to see me and with great interest, he spoke to the manager and told him that in 2 weeks he was going to see me and
if I increased one more mile in speed, he wanted me. In those two weeks
I trained like a horse and I went up 3 miles in speed. When they came to
see me, I threw what the man wanted. He went to my house, spoke to my
parents, and told him that in 4 days he was going to come look for me. My
parents were very happy that their child was going to fulfill his dream. I was
happy but my elbow was bothering me. The other coach told me to throw as
hard as I could and to throw strikes. I tried to do everything the coach told
me but my elbow broke right there. I stopped fast and the tears began to
flow. My coach came onto the field and told me many ugly things. He told
me that I no longer had a chance and that he wasn’t going to waste his time
on me anymore.

Over time, my mother went to the country again to see if this time she could
get my papers done after so many years. When I went with my mother to the
consulate, thank God they approved my American passport. 2 months later,
I came to the United States to live with my mother. I was very happy that I
was with her. After 3 months in high school, I asked about playing baseball.
The process to join a team in America was different than in my country.
Once I tried out, I started practicing on my own again. I realized that all the
suffering and discomfort I went through with my elbow had healed. Today,
I'm standing here playing for my high school and working every day harder.
I thought that being American and being in this country was going to ruin
my dream but I see that that's not the case. Thanks to being welcomed into
America, I am very well and I see that as the saying goes, being AMERICAN
is having it all, being happy, and working hard. As Americans, we support each other and in the future if I continue as I am, getting stronger and stronger, I will be able to fulfill my parents’ dream of being a great baseball player and all that is thanks to the fact that we are AMERICANS, I can be an American baseball player.

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