A survival story.


In December of 2020, which was just ten months ago, Yohel Pozo was living in his car in a Walmart parking lot with his wife and nine-month-old son.

His son had a stroke. Minor league baseball was shut down, so he had no income. He was broke and couldn’t afford his apartment. So, in order to survive, he moved his family into their Kia Sonata, which had more than 200,000 miles.

His son’s pediatric stroke required regular, routine doctor visits. Those are expensive. Pozo had no insurance and quickly ran out of money.

Then, what little income he had was shut off. Pozo’s minor league deal with the Rangers expired. Pozo admitted that his family existed on water.

After the Padres signed Pozo, the Rangers snatched him back from them in the Rule 5 minor league draft. He was assigned to Triple-A, having never played on A-Level up to that point. 

All he did was hit. And hit. And hit.

He never give up. Then, the same fate that forced him to live in his car gave him a break. The Rangers needed a back up catcher. He was called up to the big league club.

He singled on the first major league pitch he saw. Later that game he homered. And in an instant, Pozo became a Rangers fan favorite. A guy who made contact. Rangers fans haven’t seen that kind of hitter for a long, long time. 

After his 2-for-4 yesterday, Pozo is leading the Rangers in hitting with a .303 average.

Yohel Pozo went from homeless to hometown hero. There hasn’t been much good to talk about this dreadful losing season.

Yohel Pozo is the exception.

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TODAY’S GAME: