The dishwasher who became an MLB pitcher

The path of each of the 269 international players who made the Major League Baseball Opening Day roster to their respective team has been completely different. Some had direct paths to MLB because they were projected as future stars, others had to overcome great difficulties and nearly retired before being discovered.

The story of Dominican pitcher Ronel Blanco, who is part of the Houston Astros’ relief corps, falls into the latter scenario.

Blanco debuted in the 2022 season at the age of 28, but the player was unable to establish himself in his first year in the majors, so he was sent to the minors to continue his preparation. In 2023, he received a new opportunity from the Astros and so far, he has made the most of it.

The Santiago native pursued for years the dream of being a Major League player, first as a position player, but then he was switched to pitcher, as he told Dominican journalist Carlos Moreta of the Listín Diario.

“(In my beginnings) I lasted about two years playing third base, then I was moved to the outfield, since I had a good arm and doing a tryout, a Yankees scout told me he wanted to see me as a pitcher. I did very well and since then they left me in the position,” Blanco told Moreta.

In the midst of this period of changes as a player and already coming of age (18 years old in the Dominican Republic), Blanco not only had to deal with what was happening on the field, but also had to produce money to help his family. So Blanco began working at a car wash, having to split his time between working in the mornings and his dreams of playing baseball in the afternoons.

“I would train in the morning and in the afternoon I would work, that was my day to day. I had to do it out of necessity. I would say that really helped me become more disciplined,” Blanco said. “I had a moment when I thought about retiring, about not playing anymore, but I had a person who always told me to never quit, that I knew I was going to sign on,” the player added.

Blanco’s determination led him to pitch in amateur games and in one of them he was spotted by a listener who invited him to showcase his talent on another stage, which would eventually lead him to pitch as a guest at the Astros’ academy. After two appearances there and at age 22, an age when the vast majority of unsigned prospects leave baseball in the Dominican Republic, Ronel Blanco received an offer for five thousand dollars, an extremely low signing bonus by market standards.

“I didn’t do much with the bonus. I just used it to buy things that were needed in the house (like) a good bed. I didn’t buy anything fancy, that’s what I used the bonus for, to fix things around the house,” the baseball player said.

At 22 years old and recently signed, Blanco had to gain fast track and prove that he had the ability to climb to the Major Leagues. It took six years for the reliever to make his major league debut and, after a disappointing start to his career, he was sent back to the minor leagues before earning his spot for 2023.

As part of his preparation during those years, the Dominican reliever had the opportunity to play professionally in his native country as a member of Estrellas Orientales, where he has established himself as one of the most important arms of the green relievers.

Blanco is proof that hard work and focus are essential to becoming an MLB player, regardless of whether a prospect is projected to be the next big name and regardless of the path taken, the dream can be achieved with discipline and clear goals.