Miguel Urbina: Adopted Puerto-Rican Baseball Player

Baseball is not just a sport. It’s more than men throwing a ball over 95 mph and hitting a ball

over 425 feet. It’s more than over 35,000 people filling up a stadium and cheering on their

favorite team. It’s a way for people to connect to each other through a common passion. It

connects friends, brothers and sisters, strangers, and parents and kids. In some cases, it connects

a boy to his adoptive father, as is the case with Miguel Urbina, Jr.

1998 was an eventful year for the people of Puerto Rico. That summer, nearly 500,000

Puerto Ricans protested a privatization plan of the Puerto Rico Telephone Company. A Category

3 hurricane, Hurricane Georges, slammed the island in late September. In December, those living

on the island took part in a vote on the referendum status of Puerto Rico. Miguel Urbina, Jr.

was just a few months old while all of these events were happening.

Photo by Belisa Urbina

 Miguel Urbina, Jr. was born on March 31, 1998, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the island’s

capital. A shy, mild-mannered teenager, he doesn’t remember much of his life in Puerto Rico

because he came to the United States the year following his birth.

“I lived in Puerto Rico for a little bit, but I was too young to remember what it was like

living there,” said Miguel Jr.

But it was in 1998, a few months after his birth, that his life would dramatically change.

Before his first birthday, Miguel Jr. was adopted by Miguel Urbina, Sr.

A short man, Miguel Urbina, Sr. personality stands tall. Very outgoing, he preaches that

loving one other is the key to healthy relationships.

“The adoption process for Miguel Jr. was hard. But I loved him from the moment I saw

him, and that made it worth it,” said Miguel Sr.

This love was made easier because a couple of years earlier, Miguel Sr. had adopted

Carlos, the older true blood brother of Miguel Jr.

“Both Carlos and Miguel were adopted a few months after they were born, with Carlos

being adopted earlier because he is older,” said Miguel Sr.

Miguel Sr. described the adoption process as hard with copious amounts of paperwork

and background checks, but being able to add two more children to his family made it all worth

it in the end. Miguel Sr. brought the younger Miguel, Carlos, his wife, and his biological

son Kevin to the United States in 1999.

“Despite being adopted and not being born in the US, I still feel like I had a very

traditional childhood,” Miguel Jr. said.

From his early days, Miguel Jr. was taught the game of baseball by his new father. All the

ins and outs, the obscure rules, the situations, and the players. Miguel Jr. soaked in every bit of
information. Although the elder Miguel attempted to teach his birth son Kevin and Carlos

the same things about baseball, it was Miguel Jr. who shared the same passion for baseball.

The alarm clock sounds. He looks at the clock. It reads 5:15 am. He has 45 minutes to get

out of bed, get ready, and arrive at the gym for workouts at 6 am. He pulls into the parking lot at

5:45. His teammates on the Georgia Highlands College baseball team are filing into the gym

along with him. The members of the two-year junior college program have a CrossFit workout

today that features burpees, pull-ups, clean and press, squat jumps, and a timed run. Miguel Jr.

completes his workout, sweat dripping off his face and soaking into his shirt.

“Miguel is one of the hardest working kids I’ve played with. He puts the team before

himself, and he is always encouraging his teammates,” said Matthew Vaccaro, a teammate of

Miguel at Georgia Highlands.

Now, it’s back home for a shower, breakfast, protein shake, and off to class. Class at 8

am, another at 10 am, and a final class at noon. After that class, Miguel Jr. goes to a nearby

Chick-fil-A and orders his favorite, a deluxe spicy chicken sandwich meal. After lunch, he heads

to Old Cass High School in Cartersville, GA where the Georgia Highlands baseball team

practices during the fall semester.

“Playing baseball in college has been amazing. I love my teammates, love the coaches. It can be

a grind at times with long practices and workouts, but it helps us get better as a team,” says

Miguel Jr.

Miguel Jr. has only had a few coach throughout his life. This is because Miguel Sr.

coached him from the time he could pick up a bat to the time that he entered high school.
 “I don’t think I could have had a better coach when I was young. My dad taught me

everything I needed to know about baseball,” the younger Miguel said.

The elder Miguel could not be more proud of the way his son developed as a player and

as a man over the course of his life.

“I’m very proud of him. Being his coach, it was an interesting and worthwhile

experience. I had lots of time to share my knowledge and allow him to grow. And helped him to

find his maximum potential,” said Miguel Sr.

Photo by Belisa Urbina

Miguel Jr. believes that having his adoptive father as his coach is the only way it could

have been for him.

 “If I hadn’t been adopted, I don’t think I would even be playing baseball at this point of

my life. It was amazing having him as my coach.”

Hailing from a homeland where baseball is practically a religion and where many of

today’s professional players are born, this statement is significant coming from Miguel Jr.

Following a three hour practice, Miguel heads to his grandma’s house for a home

-cooked meal, then heads back home. At this point, Miguel works on his homework, if he has

any that night, then concludes his night by playing video games on his PlayStation 4. Usually,

it’s time for bed at 11 pm.

After settling down in the United States at the turn of the century, Miguel Sr. set about

teaching his three sons about life as men.

“I wanted them to be honest, loyal, faithful, responsible, and to put the family before

themselves,” the elder Miguel said.

The key values that Miguel Jr. took away from his father is to never judge others and to

be respectful of others.Miguel and his family have always gotten along well for as long as he

can remember.

“I’ve always gotten along with my brothers. I see them both as my blood brothers. I also

see my adoptive parents as if they were my biological parents,” Miguel Jr. said.

His brothers share the same views as Miguel Jr. Carlos, his blood brother, is unable to

imagine life without Miguel there and is happy they were adopted by the same family. Kevin,

Miguel’s non-biological brother, was young when Miguel and Carlos were adopted and never

thought of them as anything other than his blood brothers.

“We might as well be blood brothers because we get along so well,” Kevin said.
 “Me and Miguel have different interests from Kevin. We’re more into sports and cars and

Kevin is into movies and music. So, I think I’m a little closer to Miguel. But we all get along

well,” said Carlos.

Miguel Jr. was like any other young child growing up, running around the house, causing

chaos, accidentally breaking things. He was also very curious about who he was. When he was 5

years old, his curiosity got the best of him.

“He found out he was adopted and started crying at

first because he seemed scared. After he calmed down, he told everyone like it was news and

thought everyone should know he was adopted. He then asked if he could be returned, which was

a funny moment,” Miguel Sr. said.

Miguel Jr. eventually grew to understand the story of his adoption and is content with

the way things played out in his life.

Some of the defining years of Miguel Jr.’s life was his high school years. He was a

standout outfielder for the North Paulding High School baseball team, had many close friends in

the school, and grew as a person. Miguel was never faced with severe teasing due to his being

adopted.

“There some small jokes, but never anything that I took offense to,” he said.

He played on some excellent teams during his time in high school. His freshman year, as

a member of the junior varsity team, he helped lead the team to the county championship. He

made the varsity team as a sophomore and remained a key player through his senior year. He
helped the team reach the third round of state playoffs as a sophomore and the first round as

a senior.

“He was a leader on our team senior year. He was a huge part of our team making the

playoffs that year,” said Eric Goldstein, a teammate of Miguel Jr.’s at North Paulding.

It was his performance during his senior year that earned a spot on the team at Georgia

Highlands College. He helped the team win their conference during his freshman year.

Photo by Miguel Urbina, Sr.

Since moving to the US, Miguel Jr. and his family have gone back to Puerto Rico several

times to visit. Each visit has brought a different experience to Miguel. On one of the latest visits,

Miguel met his biological father.

 “It was a short meeting, but I enjoyed it. It was a unique experience, to say the least,” he

said.

Despite this interaction with his biological father, Miguel has yet to meet his birth

mother. They do, however, have some communication via Facebook.

“It’s not much, but I do appreciate the effort that they put in to have a relationship with

me. I may not fully understand why they gave me up, but being able to talk to them occasionally

is nice. I’m happy with my family now, and that’s what matters.”