© Rick Scuteri | 2018 Feb 28
Today has been a whirlwind for Mauricio Dubon.
It began like any other day. He woke up in his host family’s Sacramento home and ordered a breakfast burrito. His day made a full 180 when he received a call from an Oregon phone number at noon, one that would change his life forever.
Dubon has been watching the San Francisco Giants play at Oracle Park for more than 10 years. He watched the team chase down the San Diego Padres for the National League West crown in 2010, and he was in the park when Travis Ishikawa hit a walk-off homer to win the 2014 NLCS. He told his host mother that he was going to play here some day back when he came to the park in 2010, and today that dream became a reality when he got the call to come to the big leagues.
He actually received two calls — he ignored the first one.
“The manager from Triple-A [Dave Brundage]. He called me, he told me that I was going up,” Dubon, 25, said. “I didn’t pick up the first phone call the first time ’cause I always get the scam phone like whatever, the telemarketer thing, so I saw that and it was a number from Oregon and I hung it up.”
He answered the next call and got the news: He was going to be a San Francisco Giant.
“It’s crazy, like, I have all these pictures of me wearing Giants stuff coming to the games. I was here when Ishikawa hit the home run against Michael Wacha. It’s crazy. It’s a dream come true,” said Dubon, who was acquired from Milwaukee at the trade deadline.
“My dad can’t stop crying. Every time he starts realizing like, ‘Oh, you’re gonna play for the Giants,’ he can’t stop crying.”
He was staying at his latest home — Dubon was born in Honduras before coming to Sacramento when he was 15, which made his Triple-A Sacramento stint extra special — with his host parents. When he got the news, he gathered everyone in his car and they drove from home to San Francisco, making two pit stops.
He had to cancel his order for a breakfast burrito because he had to get to the ballpark, so he picked up some breakfast on the way. But the most important detour came when he got to pick his 8-year-old host brother up and give him the good news.
“I took him out of school and he’s like: ‘Did it happen?!’ and I’m like: ‘Yeah, let’s go!’” said Dubon, who slashed .323/.391/.485 with four homers in 25 games with Sacramento.
His host family will be in attendance at Oracle Park tonight in case Dubon makes his debut with the team. He’s not in the starting lineup but Bruce Bochy says he is available and can play both shortstop and second base.
“I met him, talked to him,” Bochy said. “I know he’s excited to be here. He’s got some history with the Giants, he’s a Giants fan so I’m sure it’s an exciting day for him. We’ll use him off the bench today, but we’ll mix it up. Donovan [Solano has] been doing a great job and he needs some days, so he’ll see work at both places.”
Dubon was inside his new home ballpark when the Giants were fighting to get a playoff spot in 2010; he was there when they made it to the World Series in 2014; and he’s been there for numerous significant moments in between. He now has the chance to not only live his dream of playing for the Giants, but he also to be the author of Oracle Park’s next legendary moment.
