ST. LOUIS -- As he was rounding the bases following his tiebreaking homer in Sunday afternoon’s sixth inning, Cardinals catcher Yohel Pozo not only had tears in his eyes but also thoughts of his son, Paul, and other ill kids at Mercy Children’s Hospital dancing in his mind.
Paul Pozo suffered a series of strokes after being born in March of 2020, and he walked and talked well ahead of when doctors ever thought he would do so. Paul’s painted handprint was on the 34-inch, 31-ounce maple bat used for Sunday’s homer, along with others from children fighting to get better at the nearby hospital.
Those kids playfully asked Pozo to hit them a homer during the catcher’s visit to the hospital last week, and his only promise was that he would give it everything he could against the Yankees. So, when reliever Camilo Doval hung a slider in the middle of the plate and Pozo crushed the ball a Statcast-projected 404 feet for his fifth home run of the season, the waterworks welled in his eyes almost immediately.
“The kids asked me if I could hit a homer and I was like, ‘Well, I’m going to try,’ and then when it happens -- as soon as I saw the ball and it was a homer -- I almost started crying running the bases just thinking about it,” Pozo said after a crushing game where the Yankees rallied for a run in the seventh inning and four in the ninth to spoil his dramatic home run in an 8-4 defeat of the Cardinals.
“I hope [the kids in the hospital] see that and see that I hit that homer for them.”
Pozo’s homer is the latest chapter in one of MLB’s best feel-good stories of 2025. Not signed until late in Spring Training when he was contemplating joining a Mexican League squad, Pozo worked his way to the big leagues in April when Iván Herrera went down with a left knee injury, and he stayed around with bat-to-ball skills refined when he used to hit black beans with a broom stick in his native Venezuela. He has become something of a cult hero in St. Louis by leading all MLB hitters with seven pinch-hit RBIs and ranking second in pinch hits (six).
And to think five years earlier, Pozo, wife Paola and Paul were homeless when his infant son suffered a series of strokes just as Pozo lost his salary and insurance due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down Minor League Baseball’s 2020 season. What little money the family had or earned went toward treatments for Paul, who defied doctors’ projections.
“At the beginning, the doctors said he wouldn’t walk or talk until he was 8 or 9 years old, but he started walking at 3 and talking at 4,” said Pozo, who also used a purple bat with the words “Playing for Paul” painted onto the barrel earlier in the game. “We give him therapy [year round], and the therapy has helped him a lot.
“He just enjoys life, and if you see him, he’s always smiling and he likes to hug people. He’s a happy kid.”
Even in the face of a five-game losing streak and a sweep at the hands of the Yankees, members of the Cardinals were able to smile at what Pozo accomplished on Sunday with the bat adorned with the painted handprints of several ailing children.
“He’s been a favorite in the clubhouse from the day he came up,” said Lars Nootbaar, who had three hits on Sunday before leaving the game with cramping in his left hamstring. “We signed [Pozo] late in spring, so no one knew much about him, but he just jelled well with the guys. For him to have the role he’s had and do as well as he has -- from the story with his kid, the sacrifices he’s made for his family and doing what he did today with the bat -- it’s all really special. He’s been an amazing teammate and someone everybody roots for.”
Because he knows first-hand about the pains and strains a sick child puts on a family, Pozo has big plans for the bat that he used to hit the homer. His hope is that the bat with the red, yellow and blue handprints painted onto it will continue to bring relief and joy to the families enduring illnesses to their children. It will soon be auctioned off with the proceeds going to Mercy Children’s Hospital St. Louis.
“One of the toughest times of my life was when [Paul] was in the hospital, so I know what all those parents are going through,” Pozo said. “So, hopefully the money that we can get [for the bat] will help somebody.”