After seeing Alex Rodriguez throw out the first pitch at a Florida high school game, many have wondered what the reason is for the famous former baseball player and now prominent businessman to ‘go to the trouble’ of going and standing there.
Although A-Rod did not live in Miami all the time, he and his family arrived when he was in the fourth grade, and from there he began to develop a love affair with and for the environment, which today is reflected in this type of actions that he performs willingly.
A-Rod’s first pitch at a school game in Miami
A-Rod recently showed up at the University of Miami’s baseball stadium, the Coral Gables facility that bears his name, Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field, to honor the memory of a young athlete who died in a tragedy.
Rodriguez threw out the first pitch before the game between Columbus and Westminster, as a tribute to Ari Arteaga, a 16-year-old Columbus High School baseball player who died in a 2018 car accident at the intersection of Southwest 87th Avenue and 64th Street, an event that sensitively affected the entire baseball and sports community in Miami.
Ari Arteaga, a symbol for Miami
Arteaga was so important to the Miami community that A-Rod captured it in an Instagram story in which he shared his feelings after throwing out the first pitch: “It is an honor to throw out the first pitch at @univmiami in memory of Ari Arteaga.”
Ari Arteaga was the son of University of Miami pitching coach and former Hurricanes star J.D. Arteaga, but he was not only a baseball player, but also passionate about football, so his spirit and passion are synonymous with the sports culture of the city that permeates figures like A-Rod and the pride of all native fans of any sporting discipline.
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