Urrutia getting pied in the face after hitting a walk-off home run for his first Big League homer in 2015.
Henry Urrutia was signed as an amateur free agent by the Baltimore Orioles in 2012 from Las Tunas, Cuba. After only spending one year in the MiLB, splitting time between AA and AAA, Urrutia made his MLB Debut for the Orioles in 2013. He hit a walk-off home run against the New York Mets in 2015, which was his last year in the MLB. After his MLB tenure, Henry played in Mexico and shares his reasons for making the switch with us. Like many other players, Henry highlights the struggles of supporting a family on a MiLB salary and the importance of host families, especially for players not native to the United States.
"I think my history in the Minor Leagues is very similar to that of other players. My case is a little more difficult because normally Minor League players lived together so that the expenses were lower. However, in my case, I have two children and at that time I was married and my family traveled with me. So imagine, my rent was almost $4,000 a month that I was barely able to afford because I belonged to the 40-man roster so they paid me a little more money, but it was still very difficult. I had to choose between having financial problems and being away from my children so I chose the first option. I saw players getting $800 a month and having to pay food and expenses monthly is very difficult to survive. It is also difficult to have a good on-field performance if you are thinking how to pay your car or rent.
Thank God we have host families in the Minor Leagues (team associates who like baseball and let us live in their houses during the season). But, it is still very difficult because we all have family to take care of and nobody can afford to live in the United States with $800-1,200 per month.
That's why I decided to come to Mexico to play baseball, knowing that I could still go back to the Big Leagues. But it was that or having problems taking care of my children."
- Henry Urrutia