What role did baseball academies play in your career?

Oh, baseball for me and my family was like a religion, you know. My dad used to be a really ... still is a big fan of baseball. And every time there was a baseball game anywhere in my state or anywhere in my city, we were going to see it.

I think he's one of the reasons that I'm here, Because he pushed me, and because he loved the game so much so he wanted to have a son play in the big leagues. So he was right.

I was in a few tryouts and they were really professional and I tried out my first two times. I didn't have luck. After that I went to the academy in Valencia, one of the biggest cities in Venezuela, by the Houston Astros, and I was there for eight, nine months and they didn't sign me. So the next day I tried out with the Chicago White Sox and they signed me right away.