ST. PETERSBURG -- Randy Arozarena invited a very special guest to get the postseason started by throwing out the first pitch on Tuesday at Tropicana Field.

His mother, Sandra Gonz¨¢lez.

Gonz¨¢lez traveled to the Tampa Bay area from her home in Mexico on Monday, Arozarena said. Game 1 of the Rays¡¯ American League Wild Card Series against the Rangers was the first time she saw her son play a Major League game.

So she made her way to the middle of the infield on Tuesday afternoon, and Arozarena took his place behind the plate to catch a long-awaited first pitch that Arozarena requested.

¡°I¡¯m just really happy that she¡¯s here,¡± Arozarena said before the game through Rays communications manager Elvis Martinez. ¡°It¡¯s a really proud moment for me and my family, and I¡¯m really excited that that¡¯s going to happen.¡±

It had been a long time coming, according to Arozarena. The All-Star outfielder defected from Cuba to Mexico in late 2015 and eventually became a Mexican citizen in April 2022, with the full support of his mother.

¡°We actually [made] that decision as a family. I was the older brother, like the man of the house, so I had to tell her that that's what I was thinking,¡± Arozarena said. ¡°She supported it, and you know the rest.¡±

Gonz¨¢lez left Cuba for Mexico around 2017, which was Arozarena¡¯s first season in the Cardinals¡¯ Minor League system. Arozarena and his professional soccer-playing brother, Raiko, have been able to see their mother in Mexico over the years, as recently as last offseason in Arozarena¡¯s case.

She still watches Arozarena¡¯s games on TV in Mexico. But the family has been working to acquire a visa for Gonz¨¢lez for five years, Arozarena said, and her applications were declined for four years. She was unable to be there in person to witness her son¡¯s remarkable ascent into a postseason hero, World Baseball Classic sensation and fan-favorite player around Tropicana Field.

The last time Arozarena played a game in front of his mom, he figured, was in Mexico in 2017. But Arozarena said they restarted the application process a few weeks ago, and she finally obtained a visa that allowed her to travel to the United States.

¡°I¡¯m really happy and blessed that she¡¯s here,¡± Arozarena said. ¡°It¡¯s also important that she¡¯s going to watch me playing in the playoffs, [so it] is really important for me that she¡¯s here in a game like this.¡±

Asked how his mom would handle her first pitch, Arozarena acknowledged with a smile that she throws hard but hoped it would be a strike. Sporting a No. 56 Arozarena Devil Rays jersey, she delivered exactly that.

The Rays had one more surprise in store: Tampa native, former Ray and Hall of Famer Fred McGriff followed Gonz¨¢lez to the mound for a second first pitch, which he delivered to rookie starter Taj Bradley.