Alek Manoah's mom becomes a legend during son's electrifying Blue Jays debut
Toronto Blue Jays top prospect Alek Manoah made his much-anticipated MLB debut against the New York Yankees on Thursday, and it was everything Blue Jays were waiting for and more.
Manoah came out blazing, striking out Rougned Odor — who to this day, remains the nemesis of Blue Jays fans everywhere — during the first inning and Susana Lluch, Manoah's mother, couldn't be more fired up for her son.
Lluch was crying tears of joy as her son took the hill, and threw a few fist pumps, blew kisses to the mound, kissed her husband and hugged her daughter in a beautiful sequence after Odor went down swinging. Maybe there is crying in baseball, after all!
Manoah capped off an excellent first inning by striking out Yankees superstar Aaron Judge and Lluch, like many other Blue Jays fans, was almost in disbelief, laughing and crying with pure elation as she took her seat temporarily.
The Alek Manoah's mom supercut. (Video via Sportsnet) pic.twitter.com/wtEF6ZxdJi
— Ian Hunter (@BlueJayHunter) May 27, 2021
Manoah spoke to Sportsnet's Hazel Mae post-game about his mother's reaction to his first major league win.
"I couldn't look up. I couldn't let myself do that until I got out of the game. I heard them a ton, they keep me going, man. That's who I do it for," Manoah said.
"I've seen my mom not eat dinner to feed me and my brother. Those kinds of things, I'll give her the world, I'll do anything for her."
Manoah was selected 11th overall by the Blue Jays in the 2019 MLB Draft and the 23-year-old is already showing signs of star potential, with a fastball reaching 95 miles per hour, and a devastating 85 MPH slider. Through six innings, Manoah struck out seven batters against two walks, while allowing just two hits on the road at Yankee Stadium. We simply can't imagine better circumstances for your MLB debut.
As for mom, we're all the way here for the earnest, joyful reactions. Manoah got to see his dream come true and his family simply couldn't be happier for him.
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