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From the outside looking in, the Sanford River Rats relief pitcher Amaury Telemaco Jr. (Lynn) looks as if he has been blessed with the best and easiest baseball life out of all the Rats players. His dad was a former MLB star, he grew up playing Dominican and American baseball, and he even was on a minor league roster.

 

Although it seems as if Telemaco Jr.’s life was made, Telemaco’s journey to the Florida Collegiate Summer League has been all but perfect. Through the imperfections, Telemaco Jr. has remained positive.

 

Telemaco Jr.’s father, Amaury Telemaco, was a journeyman in the MLB as he played nine seasons in the league. Telemaco was a relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies from 1996-2005 after not playing in the 2002 season.

 

Telemaco Jr. was born in Arizona while his father, Amaury Telemaco, was a pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Telemaco Jr. was always on the move between Arizona and the Dominican Republic for the first seven years of his life.

 

“It was hard having to move a lot,” Telemaco Jr. said. “We didn’t spend a lot of time together as a family, but it was a beautiful process. We got to meet a lot of people between the US and the Dominican.”

 

Because his father played in so many different areas and never got to go back to the Dominican Republic, Telemaco Jr. was unable to have a permanent home in either of the two countries.

 

Despite the time split between the countries for Telemaco Jr., he and his father have a deep relationship. Telemaco Jr. understands that his dad is an amazing resource for him who has instilled lifelong advice into him.

 

“A piece of advice he [his father] has always given me is to just follow your heart and don’t stop,” Telemaco Jr. said. “Whatever you’re going to do, do it for the glory of God and have a why for everything.”

 

The “why” for Telemaco Jr. was to continue his passion for baseball.

 

Growing up in the Dominican Republic from the age of seven until his senior year of high school, baseball was a constant. Baseball and life looked very different in the D.R. than in the United States.

 

“From the baseball side, it’s very competitive over there,” Telemaco Jr. said. “You have to be ready by the age of 16 to try and go professional… over here [in the United States], it’s a little more chill. All of the players have a lot more opportunities with colleges and playing summer ball.”

 

Without the same type of chances in the Dominican Republic, Telemaco Jr. was able to compete at a very high level due to the talent in the D.R., but he wasn’t receiving the same opportunities if he was playing in the United States. He wasn’t receiving the same type of exposure, but his faith in God is what kept him through.

 

After competitively playing baseball throughout his youth, Telemaco Jr. made the tough decision to move to Alabama for his senior year of high school. He attended Glenwood High School at the age of 17 leaving his family and his home just to gain that exposure, but it was a rocky transition.

 

“Sometimes I felt alone and I had never felt homesick before,” Telemaco Jr. said reminiscing on his transition to Alabama. “God definitely helped me through it, but moving with a new family means I didn’t know anybody. I had a lot of pressure… everybody had huge expectations with a kid coming from the D.R. throwing 92, 93 MPH, especially the coach.”

 

Out of high school, Telemaco Jr. signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers playing on their Arizona Rookie League Dodgers 1 team. He never saw any action on the field, but it wasn’t solely due to his performance on the diamond.

 

Telemaco Jr. was feeling sick and was prescribed Claritin D to help try and get rid of a fever when he first got to the Dodgers. Unfortunately, Telemaco Jr. has an allergic reaction to the medicine that affected him for months going seven straight days without any sleep.

 

“I started having panic attacks, palpitations, I was super tired and stressed after taking the medicine,” Telemaco Jr. said. “My body couldn’t take it anymore. It was one of the hardest times of my life. I didn’t know what was going on, and no one could tell me what was wrong.”

 

After all that occurred with the reaction, Telemaco Jr. didn’t give up on his baseball dream.

 

His time with the Sanford River Rats will officially be one year and two months since he has competitively pitched. Telemaco Jr. is extremely thankful to have been given this new opportunity to try and salvage his baseball career and get a start over.

 

He has decided to return to college where he will be playing at Lynn University in the spring to get a fresh start and another shot at the professional baseball level.

 

Sanford River Rats head coach Josh Montero is hoping that Telemaco Jr. can focus on himself this summer. Coach Montero wants him to find something deep within that he describes as his “inner dog” as Telemaco jr. comes out of the bullpen this season.

 

“We’re trying to get him to get his confidence back, get back to believing in himself and channeling his inner dog,” Coach Montero describes on what he hopes to see from Telemaco Jr. this summer. “You have to have a bulldog mentality. You have to have a ‘me against the world’ mentality.”

 

With the season underway, Telemaco Jr. will hope to prove to the world that he has what it takes to compete professionally. He wants to make it known that he can and will overcome what life has thrown his way.

 

Zach Miles (Georgia)