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America's pastime, Latino at heartMLB has seen a remarkable rise in players from Latin America over the past two decades Eddie Perez arrived in the United States at age 17, bright-eyed and excited, thoughts of baseball greatness on his mind.

An incredible opportunity lay ahead of the youngster from Venezuela. He was a teenager with a professional contract with the Atlanta Braves — a storied franchise in the greatest baseball league on the planet. The Braves thought enough of his skills as a catcher to invite him to spring camp, and he had every intention of making a good first impression.

But as he walked through the airport and listened to all the unfamiliar words being spoken by the strange faces around him, he started to wonder: Now what?

Where do I go? Are they coming to pick me up? If not, how do I get out of this airport? How do I find my team?

Possessing no answers to the questions swirling in his head, Perez waited.

And as the noon sun moved through the sky and finally disappeared below the horizon, he sat in the airport, waiting for the ride that wasn’t coming.

It was 12 hours before Perez found help — a Spanish-speaking Samaritan who called him a cab — and the young catcher was finally able to embark on what would become an 11-year playing career.

“That was scary, it was bad,” recalls Perez, now the 43-year-old bullpen coach for the Braves. “I never told that story to my parents until later in the year because I didn’t want them to feel bad.” READ MORE