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Miguel Amaya’s parents reflect on an unforgettable week for their family

11 months agoAndy Martinez

As a government official and mayor in Panama, Max Amaya is rarely far away from his phone. But last Monday night, he and his wife, Anny, decided to have a quiet night in and plug away from their phones, leaving them in a separate room.

It turned out to be one of the few times he needed to have his phone on him.

For about an hour on Monday night, Miguel Amaya tried getting ahold of his parents, calling them, and calling them to no answer. He had promised them that if he was ever called up to the big leagues, they’d be the first ones to know, but he was beginning to lose faith that they’d answer.

So, instead, he called his godmother, told her that he couldn’t reach them and that he was being called up to the major leagues, so he needed someone to contact them. She reached out to them, saying Miguel was trying to reach them.

“She was exalted and said Miguel needed to speak to us,” Max Amaya said. “Immediately, we began to suspect that something was going on. When he told us that he had gotten the call to go to the major leagues, honestly, we didn’t believe him.

“It was super emotional.”

Max Amaya and Anny Oro left Panama the next day to travel to Washington D.C., where the Cubs were playing the Nationals and they were at the game on Wednesday and Thursday when he made his big-league debut.

“All the forms of communication — the friends, the family members, the newspaper, the radio, the whole world in Panama was totally paralyzed waiting for that grand moment for Miguel to play in the majors,” Max Amaya said. “It was emotional. The phones didn’t stop ringing, the chats, social media — but it’s beautiful. It’s beautiful to live this.”

They were in town on Saturday, too, when Miguel collected his first major-league hit, a moment that they’ll never forget.

“He dreamt of getting to the big leagues and getting a hit,” Anny Oro said. “We have been living every step with our son and this is emotional. This is a dream that we are living and it’s all thanks to God.”

It was a moment that was bigger than just Miguel Amaya or his family. It was a moment for him and his home country to cherish.

“So emotional, so emotional,” Max Amaya said. “We hoped they’d call on him as a pinch hitter and the moment came and he had a hit that he aspired for and that we all aspired for and all of Panama aspired for with anxiety to get that hit and make history, because it’s history for Miguel.”

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