The visual will forever be ingrained in the mind of Luis Vázquez.

He had just shared news of his first big-league call-up with his parents, Luis Sr. and Wanda Ortiz, and sister, Coralis, and they wept tears of joy.

It was an unfamiliar sight for Luis Jr. A stoic, blue-collar man, Luis Sr. let the emotions take over.

“I never, ever, ever had seen my dad like I had seen him cry that day,” Vázquez, 24, said. “I still have the image of my dad and mom and my sister when I told them the news.

“I think those tears that they shed were from pride from all the sacrifices that they had made for me to be where I am, and this is what I am giving them for all the sacrifices that they have made for me.”

Every major leaguer has had family make sacrifices. Few — if any — have endured the journey the Vázquez family did to help Luisito — “Little Luis” — achieve his goals.

Luis Sr. and Ortiz raised their two children in the town of Orocovis, Puerto Rico, a town of about 21,000 residents located in the middle of the island.

Amid a baseball-mad island, Orocovis had produced just one major league player — Rafael Santo Domingo, who played 7 games with the Reds in 1979. But that didn’t stop Luisito from dreaming big.

“He got a little bat as a gift as a baby — I think it was his first Christmas — but he always had a ball and a glove,” Ortiz said. “That was his passion. Since he was 3, he was in Little Leagues in Puerto Rico.”

But things became difficult when Luis Sr. and Ortiz divorced when Luis Jr. was about 13 years old, adding a hurdle into his life. The family had one car, and Ortiz kept it, using it as the means of transportation to her job as a doctor’s assistant and driving Luis Jr. and Coralis to school.

Baseball was still Luis’ passion and his parents made sure to take every opportunity to nourish that love. Luis Sr. didn’t have a lot of money — he painted houses as his primary means of income — but made every sacrifice to help his son reach his lofty goals.

Orocovis didn’t have the resources like San Juan or Ponce or any of the other bigger cities on the island. So, Luis Jr. played for Lomas Potros Baseball Club in Río Piedras, a town roughly an hour and 20 minutes by car from Orocovis.

To get him to practice and games, Luis Sr. would ask friends and neighbors to borrow a car and money, using the money to fuel up and the car to take Luis Jr. to chase his dreams.

“There were times that we had to leave at 4 p.m. and travel two hours without eating and with his books with him so he could study,” Luis Sr. said while battling back tears.

Luis Sr. did all that as a labor of love and as a believer. He always had a hunch his son would do big things.

“I knew he had potential,” Luis Sr. said. “We were always looking for as much help as we could so that he could get there.”

When he was drafted in the 14^th round of the 2017 draft by the Cubs, his dad shared that confidence in him.

“He told me from the moment I signed — your name is going to be grande, big,” Luis Jr. said. “So you have to work hard so that your name can be big.”

As they say, Mom and Dad know best.

Vázquez had played 5 seasons in the minor leagues where he was known as a glove-first infielder. Then, in 2023, he took a step forward offensively, posting an .809 OPS in Triple-A Iowa and being added to the Cubs’ 40-man roster this offseason.

“It was mostly mental,” Vázquez said Tuesday afternoon. “Mental and I have confidence in myself. I knew I had to make some adjustments, but I think it was more mental than anything.”

He picked up where he left off this season.

Vázquez had a .757 OPS in 39 games after the Iowa Cubs game on Sunday when he received a phone call from manager Marty Pevey. As the phone rang, he took a moment and prayed — he wanted this to be the call that every player works for.

It was exactly that.

“Congratulations, you’ve really earned it,” Pevey told Vázquez.

Vázquez got off the phone and rushed to call his parents and sister — but they wouldn’t answer. So, he rang them again and again and again. Eventually, he got the three of them on a group FaceTime call where he shared the news.

“It’s a dream come true,” Ortiz said. “One of these last few days I was thinking, ‘I can’t believe it. This is a dream.’

“But he did do it. I’m more than happy and satisfied. It was worth the pain. All the sacrifices were worth the effort.”

On Tuesday, his first day in the majors, Vázquez had over 40 family and friends in town for his debut. It takes a village, they say — and all Orocovis was there to support one of their own.

Orocovis, Puerto Rico had produced one major leaguer before today.

Now, Luis Vázquez becomes the second; and about 40 family and friends from his hometown were here to celebrate: pic.twitter.com/eNtnKIkjyb

— Andy Martínez (@amartinez_11) May 23, 2024

On Wednesday, they saw one of their own make it the biggest stage. Vázquez entered as a defensive replacement in the 9^th and struck out in his first major-league at-bat. But results aside, he had done it. Vázquez was officially a major leaguer.

“We come from a small town, but a big family,” Luis Sr. said. “Right now, we have over 40 people from Puerto Rico here. Many of them made a sacrifice for him to be here and this is what we waited for.”

And the rest were glued to their TV.

“Besides the people that are here, everyone back there was watching on Marquee, on MLB TV,” Vázquez said. “It was impressive.”

Tuesday, he brought his dad onto the field, letting him watch BP. It was a long commute to watch his son play — but much like the trek from Orocovis to Río Piedras, it was more than worth it.

“This is the payment on the sacrifice that we paid,” Luis Sr. said. “This is the dream and thanks to God, we accomplished it.”