Still pushing to realize a baseball dream

Mauricio Dubón has worked hard for most of his adult life to realize a dream.
Lately, the projected starting shortstop for the San Antonio Missions has even worked overtime, hoping to ensure that he remains on track to become one of the first players from Honduras to reach the major leagues.
"I played nine (innings) yesterday in the big-league game and then three in the minor-league game," Dubon said Monday, in a telephone interview from the Milwaukee Brewers' Arizona-based spring training camp. "It's a progression thing. I'm taking it step by step."
In a sense, Dubon is trying to make up for time lost due to a couple of bad breaks within the past 10 months.
Last May, he suffered a left knee injury at Triple-A Colorado Springs that knocked him out for the rest of the season.
After recovering from surgery, Dubon started spring training in Phoenix a month ago, healthy, and with a hopeful eye on making the Brewers.
But not long after checking into the major-league clubhouse, misfortune struck again.
A mysterious stomach ailment sent the 24-year-old reeling into a four-day stay in a Phoenix-area hospital.
He lost 15 pounds before it was all over.
Asked about his stamina now that he has regained the weight and returned to the playing field, Dubon insisted that "it's all normal now," adding that he has competed in four, nine-inning, spring games recently.
It's a good sign for the Brewers, who are counting on Dubon to become a fixture with the Triple-A Missions, and, eventually, to mature into a steady contributor with the big club.
By all accounts, he had a good chance to make the major leagues last season.
Dubon was riding a 23-game hitting streak when he twisted his knee in a rundown on the bases in the first week of May.
As a result, he was wheeled into a reconstructive ACL surgery on May 22.
"Stuff happens for a reason," said Dubon, who grew up in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. "It's been a grind (in the comeback). I feel like it's shaped me as a person. I'm not questioning why it happened."
Likewise, teammates aren't questioning his heart or desire in the comeback.
After all, they know the background story.
It's been well-chronicled that Dubon left Honduras as a teenager and moved in with a family in Sacramento, where he would attend Capital Christian High School.
At the time, Dubon initially resisted when he was asked if he wanted to attend the Christian outreach camp near his home.
But he said his mother urged him to go, so he did.
"It ended up changing my whole life," Dubon said.
After establishing himself as a prospect in California, the wiry infielder was drafted in 2013, selected in the 26^th round by the Boston Red Sox.
Pretty soon, he earned recognition as one of the better defensive players in Boston's system.
But after three seasons, Dubon was on the move again, shipped to Milwaukee in 2016 as part of a deal that sent Tyler Thornburg to the Red Sox.
In six seasons as a pro, the 6-foot, 160-pounder has fashioned a career .300 batting average. He's also produced three seasons with 30 or more stolen bases.
"We like him both ways (defensively and offensively)," Missions manager Rick Sweet said. "He's an above average defender. But he has the potential to be a very good offensive player, also."
Keston Hiura, projected as San Antonio's starting second baseman, predicted that Dubon will bounce back from his health problems and will play well.
"He has a positive outlook on life," Hiura said. "You know, it's been a rough year for him, with the ACL surgery and all that. You can tell he's eager to get back on the field and show what he can do. This organization knows what he's capable of doing."
Former Houston Astros outfielder Gerald Young is believed to be the first player born in Honduras to make the big leagues.
If Dubon makes it, he would become the second. But Dubon would be the first born and raised in Honduras to make it, since Young moved to the United States when he was very young.
"It's a privilege, being the first one," Dubon said. "It teaches the people back home that it's possible … Just for them to know, to see that the hard work pays off. That I came from the same place they did. From the same fields. That's a good feeling, and a blessing."
Considering his age, Dubon said he believes he is in good shape to realize his ultimate dream.
"I feel really good," he said. "I feel like I'm in a good position right now. The team is up there (with talent) and everything. I feel like I can help them win. I feel really good. It's just a matter of, right now, just paying my dues here and helping my (Triple-A) team win."
The Missions will open their first season in Triple-A on April 4 at Oklahoma City.
As for the recent injury- and illness-related adversity that has stalled his progress, Dubon tries not to dwell on it.
Does he ever think that, maybe, if he had stayed healthy, he might have been with the Brewers last October in the National League playoffs?
Sure, he does.
"But I'm not wondering why it happened," Dubon said. "It just happened."
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