Eric Hosmer

His parents met in 1979 when Mike was assigned to duty at Coral Gables Hospital in Coral Gables, Florida, where Ileana worked.

They married four years later.

Their first son Mike Jr. was born in 1985, and Eric was born four years later in Miami.

Growing up in Cooper City, Hosmer credited his family for helping him succeed as a baseball player.

He began playing baseball at an early age, using a Tony Gwynn teeball hitter to take practice Swings.

His father volunteered to work 48-hour shifts in a firehouse in Liberty City to focus on his son's baseball games, which he usually coached.

The Hosmers traveled all over the state, and as far as Cooperstown, New York, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame, to play in baseball tournaments.

At home, Hosmer watched Florida Marlins games to study the hitting techniques of the team's players in order to improve his skills.

His father helped him with batting practice after finishing long shifts at work, while his mother helped with his homework and recorded every baseball game to evaluate Hosmer's baseball ability and further hone his skills.

By the time Hosmer reached high school, he worked out "close to seven hours a day" and mainly ate protein, which helped form his muscular build.

Hosmer's family hired Bladimir Marrero, a highly regarded hitting instructor, to help with their son's skills.

Hosmer grew up a New York Yankees fan.

By the time Hosmer was a teenager, he was a member of several Little League baseball squads that won a couple of state championships.

He attended American Heritage School in Plantation, Florida.

His parents selected American Heritage because of its rich baseball program, which was considered to be one of the best in the United States, despite the expensive tuition.

By Hosmer's sophomore year, he grew eight inches in size, becoming a powerful prep prospect.

In his senior year, Hosmer hit .470 with 11 home runs, as the team was in the top 10 in USA Today's Super 25 rankings for most of the year and won a state championship.

He attracted twenty or more MLB and college scouts who evaluated Hosmer's every move.

Several of his amateur home runs had popularity in YouTube, which caught the attention of sports agent Scott Boras.

He received many achievements while in high school including being named as Florida's Baseball Player of the Year twice by the Miami Herald, a member of the Rawlings High School Gold Glove team and the American Amateur Baseball Congress Connie Mack MVP award.

Hosmer was offered a baseball scholarship to Arizona State University.

Hosmer planned to attend Arizona State if negotiations with an MLB team did not go through.

Eric John Hosmer (born October 24, 1989) is an American former professional baseball first baseman.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago Cubs.

A highly touted prospect coming out of American Heritage High School in Florida, Hosmer was described as a "left-handed hitter with raw power" by scouts.

The Royals selected him with third overall pick in the 2008 MLB draft, and he received a $6 million signing bonus.

He was named as one of the top five prep baseball players in the country by several scouting agencies by the time he graduated in 2008, including number two by Rivals.com and third by both RISE Magazine and Sports Illustrated.

As "one of high school baseball top power hitters" by scouts, and a consensus top 10 pick, Hosmer was chosen by the Kansas City Royals in the first round (third overall selection) of the 2008 MLB draft.

Hosmer remained unsigned for most of the summer while the Royals general manager Dayton Moore and Boras, operating as Hosmer's agent, negotiated a deal.

During negotiations, Hosmer helped lead his team, based in Cincinnati, to a second-place finish at the American Amateur Baseball Congress Connie Mack World Series.

The two sides agreed to a contract ten minutes before the signing deadline for drafted players on August 15, 2008.

He advanced in Minor League Baseball before debuting in MLB during the 2011 season.

He finished third in the Rookie of the Year balloting after the 2011 season after hitting .293 with 19 home runs in 128 games.

Hosmer won consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 2013 through 2015 and again in 2017, when he also won the Silver Slugger Award.

He was the MVP of the 2016 MLB All-Star Game, and was a member of the 2015 World Series champion Royals.

After the 2017 season, Hosmer became a free agent, and signed an eight-year contract with the Padres.

During the 2022 season, the Padres traded him to the Red Sox.

The Red Sox released him after the season, and he signed a one-year contract with the Cubs.

Hosmer's father, Mike, is a retired firefighter, and his mother, Ileana, is a nurse.

His mother was born in Cuba and came to the United States at the age of seven with her family to escape Fidel Castro's regime, growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.