A’s Soria thankful for opportunities

Oakland A’s reliever Joakim Soria isn’t sure where one of his favorite proverbs originated. Some say it originated in Africa. Others say it’s from China.

Whatever the case, the Mexican righthander subscribes to the proverb that states, “If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together.”

Although he’s come a long way pitching in Major League Baseball, Soria is adamant that he would not have endured such a long journey without the support of his family, especially from his wife, Karla.

He credits his family with helping him become the all-time leader in pitching appearances in the majors by a native of Mexico.

“I’ve got to thank God for giving me the opportunity to keep on playing for so long,” Soria said. “For allowing me to be healthy to achieve this record. You need a lot of effort and sacrifice for a very long time.”

Well-traveled lefthander Dennys Reyes, who held the previous mark since 2011, set the appearance record for Mexican pitchers at 673 games.

Soria entered the 2019 season, his first with the A’s and 11th of his career, with 639 appearance. He was all but certain to break the mark as long as he remained healthy and effective.

The Athletics’ righthander broke Reyes’ record in June. He’s more happy than ever to keep on going.

More often than not in a media interview a professional athlete would say he does not know about certain statistical achievements. Soria, who started his career with the Kansas City Royals in 2007, knew about the mark Reyes set over a career in which played for 11 teams.

“You have family and friends, and they’re always following your career,” Soria said. “Somehow, they keep telling you about this. Yes, of course, I knew. However, it was not something I was rushing to achieve, but thank God it did happen.”

He was originally signed by the Dodgers in 2001 as an amateur free agent. He was eventually a Rule 5 acquisition by the Royals on Dec. 7, 2006 from the San Diego Padres organization.

Soria, who signed a two-year deal with the Athletics as a free agent in December, has achieved great things in the majors.

He threw a perfect game as a starter against the Naranjeros de Hermosillo on Dec. 9, 2006, for the Yaquis de Obregón in the Liga Mexicana del Pacífico – México’s Winter League.

He had two 40-plus save seasons early in his career with the Royals.

However, he has endured the pain of career-threatening injuries, including a pair of Tommy John surgeries to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

“When the second one occurred, there were small possibilities for a return,” he said. “The doctor told me then that I had a 20 percent chance of pitching again. Now, I’m in my 13th season. I thank God for that.”

Next to Soria in the A’s clubhouse is Venezuelan Yusmeiro Petit, another righthanded pitcher with tons of major league experience. Petit, who entered the month of July with 372 major league appearances, 59 as a starter, is thankful to have his Mexican colleague next to him.

“Extraordinary, I believe this is the perfect word to describe him,” said Petit, who has two World Series rings.

Petit earned his World Series rings in 2012 in 2014 as a member of the San Francisco Giants.

Petit, a former Giants reliever/starter who has several records of his own, is sure he’s learning a lot about pitching by sharing daily experiences with his Mexican colleague.

“What he’s done is very difficult,” Petit said. “Many injuries have occurred in today’s baseball. Sometimes, the body says ‘enough.’ But Joakim has been able to continue working hard, day after day, year after year.

“It’s like a blessing for me. He’s got so many pitches. He knows where to place them to be more effective. He’s got a lot of knowledge, especially here in the American League. It would be great for me to follow his footsteps, to be able to achieve such longevity.”

Add the Athletics manager Bob Melvin to the long list of Soria’s admirers. He has known about, witnessed or handled the righthander’s performances in the majors as a skipper for three teams – the Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks and now the A’s.

“Being the top Mexican-born in major league appearances is a serious feather in your cap,” Melvin said. “Everybody has been celebrating that here. To be that durable, and with a couple of [major] injuries on top of it.

“He’s still pitching at a high level as he is. It means he’s a hard-working guy.” Melvin said. He’s had a great career to this point. He was an off-season acquisition for us, an early one that we targeted.”

Of course, being a pitcher with so many appearances for seven teams has brought great success. There have also been many ugly nights for Soria.

Soria has pitched hitless innings many times, including on June 21 at the Oakland Coliseum when he tied Reyes’ record. There have also been many outings when the results weren’t quite so good.

The key to endure those bad games is a short memory, especially when he returns home to his family.

“I leave my Oakland cap at the ballpark and put on my dad cap,” said Soria with a huge smile.

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