Ubaldo Jimenez is now an American citizen

Americans, we have a new countryman, and his name is Ubaldo Jimenez. The Orioles congratulated Jimenez today for becoming a citizen of the United States in Miami yesterday.

I don’t know why, but I just find this really cool. Did you even know that Jimenez was interested in becoming an American citizen, or that he had begun the process of doing so? Do many foreign-born baseball players end up doing this? I don’t remember hearing about it very often, but maybe I just wasn’t aware of it if it didn’t involve the Orioles.

If I had the chance, I would ask Jimenez why he wanted to be an American. I hope somebody asks, because I bet he has a great answer. Maybe it’s a practical reason, since his baby born a couple of months ago is an American citizen by birth, or maybe it’s a sentimental one, the kind that would make you shed one single tear as a bald eagle flaps past in slow motion with Mount Rushmore in the distance.

There are so many things we never get to know about baseball players, so it’s always neat to get a little window into their lives.

In some cases, that window involves the player holding a tiny little American flag while standing next to a scaled-down replica of the Statue of Liberty. And yes, it’s entirely possible that the whole reason I wrote this post is so I could share the picture that I just described to you.

Isn’t this just the best? Even away from Ellis Island, she still lifts her lamp beside the golden door. Congratulations to Jimenez.