Nino Carillo started playing baseball as a kid when he moved to the U.S. from Mexico at age 10. Then he taught his three sons baseball. And those sons taught their sons. Baseball became a way of life. And a refuge.
Son David Carillo says baseball saved him and his brothers from joining gangs while growing up in Chicago. David's dreams of making the major leagues didn't happen, but he made another dream come true--one he didn't even know he had.
David has five sons--all of whom played baseball. David's brothers and dad came to visit him in San Diego. They joined in on one of David's adult baseball league games. So did two of David's sons. Six men. One team. But the dream got bigger.
“It was one of those moments you put in the memory bank that’ll never be gone.”
-David Carillo
It takes nine players to field a baseball team. David hopes to do just that with only his family for the NABA World Series in 2024. It will be Nino's, the partriach's, final game. Surrounded by his sons and grandsons--he wouldn't have it any other way.
“I don't care what it costs. I don't care if I have to go broke. I just want to be able to feel even just one inning with all nine of us on one field.”
-David Carillo