American Dream to Reality
Oklahoma City Baseball Club outfielder Miguel Vargas recently became a United States citizen
As Miguel Vargas walked up to the plate for his first at-bat of the night April 19, the speakers at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark pumped out some unexpected music.
Lee Greenwood’s voice crooned the patriotic lyrics, “I’m proud to be an American,” as Vargas stepped into the batter’s box. “Where at least I know I’m free,” the song continued with the words reverberating throughout the night sky.
Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” hit from 1984 was quite a departure from a Bad Bunny song that had frequently served as Vargas’ walk-up music this season, but he welcomed the change.
“I was very confused because that’s not my walk-up,” Vargas said. “I was surprised and I really liked it.”
Without telling Vargas, Oklahoma City Baseball Club Manager Travis Barbary requested that the team’s production crew swap out Vargas’ walk-up song before that game — and for good reason.
Earlier in the week, Vargas passed his naturalization interview and test and April 19 became the first baseball game the Cuba native played as a newly sworn-in United States citizen. The walk-up music swap was a fitting tribute to Vargas’ journey to citizenship.
“He’s a special person and I think it shows a lot of maturity on his part to go through the process of becoming a U.S. citizen and taking the initiative to do that,” Barbary said. “I know it means a lot to him and I’m just real proud of him.”
Vargas opened the 2024 season reaching base in each of his team’s first 16 games — the only player in the PCL to do so.
He has since played in 28 of Oklahoma City’s first 30 games with the only games he has missed so far this season being April 17–18 when he traveled to Miami — his offseason home — for an appointment with U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services.
“(It) was a great week for me,” Vargas said. “I became an American citizen. This was very important for me and my family too to come to this beautiful country.
“I’m super excited to become an American. I worked hard for it.”
Vargas’ mom, who completed the naturalization requirements herself last fall, helped him through the process, first with his application and then with studying for his pending interview and test.
Vargas said his mom would call every night reminding him to study. She would send videos and example questions throughout spring training to help him review.
Once he got to Oklahoma City, his teammates also jumped in to help, pulling up practice questions on their phones to quiz him.
“I feel like I was back in school,” the 6-foot, 3-inch, 205-pound Vargas said.
According to the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services website, the naturalization process includes an interview about the candidate’s application and background, as well as two tests — an English test to demonstrate an understanding of the English language and a civics test about American government and history.
Vargas passed his in-person interview and tests in Miami last month then joined a group of about 25 people in a naturalization ceremony to take the Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America as his mom proudly looked on.
“That was a pretty cool moment,” Vargas said. “I just want to go and hug my mom because I know that this was very important for me, but I think you know as a mom, it’s more important for her. I just want to go and give a hug to her. I was really proud for all the work she does for me to do that.”
Vargas, 24, was born and raised in Havana, Cuba before leaving the country with his family in 2015. His journey to the United States included living in the Bahamas for more than two years before signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent in September 2017 at the age of 17.
His professional baseball career started in the United States in 2018 and he was already collecting accolades the following season, including being named a 2019 MiLB.com Organization All-Star for his time with then-High-A Rancho Cucamonga and then-Single-A Great Lakes.
He became the Los Angeles Dodgers Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year in 2021 and was named a MiLB.com Organization All-Star with Double-A Tulsa and High-A Great Lakes.
In his first season with Oklahoma City in 2022, Vargas went on to be named Baseball America’s Triple-A Player of the Year, voted as the Pacific Coast League’s Top MLB Prospect by league managers and was again named a MiLB.com Organization All-Star. He played in the 2022 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and also made his Major League debut with the Dodgers in August. He hit his first Major League homer in September and went on be named to the Dodgers’ NLDS roster.
Last season, he made the Opening Day roster for the Los Angeles Dodgers and played in 81 MLB games before being optioned to OKC in July 2023. The infielder turned outfielder battled through some adversity and injury on the field throughout the season before going on to win the 2023 PCL Championship with Oklahoma City.
Vargas, who has played left field and as the designated hitter so far this season, went on to reach base in each of his first 17 games of 2024 and has now reached base in 27 of his first 28 games.
Vargas is batting .303 overall in 2024 and hit his first career grand slam April 2. He already has two four-RBI games and six homers and entered May in the midst of a nine-game hitting streak — his longest with OKC since the 2022 season.
He currently leads OKC with 10 doubles — tied for second-most in the PCL — and ranks fourth in the league with a 1.029 OPS and a .431 OBP.
Vargas has now played 201 career games with Oklahoma City and with Barbary as his manager. Vargas has slashed .299/.409/.513 at the Triple-A level over his three seasons with OKC.
“Miguel, not to sound corny, but he’s a sweetheart,” Barbary said. “He is just a super nice kid and just watching him the last few years and been able to spend time with him, I really love him. He’s just a good kid.”
Before Vargas left for Miami in mid-April, his teammates hosted a small send-off party and wished him luck.
Vargas then returned to Oklahoma City as a U.S. citizen three days later, and as requested by his teammates, came to Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark April 19 dressed like an American cowboy.
“He walked in with his new cowboy pants and boots and shirt, cowboy hat,” Barbary said. “We celebrated before and after the game…had some cupcakes and got him to sing some country songs, so it was good,” Barbary said. “We’re all really happy for him.”
Vargas said it was the first time he had worn boots. He even chose to wear his new cowboy hat again the next day to the stadium.
“Because I really like it,” Vargas said with a smile.
His recent successes off the field have transcended baseball.
“This was a really big thing for me…to be a free man,” Vargas said.
What is he most looking forward to with his new citizenship?
“I hope to vote in November,” Vargas said. “I hope to vote for president…I want to see how that goes. I’m really excited to go.”
