Angels’ Morales Hits Homer in First At-Bat

For a man who took seemingly forever to reach the United States, Kendry Morales didn’t waste time making an impact as an Angel minor leaguer.

Morales homered on his first swing Saturday night with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga, sending the second pitch he saw clanging off the scoreboard beyond the fence in right-center field. The first baseman also singled twice and drove in three runs during the Quakes’ 10-8 loss to the Visalia Oaks.

Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman, among a small contingent of team officials at the Epicenter, said he was delighted to see the Cuban defector start his major league ascent nearly six months after signing with the Angels.

The Angels had hoped to assess switch-hitting Morales in spring training after signing him to a six-year contract, but the 21-year-old was stuck in the Dominican Republic awaiting clearance to travel. He received his work visa and flew to New York on Thursday before arriving in Los Angeles on Friday.

“It was a long process because my documents had to be signed by the Dominican president and we had to go through a lot of stages,” Morales said through interpreter Charlie Romero, the Angels’ Dominican summer league manager. “Basically the key was patience.”

John DiManno, one of Morales’ agents, said his client’s wait was actually significantly shorter than many of his fellow countrymen’s because Morales had obtained the services of a top immigration lawyer.

Stoneman said the Angels assigned Morales to Rancho Cucamonga because they were unsure of his talent level and thought he would feel comfortable living in a community with a large Hispanic population. Morales has not played regularly since being thrown off the Cuban national team more than a year ago when club officials suspected that he planned to defect.

DiManno said his client, distraught over his circumstances, tried to defect “like eight times,” getting caught and jailed on three occasions for up to five days. Other arrangements fell through or plans were scrapped.

Morales successfully defected last June, arriving in Miami on a boat with 18 others. He then traveled to Nicaragua before gaining citizenship in the Dominican, which allowed him to obtain free-agent status and avoid the draft.

Morales said he signed with the Angels because their officials interacted with him the most during tryouts in the Dominican.