One of America's hottest new baseball stars says he will never forget the sacrifices his parents made for him while growing up in Scotland - after signing for one of the country's biggest Major League teams.
Gabriel Rincones Jr spent some of his formative years in Glenrothes, Fife, and always wanted to pursue his dream of playing America's national pastime professionally. Earlier this week the 21-year-old fulfilled that dream after signing for the Philadelphia Phillies, scooping a reported £500,000 welcome bonus in the process.
Speaking to the Daily Record from the States, Gabriel said he remains extremely proud of his Scottish upbringing despite moving away from the country nine years ago. He moved to Glenrothes from across the Atlantic with dad Gabriel Sr and mum Rossy when he was six years old, attending Warout Primary and St Paul's Primary before spending a short time at St Andrews High School.
All the way through, he dreamt of a career in baseball and refused to consider any other career choice. Eventually, Gabriel and Rossy relented - and agreed to send him back across to the US via Venezuela to live with a succession of aunties while he worked on his game.
He said: "I used to play a little baseball in Edinburgh and Glasgow on a Sunday morning when my dad wasn't offshore on the oil rigs. It was their decision to let me leave to move back.
"They asked me what I wanted to do when I was older and I said I wanted to be a baseball player. Then they'd ask me again and I'd say the same thing.
"Everybody there was like, 'there's no way you can be a baseball player', but my parents understood. They decided to make sacrifices for me. Looking back on it, it was awfully brave of them to do that."
Despite leaving Scotland in his pre-teen years, Gabriel still retains his broad Fife accent, which he can switch to on command from his more American tones. And he even owns a customised baseball mitt emblazoned with a Saltire - a subtle tribute to his Scottish roots.
He added, in Scots pronunciation: "I was just messing about with my pals over there in Scotland. I played football and did judo and swimming but you can't really play baseball.
"It was a real culture shock when I came to America. I grew up speaking with a thick Fife accent but people don't understand you.
"But I can change it - it's like a switch. It's been a while since I've spoken like this. It's a little nostalgic!"
Gabriel was the 93rd pick in the MLB 'draft' this year, marking him out as a highly desirable choice among the MLB's armies of scouts. Some of those who size up potential signings are ludicrously thorough: Gabriel recently learned that a scout from another team had hired a private detective to dig through his past before considering him as a pick.
He added: "Knowing I've got an opportunity to play in the big leagues, I'm very grateful to God that I was taken in the third round [of the draft] and not the 33rd round. It's incredible."
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