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ST. PETERSBURG -- Victor Mesa Jr. was sitting in the chair in front of his locker inside the home clubhouse at Tropicana Field on Monday afternoon, locked in on the television screen a few feet away. The room was quiet, save for a few scattered conversations, until suddenly it wasn’t. After becoming the leading scorer in FIFA World Cup history earlier in the afternoon, Lionel Messi kicked in his second goal of the day to complete Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Austria. That gave Messi 18 for his World Cup career, two clear of Germany’s Miroslav Klose for the all-time record. Already on the edge of his seat, Mesa leapt to his feet, shouted “GOAL!” and started a lengthy, involved high-five/handshake with Junior Caminero. The Cuban outfielder had no personal stake in the result of the match itself, but you probably won’t find a bigger fan of Messi in a baseball clubhouse. “He’s my idol,” Mesa said last week in the visitors dugout at Dodger Stadium. |
Mesa, 24, has three tattoos of Messi. His infant son’s middle name is Messi. In 2021, he found out where Messi was staying in Miami, waited outside the house with other fans in hopes of meeting him and gave Messi’s nephew one of his jerseys. The next day, Mesa was shocked to receive a picture of Messi holding the black No. 10 Marlins jersey with Mesa’s name on it. “I called my family crying, because that's something big for me. And they said, 'What happened? What happened?' I said he sent me the picture with [him] holding my jersey,” Mesa recalled. “The greatest of all time lifted my jersey, you know what I mean? He knows who I am and everything.” One of Mesa’s three Messi tattoos is that photo, inked onto his thigh. “There's nothing better than that,” Mesa said, before pausing and correcting himself. “I mean, meeting him. I haven't met him yet.” Mesa’s fandom dates back to the time he was 5 or 6 years old, growing up with his brother (and fellow Marlins signee), Victor Victor Mesa, in Cuba. Mesa grew fond of Messi’s FC Barcelona squad. His brother gravitated toward Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid. |
Mesa said he was initially drawn in by Messi, who turns 39 on Wednesday, because “he’s smaller than everyone, and he’s better than everyone.” Following his career extremely closely, Mesa said he’s come to appreciate the way that Messi treats people and cares for those around him. He also respects Messi’s persistence, specifically how he kept at it when Argentina had three straight runner-up finishes in international competition, then wound up winning the 2021 Copa America and 2022 World Cup. It was after the Copa America final that Mesa made his play to meet Messi, and his third Messi tattoo is of him kissing the World Cup. “I know how hard, even if you have talent, you’ve got to work,” Mesa said. “I admire the way that he failed, he failed, he failed with his country, and people were on him, like critical, really bad on him when he was trying his best. Sometimes it’s not for you. God has plans. He tried, he tried, he tried in the five or six opportunities that he had. He couldn’t do it. “I put it in my perspective. It doesn’t matter how I’m doing. I’m going to keep trying, trying, trying.” |
Mesa, who came to the Rays in an early February trade with the Marlins and joined the big league roster on May 24, said he will occasionally stun his teammates with his comprehensive knowledge of his career. When they ask how he could possibly know something, he said, he simply responds, “Bro, I’m a true fan.” “I like football a lot. Since I was a kid, I followed every game,” Mesa added. “I haven't missed anything.” Mesa saw Messi play in person for the first time at an Inter Miami match in 2024, shortly after achieving another dream: becoming a U.S. citizen. He’s hoping to see Messi claim another World Cup -- and he’s off to a fine start with the defending champions, notching a hat trick against Algeria and two goals against Austria. And Mesa would really like to meet his idol. If it ever happens, there’s another Messi tattoo in store. “Maybe I've got room there on the back of the hamstring,” Mesa said, smiling. “The one where I meet him.” |
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Outfielder Theo Gillen, the Rays’ No. 1 prospect and No. 40 overall according to MLB Pipeline, was told Sunday that he is being promoted from High-A Bowling Green to Double-A Montgomery. It’s a big step for the 20-year-old center fielder, the Rays’ top pick in the 2024 Draft, but one he clearly deserved. Gillen led the South Atlantic League in batting average (.342) and ranked second in stolen bases (28), runs (53) and OPS (1.038) in 57 games at the High-A level. He left little doubt about his readiness for a promotion by hitting .406 with a 1.103 OPS in 17 games this month. For more on Gillen’s promotion, click here. |
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• The Rays dropped their eighth 1-run game in the month of June. Read more >> • The Rays held steady at No. 5 in MLB.com’s latest Power Rankings. Read more >> • Jonny DeLuca, “vibes guy,” delivered a huge home run Sunday to secure a series win. Read more >> • The Rays did a lot of special stuff for Father’s Day, including some surprises for players in their clubhouse. Read more >> |
Junior Caminero is still the leading vote-getter among American League third basemen, as of Monday’s All-Star balloting update from Major League Baseball, but the gap is closing. Caminero received 1,310,879 votes, ahead of Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto (1,282,884). The top two at each position will move on to Phase 2, so it could be a showdown between Caminero and Okamoto if this continues. Elsewhere on the ballot, Yandy Díaz is still a distant third on the AL DH front, with 459,371 votes, and Jonathan Aranda (193,544) is eighth among AL first basemen. There were no other Rays among the top 10 at their positions or the top 20 outfielders. Check out the complete standings here. Phase 1 of All-Star voting continues here until Thursday at noon ET. |
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