Junior Caminero would be a household name if he was in the Bronx. Instead, he’ll look to end the Yankees’ season there

Pablo Robles/Imagn Images/Reuters

Chad Mottola, the hitting coach for the Tampa Bay Rays for the past decade, sat in the visiting team dugout alongside speedy slap-hitter Chandler Simpson and budding star Junior Caminero, who was nearing the end of his first full season in the majors. It was late September 2025.

Caminero’s baseball year had started with a bang back in January, when the then-21-year-old hit a ball 454 feet to clinch a championship in the Dominican Winter League . Even in a nation known for ostentatious displays of baseball obsession, the ensuing theatrics went viral. Stateside for the Rays, the young slugger had hit 45 home runs, been an All-Star, and competed in the Home Run Derby.

But now, he was watching the Toronto Blue Jays celebrate having clinched the division on the last day of the season. The Blue Jays were about to go on a magical run that would come within inches of a title, ultimately falling short in an all-time classic of a World Series.

Caminero’s Rays, on the other hand, were headed home. Already, the rest of the team had descended to the clubhouse to start their offseason. Mottola, Simpson, and Caminero lingered and let the bad feeling of watching someone else revel in success to sink in.

Mottola turned to his young players. “That’s us next year,” he said.

The Rays clinched the 2026 American League East with a victory over the New York Yankees in the Bronx, the most famous franchise in the sport relegated to a wild card berth. The team with the third-lowest payroll in Major League Baseball had toppled the team with the third-highest payroll, on that night and in the division.

“Amazing, amazing,” Caminero told CNN Sports, recalling the celebration two days later. “But we gotta continue. We need the American (League). We need the World Series.”

He spoke in English. Caminero is from Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic. His love for baseball is both cultural – the DR sends more players to the majors than any other country outside the United States – and personal. Caminero is one of those players who, even amid a 162-game season, spends his off days watching baseball.

Despite it being his second language, and the prevalence of Spanish in the big leagues, Caminero has started doing more interviews in English. In July, he appeared on Jeff Passan’s podcast at ESPN for an hour, all in English. Caminero was forthright and far-ranging, talking about the trade that brought him to the Rays as a minor leaguer as well as why Latin players aren’t more involved in the Players Association.

He was also funny, poking fun at his own plodding speed on the basepaths and demonstrating his best Australian accent.

It’s a personality and a propensity to be known that could make him one of baseball’s rare breakout stars – combined, of course, with the performance.

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Caminero boasts the fastest bat speed in the majors . Over the past two seasons combined, he has the second-most home runs in baseball, the most in the American League. More than global sensation and four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani. More than three-time MVP and Yankees captain Aaron Judge, who was sidelined with injury for most of this year. More than Ben Rice, who has stepped up in Judge’s absence to be the preeminent Bomber in the Bronx.

“He has a high ceiling, but he also has aptitude,” said Mottola, who credits Caminero with reinvigorating his own enthusiasm for the game.

Caminero’s willingness to work, to make mistakes, to learn and improve – he nearly doubled his walk rate year over year – is rare for someone so talented.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever had a teammate or a player that can do the things he does,” Mottola said.

“He has every attribute that you would consider a star player to have,” Rays shortstop Taylor Walls told CNN Sports. “I guess the market being smaller, you may not hear about him quite as much as you would hear about other bigger-market names, but based on just pure performance and play, 100%.”

Walls is correct. You don’t hear about Caminero as much as his output merits because of where he plays.

The Rays are a scrappy organization. Perennial contenders despite the payroll constraints, unbothered by their underdog status even after clinching the top seed in the league. Historically, the team has succeeded by being greater than the sum of its parts. Neither stars nor scrubs but rather an optimized collection of skills buoyed by collective buy-in.

There have only ever been seven seasons of more than 35 home runs authored by Rays players and already, at 23 years old, Caminero is responsible for two of them.

Kim Klement Neitzel/Imagn Images/Reuters

If he played in New York, Caminero would be the next big thing. The kid who convinced his parents to name his little brother after former Yankees manager Joe Girardi now an unstoppable slugger? That’s superstar material. In pinstripes, Caminero would have been a Yankee hero.

Instead, he’ll look to end their season.

Two weeks after the Rays clinched the division in New York, they return to the Bronx on Wednesday with a commanding 2-0 lead in the division series over the Yankees. History says they have a nearly 90% chance of advancing to the championship series. They have two shots at a dogpile celebration in front of a hostile crowd.

Despite winning the division, given the disparity in market, payroll, and legacy – the Rays have two pennants, but no World Series titles, in their 29-year history – it would still be seen as David taking down Goliath.

“The national media always paints a picture that we’re overperforming,” Mottola said. “We have really good players that don’t get the attention they should. And rightly so, probably during the playoff time, the way (Caminero) is, his personality will probably get a lot more attention.”

That way is respectful – of the veterans in the clubhouse and the game that he still hasn’t fully mastered.

“I try to stay more humble,” Caminero said.

“I know who I am,” he said.

“He likes the adrenaline,” Mottola said, “He likes to feel like, OK, something special is going to happen. ”

And if this October he rises to those occasions when the stakes are the highest, would that make him transcend the market to join the ranks of baseball stars?

“Wallsy, tell ‘em,” Caminero deflected when asked directly.

“He is a superstar,” Walls said.

Pablo Robles/Imagn Images/路透社

过去十年一直担任坦帕湾光芒队打击教练的查德·莫托拉坐在客队休息区，旁边是速度飞快的短打型击球手钱德勒·辛普森和冉冉升起的新星小卡米内罗，后者即将结束他在大联盟的第一个完整赛季。那是2025年9月下旬。

卡米内罗的棒球赛季在1月份就以惊艳的表现拉开帷幕。当时年仅21岁的他击出一记454英尺的本垒打，帮助球队在多米尼加冬季联赛中夺得冠军。即使在以狂热棒球著称的美国，他随后的庆祝动作也迅速在网络上走红。回到美国后，这位年轻的强棒效力于坦帕湾光芒队，已经击出45支本垒打，入选全明星，并参加了全垒打大赛。

但现在，他正看着多伦多蓝鸟队庆祝他们在赛季最后一天锁定分区冠军。蓝鸟队即将开启一段神奇的征程，他们距离总冠军仅一步之遥，最终在一场堪称经典的世锦赛中功亏一篑。

而卡米内罗所在的坦帕湾光芒队则正准备回家。其他队员都已经回到更衣室，开始休赛期的训练。莫托拉、辛普森和卡米内罗则留在原地，任由看着别人享受胜利的苦涩滋味在心中慢慢滋长。

莫托拉转向他的年轻球员们说：“明年我们就是他们了。”

坦帕湾光芒队在布朗克斯球场战胜纽约扬基队，锁定2026年美联东区冠军。扬基队是棒球界最著名的球队，却只能以外卡身份晋级。当晚，这支大联盟薪资总额第三低的球队，击败了薪资总额第三高的球队，赢得了分区冠军。

“太棒了，太棒了，”卡米内罗两天后在接受CNN体育采访时回忆起庆祝活动时说道。“但我们必须继续前进。我们需要美联冠军。我们需要世界大赛冠军。”

他用英语发言。卡米内罗来自多米尼加共和国首都圣多明各。他对棒球的热爱既源于文化——多米尼加共和国向美国职业棒球大联盟输送的球员数量超过除美国以外的任何其他国家——也源于个人情感。卡米内罗就是那种即使在长达162场比赛的赛季中，也会利用休息时间观看棒球比赛的球员之一。

尽管西班牙语是卡米内罗的第二语言，而且西班牙语在大联盟中也很普遍，但他已经开始更多地接受英语采访。今年7月，他做客ESPN的杰夫·帕桑播客节目，全程用英语进行了一个小时的访谈。卡米内罗坦率直言，谈及了他当年作为小联盟球员被交易到光芒队的经历，以及拉丁裔球员为何没有更多地参与球员协会事务。

他也很幽默，会拿自己在垒间缓慢的速度开玩笑，还会展示他最地道的澳大利亚口音。

这种个性和渴望出名的倾向，可能会让他成为棒球界少有的耀眼新星之一——当然，这还要与他的球技相结合。

埃兹拉·肖/盖蒂图片社

卡米内罗拥有大联盟最快的挥棒速度。过去两个赛季，他的本垒打数位列全联盟第二，美联第一。他的本垒打数甚至超过了四届MVP得主、全球巨星大谷翔平，超过了因伤缺席本赛季大部分比赛的三届MVP得主、洋基队队长阿隆·贾奇，也超过了在贾奇缺阵期间挺身而出、成为洋基队头号轰炸机的本·赖斯。

“他潜力巨大，而且很有天赋，”莫托拉说道，他认为卡米内罗重新激发了他对这项运动的热情。

卡米内罗乐于工作、勇于犯错、不断学习和进步——他的步行率几乎逐年翻了一番——对于如此有天赋的人来说实属罕见。

莫托拉说：“我不知道我是否曾经有过像他那样的队友或球员。”

“他具备所有你认为明星球员应该有的特质，”光芒队游击手泰勒·沃尔斯告诉CNN体育频道。“我想，由于市场较小，你可能不会像听到其他大市场球员那样听到他的消息，但仅就他的表现和发挥而言，他绝对是明星球员。”

沃尔斯说得对。卡米内罗的成就远不及他应得的成就，这主要是因为他效力的球队的性质。

光芒队是一支顽强拼搏的队伍。尽管薪资预算有限，他们始终保持着争冠实力，即使锁定联盟头号种子，也从不畏惧挑战。历史上，这支队伍的成功秘诀在于整体实力远超个人能力的总和。他们既没有明星球员，也没有替补球员，而是依靠全队上下齐心协力，将各种技能完美融合。

光芒队球员单赛季击出超过 35 支本垒打的记录只有七个赛季，而年仅 23 岁的卡米内罗已经贡献了其中两个赛季。

Kim Klement Neitzel/Imagn Images/路透社

如果卡米内罗在纽约打球，他绝对会成为下一个巨星。当年说服父母用前洋基队经理乔·吉拉迪的名字给弟弟命名的那个孩子，如今已是所向披靡的强棒？这可是超级巨星的潜质。穿上条纹球衣，卡米内罗肯定会成为洋基队的英雄。

相反，他会力争结束他们的赛季。

两周前光芒队在纽约锁定分区冠军后，他们将于周三重返布朗克斯，在分区系列赛中以2-0领先洋基队。历史数据显示，他们晋级总决赛的概率接近90%。他们有两次机会在敌对球迷面前进行压顶庆祝。

尽管赢得了分区冠军，但考虑到市场、薪资和历史地位的差距——光芒队在其 29 年的历史中获得了两次联盟冠军，但没有获得过世界大赛冠军——这仍然会被视为大卫击败歌利亚。

莫托拉说：“国家媒体总是把我们描绘成表现超出预期。我们队里有很多优秀的球员，但他们没有得到应有的关注。这或许也情有可原，尤其是在季后赛期间，以卡米内罗的性格，他可能会吸引更多人的目光。”

这样是对俱乐部老队员和自己尚未完全掌握的比赛的尊重。

“我努力保持谦逊，”卡米内罗说。

“我知道我是谁，”他说。

莫托拉说：“他喜欢肾上腺素飙升的感觉，他喜欢那种‘好吧，一些特别的事情即将发生’的感觉。”

如果今年十月他在那些关键时刻挺身而出，那他是否会超越市场，跻身棒球明星的行列呢？

当被直接问到时，卡米内罗回避道：“沃西，告诉他们吧。”

“他是个超级巨星，”沃尔斯说。