Not that Valiente could ever really prepare for such a moment.

“I could not believe it,” Valiente said through the team’s bench coach, Tony Pena, who served as an interpreter for an interview last week. “Just to be with the Yankees is an honor. But for him to do that for me, el Capitán, it was an amazing thing.”

A day after the plane ride, when the moment arrived, after years of hard work in Cuba for pennies a day, Valiente commemorated the event with tears of joy.

The Yankees called up Valiente in September to work with the expanded roster. But this year was different: He was wearing a Yankees uniform from opening day as a full-time staff member.

“You have to see how much he really does,” Jeter said. “He’s behind the scenes, obviously, but everyone here knows how much he does. Everybody loves him, and he deserves it for how hard he works.”

Valiente’s job entails two main tasks: throwing batting practice and tossing batting practice. He shows up early every day and throws to players seeking extra swings in the cages. During regular batting practice, he throws or hits ground balls. Then, as the action unfolds on the field during the game, he is stationed under the stands in a batting cage, tossing balls underhand to players as they prepare for their at-bats.