Andrus leaves for Texas after 11-3 victory, plans to return to Rangers as a U.S. citizen
The Texas Rangers made things a little easier on Elvis Andrus on Thursday night, breezing to an 11-3 victory in a cool 2 hours, 45 minutes.
By today’s standards, that’s a fast MLB game.
Andrus was next hoping for an on-time departure.
Andrus had time to look over some video from his at-bats before the 40-minute drive to San Francisco International Airport, where he was scheduled to catch an overnight flight to DFW International Airport so that he could become a U.S. citizen Friday morning.
Earlier this year he received Friday as his date to complete his pathway through the naturalization process. The Venezuela native was planning to return to Oakland Coliseum in time to be available for the game Friday night.
Andrus might not be in the Rangers’ starting lineup, but he will be a U.S. citizen the next time he steps on the field if all goes well beginning at 10 a.m. Friday in Dallas.
“It’s an honor for me to become an American,” Andrus said.
Rangers third baseman Asdrubal Cabrera, also from Venezuela, became a U.S. citizen in April after flying to Miami on an off day to finish the process. Included is a test in which applicants must answer 6 of 10 questions correctly.
Andrus said that he spoke with Cabrera about the test and has been studying for it.
“They give you all the questions, but it’s a lot of questions,” Andrus said.
Andrus plans to make the United States his permanent place of residency after his baseball career. His wife, Cori, is a naturalized citizen, and both of their children are citizens because they were born in the U.S.
Venezuela is in the midst of political strife under the socialist regime of president Nicolas Maduro. Most of Andrus’ family has left Venezuela, and he hasn’t been home for five years to avoid thieves and kidnappers.
He hopes to go back one day after the country recovers. Though pledging an oath to the U.S. is the final step in becoming a citizen, Andrus won’t turn his back on Venezuela.
“I will never forget where my roots are from, which is Venezuela,” he said. “I’ve still go my passport. It’s not like it’s going to go away.”
This story was originally published July 26, 2019 at 7:00 AM.
