As a boy growing up in Everett, Steven Souza Jr. dreamed of playing Major League Baseball.
The dream came true last April as Souza, an outfielder and 2007 graduate of Cascade High School, was called up from the minor leagues to the Washington Nationals. Souza, a finalist for The Herald’s Man of the Year in Sports award, made his debut in a game at Atlanta.
In an interview last year, Souza described the emotions of being promoted to the majors after spending all or part of eight seasons in the minor leagues.
“I was just in shock,” he said. “To come from a point where I spent so many years in the minor leagues struggling, trying to grow up, trying to figure a lot of things out. I went through some hard times. (Making it to the majors) was just a relief and excitement.”
Souza was with the Nationals only a short time before returning to Class AAA Syracuse as another Washington player returned from the disabled list. Souza ended up batting .354 for Syracuse with a slugging percentage of .601 and was named the International League’s Most Valuable Player.
Near the end of the season, Souza was called up again and finished the year in the big leagues. On the final day of the regular season, he made a spectacular diving catch in left field for the final out of Washington pitcher Jordan Zimmerman’s no-hitter.
In the offseason, Souza was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, where he has become an everyday player.
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