SAN DIEGO -- No player at the DICK’s Perfect Game All-American Classic traveled a longer or more arduous road to get there than Alain Gomez-Gudino.

Two years ago, on August 5, 2023, Alain, his mom, Lislen, his stepdad, Joel, and his sister, Victoria, left their hometown of Caracas, Venezuela, with their dreams and a few belongings stuffed into their backpacks.

Alain, just a few weeks shy of his 16th birthday at the time, made sure to leave some room in his backpack for his well-worn catcher’s mitt. 

The family rode buses and made long walks through Central America. They survived rain forests and downpours, crossed mountains and dangerous, swollen rivers on foot. They slept outside under tarps and in bus shelters -- all to chase a better, safer life. Along the way, they saw people who succumbed during similar journeys. They were robbed and what items that were spared in their backpacks became soaked with rain and river water.

But through the miles, through the sweat and through the tears, a couple of things survived – the family’s love for each other and Alain’s catcher’s mitt.

“I packed my glove because I knew wherever I ended up I was going to play baseball,” he said. “It was the only thing that didn’t get wet.”

Last weekend, two weeks before his 18th birthday, Gomez-Gudino was in Petco Park, the picturesque home of the San Diego Padres, one of 62 players invited to the All-American Classic, PG’s signature event. His family’s dream of a better life is alive and well. His dream of playing in the major leagues, like his idol and countryman, Kansas City Royals catcher Salvadore Perez, is also alive.

Gomez-Gudino had been a top prospect in Venezuela and was drawing attention from big-league organizations. In less than two years in the United States, he has made an impressive rise on PG’s prospect rankings. He is the No. 2 rated catcher in the 2026 draft class and has committed to the University of South Carolina. He helped the West squad beat the East squad, 9-4, in the All-American Classic. The West trailed 4-0 early and rallied to tie the game in the fifth inning. Gomez-Gudino, a sturdy 6-0, 215-pound switch-hitter, had an RBI single from the left side during the uprising.

After a workout the day before the Classic, Gomez-Gudino looked around Petco Park and admitted a need to pinch himself to believe it was all real.

“This is my dream to play on a big-league field and do what I love, play baseball,” he said. “It’s incredible.”

Chasing dreams was the reason his family departed Caracas. It took 34 days to reach Mexico City, where they stayed for three months and started the immigration process that eventually permitted them to cross the border – near San Diego. How’s that for a full-circle moment?

The family headed to Scottsdale, Arizona, where an aunt lived. Alain and his sister enrolled in school and began the process of learning English. Lislen and Joel found work.

“I spoke no English when we got here, just ‘hello,’ and ‘how are you?’ ‘’ said Alain, who now speaks the language quite well.

Alain and his family have received much help as they chase the American dream. Elvin Soto, a former minor-league catcher, is Alain’s Phoenix-based adviser and an outstanding baseball resource. Brian Bratspis, the father of one of Alain’s teammates at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, has been what Soto calls “a guardian angel,” to the family.

“We are very grateful for everything,” Alain said.

As a sophomore at Saguaro, Gomez-Gudino had the good fortune of catching lefty Cam Caminiti, a 2023 PG All-American and a 2024 first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves. Scouts couldn’t help but notice Gomez-Gudino as they monitored Caminiti.

Gomez-Gudino laughed as he recalled one of the first times he caught Caminiti in a game.

“He broke my glove,” he said. “The one I brought with me from Venezuela.”

Today, the glove is sitting on a shelf, high and dry, back in Scottsdale, Alain Gomez-Gudino’s new home, the perfect reminder of how far he’s come.