Prepare to feel quite emotional after seeing Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brusdar Graterol reunite with his mother, Ysmalia, after seven years apart. Excuse us while we go cry some more telenovela tears at this incredible moment:

As reported by MLB, Graterol tried to bring his mother to the United States from Venezuela for several years. The pitcher, who was born in Calabozo, Venezuela, had not seen his mother since circa 2015.

Graterol waited many years for his mother’s visa to get approved, all the while becoming a successful major league player, getting married in 2021, and having a child.

The pitcher described his mother’s absence to MLB: “There were a lot of moments she missed. When I debuted, she wasn’t here. When I got married, she wasn’t here… My wife had our daughter, she wasn’t here.”

“Those were difficult times,” he recalled. Still, by Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Tigers, Graterol’s mother was finally able to see him pitch at Dodger Stadium. “It was so emotional and nice to have her here,” the pitcher said after their win.

“It was so incredible.”

Watch the beautiful moment Graterol embraced his mom for the first time in seven years

While Graterol describes the difficulties of getting his mother’s visa approved to come to the United States, he couldn’t let her down. “We never really gave up on any situation and luckily we found a way to get her to the United States,” he told AP News.

The pitcher spoke directly to his mom in a video for the L.A. Dodgers: “Thank you so much for never letting me fall, for never giving up. And thanks to you, we have been achieving a lot of things.”

“Like we said many years ago, we are not going to give up. Thank you mom,” he added.

His proud team also posted a video on X that shows Graterol reuniting with his mom at the airport on Sunday. Here, you can see the very first time they got to hug after those long seven years. And yes, get ready to cry more telenovela tears after seeing this:

Crying with joy, the mom tells him: “Look at how big you are, my love. You’re so lovely, papi. You’re beautiful, oh my God.”

Later, Graterol described the “paralyzing” moment at the airport to AP News. “All I heard my mom say was that I was very big and very beautiful,” he recalled. “And the only thing that I told her when I calmed down, I told her that she smelled like home.”

Here, you can see Graterol pitching in a major league game in front of his mom for the very first time. After the pitch, he pointed up at his mom, who couldn’t stop cheering for him:

As one X user put it, you could see how “all of the emotions” hit Graterol at the same time while on the field.

“It was emotional,” L.A. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts added. “How can you not appreciate that moment for Brusdar and his family? That was one of the top moments I have been a part of.”

A very cool side to this story? Graterol’s mom was his very first coach

As per MLB, Graterol’s mother, Ysmalia, has a very cool backstory: she was actually her son’s first coach. According to the outlet, she was once a “softball star,” which made for the perfect opportunity for her to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium. Are you ready for this? Because we weren’t ready:

Here, you can see her throw the pitch at her son with a huge smile on her face. They both look emotional and excited, hugging afterward. As Graterol told AP News, sharing these moments with his mom is his biggest blessing. “To be able to now share that and be there with her is special,” he said.

As one X user said, this was “another great mother-son moment for the Graterol family”:

The Venezuelan-born pitcher later described the importance of his mother’s role in his life. As per ABC, he explained, “She was a mom and dad figure for me the whole time, and I’ve always wanted to be an example for her and for her to be proud of me.”

Well, it seems like he got his wish. Graterol’s mother told MLB, “He worked so hard to be here and that makes me so proud of him.”

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