TOWN ‘N’ COUNTRY — Junior Caminero has spent the season launching baseballs out of major league ballparks. On Sept. 14, he did it with a bat borrowed from a Little Leaguer.
The Tampa Bay Rays’ All-Star third baseman joined local Little Leaguers at Shimberg Sports Complex for Every Hit Is a Win with Junior Caminero, a hitting and home run challenge hosted by Suncoast Credit Union. The evening event was modeled after the credit union’s annual Every Hit Is a Win with Suncoast program. Players took at-bats and played the field, and Suncoast awarded donations based on how they performed. The Citrus Park and Town ‘N’ Country Little Leagues each took home $2,850.
Then it was Caminero’s turn. With players, parents and guests pressed against the backstop, the slugger used a short aluminum bat to send nearly a dozen balls over the fence and into the trees beyond, drawing oohs and aahs with every swing.
“It feels great just being out here with the kids — it’s always good to give back to the community,” Caminero said through a translator. “For these kids to meet me, it’s really special for me, and it’s another step where I want to be in my career.”
Seeing children wear his jersey, both in Tampa Bay and in his native Dominican Republic, means a lot, he said.
Cleveland signed Caminero out of the Dominican Republic in 2019, when he was 16, then traded him to the Rays in November 2021 in a little-noticed deal for pitcher Tobias Myers. He tore through the minor leagues, played in the 2023 All-Star Futures Game and turned heads in the Dominican Winter League before breaking out in 2025, his first full major league season, with 45 home runs and 110 RBI.
He has followed that with a second straight All-Star season. On Sept. 11, his two-run, walk-off homer against Houston — his 40th of the year — clinched the Rays’ first playoff berth since 2023 and made him one of only two active major leaguers, along with the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, with back-to-back 40-homer seasons. His late-season heroics have made him a contender to become the first American League MVP in franchise history.
Suncoast Credit Union, a longtime Rays partner, also donates $79 to local nonprofits for every Rays base hit and home run during the regular season.
“Watching the excitement of these young athletes was incredible,” said Kevin Johnson, president and CEO of Suncoast Credit Union. “We’re grateful to Junior for helping create unforgettable memories while making a positive impact on local families and our communities.”
For Caminero, who grew up idolizing another slugging third baseman, the San Diego Padres’ Manny Machado, the day was about the kids.
“I know it means a lot to them,” he said. “They’ll never forget a fun time like this.”
