Manny Banuelos wasn’t shy about the moment. It took him 14 years to get to that mound, he stood there and took it all in. Jose Trevino met him there, in the middle of Yankee Stadium, and recognized what this meant to the lefty, with his wife and daughters in the stands, and everyone else who knew the story. Signed as a 16-year-old out of Mexico, one of the most hyped prospects in recent Yankee history, injuries got in the way of him having this moment years ago.

But Friday night, he made it.

“Hey, man, welcome home,” Trevino told him before jogging back behind the plate. Banuelos pitched two scoreless innings after Gerrit Cole flirted with a perfect game for 6.2 innings in the Yankees’ 13-0 win over the Tigers Friday night. They were afterthought innings to most in the Stadium, but to Banuelos and most of the people who have heard his story in baseball it was huge.

“To pitch here in Yankee Stadium with this uniform on, this is amazing,” an emotional Banuelos said. “Trust me. I don’t know if somebody else has this history, but I don’t think so. I think everybody knows about me about what happened 10 or 12 years ago, as I said before, it’s been a long journey and to make this goal it’s amazing.”

Banuelos was one of the top prospects in baseball and along with Dellin Betances and Andrew Brackman was supposed to be the cornerstone of a new Yankee Era. They were the “Killer B’s.” Instead, Banuelos was hurt and then traded in 2015. Instead of Yankee pinstripes, he debuted as a Brave. He’s made 23 major league appearances, 14 starts over the last decade, but having grown up a Yankee fan he always had the goal of getting back here.

After a really strong winter in the Mexican League, Banuelos signed with the Yankees as a minor league free agent. He was invited to spring training and pitched really well. He also spent time talking to younger pitchers, very open and honest about the story of his journey. He impressed manager Aaron Boone and the big league clubhouse with his still joyful personality and earned their respect with his work and perseverance.

“It’s emotional in there,” Boone said of the clubhouse. “He’s just such a great dude. To see him realize this, maybe later than expected, but never giving up and never losing sight of this being what he wants to do and where he wanted to do it. To see people persevere through a lot of difficult things, it’s special to witness that.”

Banuelos gave up a hit and struck one batter out in two innings, but he also made a huge impact.

“Stories like that go a long way not only for the guys, but for kids around the world. Like maybe you aren’t where you’re supposed to be right now, but later on doesn’t mean that you can’t come back home,” Trevino said. ” So I think that’s big just for baseball in general.”

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