I hated Eugenio Suárez’s three-run homer Friday night. I loved almost everything surrounding it.
I’m a lifelong Milwaukee Brewers fan, so watching a Cincinnati Reds hitter put his team ahead isn’t supposed to make me smile. Suárez found a way around that problem because baseball briefly became secondary to something much bigger.
The Venezuela-born Reds third baseman had just become an American.
Suárez missed two games against San Diego so he could travel to Miami for his U.S. naturalization process. The 35-year-old from Puerto Ordaz passed his exam, which includes English and civics testing along with an interview. He has spent 13 seasons in the majors after first signing with Detroit as a teenager.
“Go get em Geno!”
Eugenio Suarez will not be with the Reds Tuesday or Wednesday because he is set to take the Naturalization test.
Suarez, born in Venezuela, is working on becoming a US Citizen.
Best of luck, Geno!!! pic.twitter.com/Navgxvdq31
— Reds Daily (@RedsDaily4) September 1, 2026
When Suárez returned to Great American Ball Park Friday, his teammates were waiting.
They decorated his locker with an American flag and a red, white, and blue cowboy hat. Then they changed his walk-up music to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.”
In his first at-bat since becoming a United States citizen, Eugenio Suárez’s teammates changed his walk-up song to “God Bless the USA (I’m Proud to Be an American)” 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/a1r8BOiGke
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) September 4, 2026
The grin on Suárez’s face told you everything you needed to know about whether the gesture meant something to him.
Then the guy had to go out and ruin the moment for us Brewer fans.
Suárez walked in his first plate appearance and scored when Matt McLain homered. In the third inning, with Milwaukee leading 4-3, Suárez came up for his first official at-bat since becoming an American. He crushed a 2-2 fastball from Shane Drohan for a three-run homer.
It was his 21st home run of the season and his 210th as a Red, tying Ken Griffey Jr. for ninth place on Cincinnati’s career home run list.
From MLB.com:
In his second plate appearance against the Brewers during the third inning, Suárez slugged a go-ahead three-run home run in a thrilling moment for the native of Venezuela. However, Cincinnati was foiled once again by its National League Central nemesis Milwaukee for a 10-7 loss.
That moved the Reds’ record in the season series vs. the Brewers to 1-7.
…
Batting with two outs and two on against Brewers left-handed starter Shane Drohan, Suárez pummeled a 2-2 fastball and sent it to left-center field for a three-run homer, his 21st of the season and No. 210 as a member of the Reds. That tied him with Ken Griffey Jr. for ninth on the franchise’s all-time list.
“It was pretty special but not surprising. He’s just a complete pro about his business,” center fielder Dane Myers said of Suárez.
After Suárez returned to the dugout, Reds players were heard chanting, “USA, USA!”
As Suárez returned to the dugout, his teammates greeted him with something you don’t hear every night at a baseball game.
“USA! USA! USA!”
The dugout was chanting “USA, USA, USA” as Geno went through the handshake line 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/kJDxNy8Qvx
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) September 5, 2026
Okay, fine.
Heavy sigh.
I could live with the homer after that.
Milwaukee eventually came back and won 10-7, which restored some natural order to my baseball universe. Rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt cleared the bases with a three-run triple during a five-run fifth inning, and the Brewers’ bullpen finished the job.
But I kept thinking about Suárez.
Americans hear plenty about everything wrong with our country. Some criticism is deserved; we argue because Americans have always argued, often loudly.
And if you happened to know any Black Lives Matter or Antifa members, we watched the Summer of Love burn during peaceful protests.
Then a man who was born in Venezuela, built a life here, raised his hand, completed the naturalization process, and proudly embraced becoming an American reminds us of something easy to overlook.
People still want what America offers.
Suárez didn’t look embarrassed by the flag above his locker. His teammates didn’t whisper their congratulations. Nobody seemed worried that “God Bless the U.S.A.” might be too corny or that chanting “USA” could offend somebody.
They celebrated him.
So did the crowd.
And somewhere in central Wisconsin, one old curmudgeon of a Brewers fan watched a Cincinnati Red hit a three-run bomb against Milwaukee and still came away proud of the guy who hit it.
I’d prefer the next new American celebrate with a harmless ground ball to second.
But welcome home, Eugenio Suárez.
Stories like Suárez’s are reminders that America remains worth celebrating. PJ Media VIP helps us keep telling stories the rest of the media too often overlooks. Use promo code FIGHT and save 60% on your membership today.
