When I first spoke with Caio Araujo a couple of months ago, we talked about being Brazilian in baseball, his journey at his D1 school Alabama State, and the grind of coming back from Tommy John surgery - all while waiting to see if his name would land on Brazil’s initial World Baseball Classic roster. It didn’t. But, eventually, he did get the call to pitch for his country. This is the follow-up after the call came, after the dream got real, and after Caio stepped into his own “oh shit” moment.
9inningnomad: We got you back after your World Baseball Classic appearance for Brazil. Last time we talked, you were waiting on the roster announcement, and you were left off the first roster.
Caio Araujo: Yeah, I was on a DPP. (Designated Pitcher Pool)
9inningnomad: What was going on when you found out you were going to pitch for Brazil?
Caio Araujo: It kind of caught me off guard. It was a random Tuesday, and I was leaving practice. Then I got a call from my manager there saying that, unfortunately, one of the players got injured and they would need me to go there, asking if it was possible for me to go. I said, well, yeah, of course. I didn’t even hesitate to say that I was ready to go. So I communicated with my coach, and they did a whole ceremony in here, which was really cool. Then on that same Thursday or Wednesday, I think I got on the flight, and got there a day before the U.S. game. So, didn’t even really get to practice with the team or none of that. Just went straight to the field, practiced there. We played against the US, ended up getting hot, and then the next day pitched against Italy. It was my first outing since Tommy John. It was against Italy in the WBC. So it was definitely something else.
9inningnomad: Your first post-surgery outing wasn’t in college - it was in the WBC. That’s wild. How did you feel? How was the elbow?
Caio Araujo: To be honest, I wasn’t even really worried. I was just trying to live the moment and kind of whatever happened happened. I had one goal, which was striking out somebody, and I accomplished that. So it was great. Everything happened. I gave up a single. I gave up a bomb, a groundout. I walked somebody, and I struck out somebody. So I got everything done in one inning. It was definitely a cool experience. I wasn’t even mad with the results. I was excited that I was able to get out of the inning, especially being my first time facing competitive hitters after the surgery. The nerves were there. I was representing my country, representing my family’s name. It was just everything going on, and I was just praying that God would have my back in there, and he did, and everything went right. No pain, and I was able to compete and get out of the inning.
9: If you look at your Baseball Reference page now, it says 2026 WBC Brazil alongside Alabama State. That has to be pretty cool.
Caio: Oh yeah!
9: Leading up to the call-up, what was that actual phone call like? Who called you and let you know?
Caio: It was the president of baseball in Brazil, the federation president. He called me because he’s known me since I was little, and he gave me the call and gave me the news. Nothing was confirmed on that same day, so I had to sleep on it, and they didn’t text me again till the next day, around like 12:00, to tell me that yeah, it was for sure. Then they sent me the tickets, and everything was in a hurry to get there and get going.
9: From the time you got the call to the time you got to Houston, how much time was that?
Caio: Like a day.
9: When you finally got there, suited up, got your credentials, and walked out onto the field - what was that feeling like?
Caio: It really was a dream coming true because not only was I able to play on a MLB field against MLB players, but I got to see a lot of fans asking for autographs and yelling my name and things like that, and taking pictures and giving interviews about being one of only two other guys in college, and I’m the only Brazilian-born right-handed pitcher in college right now in Division I. Some people knew that, and it was really cool; it was a weird experience. Also being able to play with childhood friends, friends that I grew up playing baseball with, and then guys I looked up to, and some guys I didn’t grow up with, but I always looked up to in the field that play professionally. It was really a dream coming true, and everything just felt unreal. It was amazing.
9: I was watching on TV, and seeing you out there was crazy. Were you able to breathe at all, or was your heart racing?
Caio: The heart was definitely racing, especially the first day, because they got me warming up to get hot against the USA, and I was going to face (Kyle) Schwarber. So it’s not really the guy you want to face as your first hitter coming back from injury, but I was ready for it. Whatever happened was going to happen.
9: If you had gotten to face Kyle Schwarber, how do you think you would’ve tried to sequence him?
Caio: I definitely throw a first-pitch slider. He never saw me, so I’m assuming he would take a first pitch. So I try to put something in there. The cutter in and hopefully a home run, but like a foul ball, foul ball. And then try to make him chase like three pitches. And if he didn’t chase anything, then attack the zone, and whatever happened happened. I made one mistake there with the slider down the middle for Dante Nori. And yeah, he punished it, but it happens.
9: Once you got out there warming up and then onto the mound, did you have that moment of, Am I really here? Or did it feel natural?
Caio: I’m going to be honest with you, straight honest. I don’t really remember what I felt like going into that moment. I remember they called my name to get hot, and I remember jogging to the field, the umpire checking my glove and taking the braces away, and everything. Then getting on the mound and the warm-up pitches, yeah, I remember I was there, but I don’t really remember what was going through my head at that time because I just wanted to compete.
9: So it was sort of a blackout moment?
Caio: Yeah.
9: Did you learn anything about yourself while pitching out there that you maybe didn’t know before?
Caio: Yeah. Definitely that they’re going to hit. They’re professional hitters, and in my opinion, what really helped me by doing that is you really just got to throw strikes because at the end of the day, hitting is really hard. If a hitter has success three times out of ten, that’s a great hitter, and not a lot of guys are great hitters. So you really have to attack and let them get themselves out and put myself and my team in a good position.
9: Did that experience change your confidence level at all?
Caio: I just feel like going there gave me a lot more confidence.
9: How much pride did you feel wearing Brazil across your chest?
Caio: Like I said, it was a dream since I was a kid to go to the WBC, and accomplishing that, all the glory is to God because a year ago I was cut off the list for the qualifier, and then a year after, March 4th was when I had my surgery and March 4th this year is when I got the call. So it’s really God. I don’t really know what to say. It’s something I always wanted to do. Like I said, it was a dream that came true.
9: Do you have a favorite teammate from that group, or who made you laugh the most while you were there?
Caio: I’m really close with all the guys, to be honest, but Gabriel Barbosa, the other pitcher, we’re really close and I was with him mostly all the time. So it was a lot of laughs. Other guys… Thyago Vieira, the guy’s funniest. He just be making jokes all the time and we were all laughing. I was learning a lot, too. They taught me a bunch of things, so it was really good.
9: What did you think of Joseph Contreras and the way he handled himself out there?
Caio: Great kid, yeah, great kid. We talked a lot during meals and stuff when we saw each other. He’s a great guy. After the games, he would come talk to me about mechanics after my outing. His dad (Jose Contreras) would come talk to me too, saying that only one year after surgery, that’s crazy for pitching in a game. And I’m like, yeah. But like I said, it’s God’s plan, so he knows what he’s doing. But he was a great kid. Works really hard and got his own routine. He’s really professional. So it’s impressive to see a 17-year-old being that professional, knowing exactly what they have to do and when they have to do it, and managing time and everything.
9: If you go back to when you were 17, could you picture yourself doing what he was doing?
Caio: No. First, I didn’t have anything close to the structure or the knowledge or anything compared to that. Not saying it as an excuse, but I don’t even think I was that mature at 17 years old. He’s a different 17-year-old. He’s very professional.
9: What was the funniest moment from the whole experience?
Caio: The funniest moment, me and Thomas Lopez, the other D1 kid, we were shagging the outfield, and at first I saw this mom right in the back bleachers, this blonde mom, and I looked and I was like, Yo, bro, she’s kind of hot. We were joking. Then I got a baseball, and mind you, all the kids were asking us for baseballs and everything. So then I was like, No, this one’s for her. And she was like, Me? And I was like, Yeah, that’s you. That’s you. Give it to her. Then right after that, they hit another one, and Thomas wasn’t looking. So he tossed his glove right up. The ball hit his glove and smoked him in the head. Then everybody was laughing, everything. Then the mom came down to get a picture, to get a baseball signed.
Thomas getting hit in the head and the whole situation was the funniest thing we had done there.
9: Fans were giving you phones at the field for social media videos, pictures, etc. How fun was that part of the experience?
Caio: We did a bunch of stuff. We were recording, saying what’s up on their Instagram and stuff, and giving it back. It was fun.
9: How much did your phone blow up once everything happened?
Caio: It was a good week for me to be able to answer everybody and repost everything about everything that went on. Even while I was there, the interviews and stuff with everybody that was posting me and things like that. I like that. So it was fun.
9: Who reached out to you that surprised you?
Caio: I wasn’t really surprised by anybody that reached out, but there’s definitely people that I haven’t talked to in super long that text me saying congrats. And then of course, like, Yo, can I get a jersey? Can I get a shirt? You know, it’s like they don’t even talk.
9: If a kid in Brazil watched you pitch in that game, what do you hope they saw beyond the stat line?
Caio: Hope. Yeah. Just like I said, a whole year ago, to be honest, even this year, after my season started and I wasn’t pitching, I was kind of hopeless. I was kind of going through it. Being called to represent Brazil and play definitely changed the way my life and my career was going because mentally, not pitching here and after a surgery, coming back and not being the same, I was struggling. So that definitely helped. So I’d say hope.
9: How much does this mean for Brazilian baseball overall?
Caio: It’s only the second time they were able to accomplish something like that. So it means a lot because now people can see that in Brazil it’s not only soccer - we play baseball too. We had some good games against the US, for example. It was a great game. Unfortunately, by the end, the lead kind of stretched out a little bit, but at some point, we were really close. So I think now people can see that yes, we do have it in Brazil.
We do need to be more serious about it, more investment in it for sure. But with that and the right training, the right people doing it, we definitely can go far.
9: What was the biggest “holy shit” moment of the whole thing? Was it getting called in, or was there another one?
Caio: I feel like, in a good way, yes, that was the holy shit moment - like, Oh shit, I’m going in. But I feel like that came in on the USA game when they said, Caio, get hot. That was like, Holy shit, I’m about to get in. So that was the moment for sure.
But then, after I gave up the bomb to Nori, I was also like, holy shit, I need to get out of this inning. I cannot afford somebody to pull me out of this game. No matter what happens, I need to get out of this inning. That was my whole goal. So yeah, that was definitely two things right there. A good one and a bad one.
9: If you could rework that Dante Nori at-bat, what would you do differently?
Caio: I would start with the slider in the middle and then try to move to the cutter, kind of in a little bit. Then, for a strikeout pitch or something, I would definitely go down in the zone. Everything I aim, I aim down in the zone because I missed middle, and he hit it. So probably if I missed it down or on the bottom line of the zone, it could have probably been a different AB because when it first got off the bat, I didn’t think it was going. He sprinted out of the box, too, so I don’t know if he thought it was going, but I didn’t. It landed in the bullpen.
It got hit hard, but I thought at first it was kind of center-field way, so the ball kind of dies when it’s to center. So I was like, Oh my, and then I saw my outfielders just - and I was like, ah shit.
And I pointed up too. So it was kind of an Edwin Díaz moment. I learned to never point up again.
9: What was cooler - hearing your name announced, stepping on the mound, or finishing your outing?
Caio: Finishing my outing because I finished it with a K. So I feel like that’s what I wanted. But of course, it’s really cool to hear your name and then you look, and you’re in the scoreboard, like the Jumbotron. It’s nice.
9: What was the dugout and bullpen energy like — chaotic, calm, professional, businesslike?
Caio: It was calm. It was very professional because at the end of the day, too, we were losing, so they were not going to be loud or anything. Also, the pitchers stay in the bullpen all the time, and it was very serious. Everybody was either talking about mechanics and their careers, what they do to develop something, or giving tips and knowledge, or warming up and getting ready to go, or making sure they’re loose and ready to go. So yeah, it was very professional.
9: Was that clearly different from a college bullpen?
Caio: Yeah. In college, people just be talking about everything. You have conversations, but everybody is locked in on the game, and it’s always moving around every inning, or when they talk about something, it’s usually about baseball-related stuff still. This was clearly a difference for sure.
9: What song was playing in your head when you walked out to the mound?
Caio: I don’t even think they played my walk-up song, but I was actually just praying in my mind, just hoping everything went okay.
9: If you could describe your outing in one word, what would it be?
Caio: A battle. Just battle.
9: Were you more excited before the game, during it, or after it was over?
Caio: At all three, to be honest. The experience was just so cool, I couldn’t even not be excited. Everything was nice. I didn’t want that to end. I could stay there for months.
9: When you were pitching out there, did you feel like the same old you, or did it feel bigger than that?
Caio: I’m going to be honest. I just didn’t feel like I was fully ready because, since it was my first time in a game, it felt like everything wasn’t really clicking. So like I said, I had to really battle through it and just figure it out and compete some way, somehow, even when I was not feeling like my best. So I just had to kind of get it done.
9: When you got back to school and saw the team, what was their reaction?
Caio: Everybody was happy, smiling, giving me hugs, asking how everything was, and saying congrats and how they watched the game. So it was great here.
9: Has anybody asked for your autograph?
Caio: No. I gave a couple of baseballs to some of my close friends, and I gave a jersey to my head coach.
9: Why did you want to give your head coach a jersey?
Caio: He really helped me a lot by giving me a chance to come play here, and even after my surgery, he didn’t release me. He kept me and waited for me to be at my best again, and still gave me chances and still is giving me chances. So I’m always going to be grateful for him, no matter what.
9: How hard was it to act normal in a very not-normal situation?
Caio: It was really hard. The very first day, when the camera was on us, I was just looking everywhere. I still wasn’t used to that. I don’t think I would ever be used to something like that, but it was just everywhere, so it was kind of hard. Then Barbosa, my friend, was like, Yo, you are a part of this. You've got to act like you belong in this shit now, so lock in. The next day, I was like, you know, he’s right. I’m here for a reason. I got to stay locked in and just act like this is normal.
9: Last thing - what message would you give to kids in Brazil, or really any kid chasing something big?
Caio: I feel like to every kid, don’t ever let nobody tell you that you can’t do something or that you’re not ready for something, because at the end of the day, God has a plan for you. And if it’s meant to be yours, it’s going to be yours no matter what. It’s not going to be in your timing. It’s going to be in his timing. So just keep your head up, trust and pray, and give all the glory to him because he is great, and whenever the time comes, you’ll get to do what is the best for you, and it’s going to be better than what you dream of. So just make sure you keep your head up and keep working, praising him, and doing good because your chance will come someday. And whenever it does, then you've got to get the job done.