Andy Loretta lived for part of his youth in Brazil, where at the Escola Americana de Campinas he played softball, basketball, and futebol de salão against other American, Japanese, British, and Brazilian schools.
Andy’s father (Ricardo) grew up in Mexico, where he and “Uncle Dave” were Little League superstars in Mexico City in the 50’s. Andy still hears stories about Uncle Dave playing against the Little League team from Monterrey, MX that went on to win the Little League World Series in 1957.
Of special family pride is one of Andy’s cousins and one of Uncle Dave’s son’s, Mark, who played 16 seasons in the Major Leagues; with the Brewers, Astros, Padres, Red Sox, and Dodgers. Argueably the greatest Padre second baseman EVER.
Another badass baseball playing cousin, Kyle, is a slingin’ lefty pitcher about to start his second pro season in the Padres organization.
So, as you can imagine Andy loves baseball, as well as Over-The-Line (beach softball played on the beaches of Southern California). Andy, his brothers, and other close family and friends have participated in numerous OTL tournaments, including the world famous OMBAC tournament in San Diego: http://www.ombac.org/over_the_line/
Andy is a die hard San Diego Padres fan, thanks to his mother’s side of the family being from San Diego going back 4 generations, as well as a huge Detroit Tigers fan, thanks to being born in Michigan and going to his first MLB game at the old Tigers Stadium.
Andy currently lives in Coral Gables, FL with his wife Michelle, a…Dodger fan;-), and daughter Lili, who’s being brainwashed to follow her father’s teams!
Andy is fluent in Portuñol, so whether you’re in Tijuana, Mexico City, Laredo TX, Downtown L.A., Calle Ocho Miami, Cancun, Ipanema Beach, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, The Algarve, Madrid…Andy is your translator and cultural concierge for hire.
Most of all, Andy loves his family and all things Latin America, and is always looking for any excuse to go visit, including if it means being an ambassador for the sport of baseball.