Yasmani Grandal’s tattoos point to specific parts of his life: his first year at Miami, a nickname from Little League, goals in pro baseball, Cuba, and a game with his wife. In a 2019 MLB interview, he said he wanted each design to mean something. A 2016 Los Angeles Times profile adds context about the first tattoo. The accounts differ on a few details, so those differences are worth keeping.
College tattoos: Scorpio, the Miami U, and a line for motivation
Grandal got his first tattoo at 18, during his first year at the University of Miami. It’s his Scorpio sign in Japanese characters on his left arm. He wanted something small to try the tattoo-shop experience, and the zodiac sign was familiar from the horoscopes his mother read.
His 2019 account dates the tattoo to his first year of college. The Times wrote in 2016 that he came home with it in the days after high-school graduation. Both describe it as his first tattoo, but neither gives an exact date. His mother, Maria Gomez, had asked him to wait until he moved out. The Times called the reveal youthful defiance; Grandal later said her horoscope readings helped spark his interest in zodiac signs.
During his sophomore year, he added a cross, baseball and the University of Miami “U” to his right triceps. He said the baseball represented his work, the cross his faith and Sunday chapel visits, and the U the school where he was playing.
A line on his chest is associated with Nelson Mandela and a period of early-morning training. Grandal recalled it as “I am the captain of my soul”; the Times recorded a different wording: “You are the Captain of Yourself.” He placed it where he could see it in the morning. As a junior, he was getting up around 4:30 a.m. to work on conditioning, throwing, hitting and defense. The 2019 and 2016 accounts don’t settle the exact wording.
The YAZ tattoo and the eyes on his upper back
“YAZ” sits above a pair of stylized eyes across Grandal’s upper back. A Little League coach who was a Boston Red Sox fan started calling him Yaz when Grandal was about 12 and the coach had trouble with his name. The nickname came from Red Sox player Carl Yastrzemski; Grandal said he didn’t understand the reference until he was 16 or 17.
He added the nickname and eyes during his second year at Miami. His mother suggested “envy eyes,” joking that a catcher should have eyes on his back because he faces away from the crowd. Grandal said the idea fit his position behind the plate.
The design later drew comparisons to the Lake Elsinore Storm logo during a rehabilitation start in the San Diego organization. Grandal told MLB he hadn’t meant to copy it. He and the tattoo artist had discussed a cartoon-like treatment because realistic eyes are difficult to draw; the resemblance was accidental.
The chained scorpion tattoo that marks goals still ahead
On his right upper arm, Grandal has a scorpion wrapped in chains, some broken and some still attached. He got it after his first year in the Minor Leagues. He said the chains stand for goals he had reached and goals still ahead.
Before the draft, Grandal had hoped to become a first-round pick and the best catcher in college. By the time he got the tattoo, professional baseball had started and he had new goals. He described the design as a reminder that reaching one target didn’t end the work.
The Cuba outline on his left wrist
Grandal has a simple outline of Cuba on his left wrist. He told MLB he noticed a similar tattoo on his older brother when they reunited in San Diego in 2014, after roughly 17 years apart. His brother’s version included the Cuban flag’s colors.
Grandal later learned his younger brother had the same outline in the same place. None of the three had known about the others’ tattoos. He called the discovery “pretty cool.” He didn’t describe the designs as coordinated; the shared outline became a family connection by coincidence.
The Tasmanian Devil tattoo in catcher’s gear
On his left forearm, Grandal has a Tasmanian Devil in catcher’s gear. The name came from a sign his wife, Heather, made for the first time she came to see him play in the Major Leagues, in Arizona against the Diamondbacks. She called him the “Yazmanian Devil,” combining his childhood nickname with the cartoon character.
Grandal said he hit a home run that night, the sign appeared on television, and the phrase caught on with fans. The next season, he had the character tattooed in catcher’s equipment. After home runs, he began throwing up the horns, and teammates picked up the gesture. In the MLB interview, he described how the sign, the game and the nickname became part of the tattoo.